Book Review: Foul Play

Author:  Tori Carrington
Title:  Foul Play
Publisher: Tor
Publish Date: May 29, 2007
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb: Like Janet Evanovich or Jennifer Crusie, Tori Carrington mixes humor with danger and stealth with sex. The intrepid Sofie, a good Greek girl from working-class Astoria, Queens, is finding her feet as a budding private investigator and as a single gal in the big city. In Foul Play, Sofie's searching for a couple of hot prospects, one in her personal life and one professionally. The New York Mets might just be on their way to the World Series, but their newly signed pitching phenom has disappeared with the playoffs fast approaching. As for her personal life, Sofie's hooking up with a gorgeous Greek who is every bit as hunky as her long-time crush, Australian mystery man Jake Porter--and a lot more available.

Review: It is easy to compare Sofie with Stephanie, however as I continue to read this series, which so far has 5 books with a sixth due out this fall. This series becomes more likable with each new installment, maybe because with all the comparisons to Plum, Metro is really her own girl, and believe it or not, bumbling though she is at times, she's actually grown as a character with each passing book.

What set this book apart from the other 2 is the absence of Jake the Australian bounty hunter. He only made a small cameo in this story, other than his appearance in Sofie's thoughts. That absence gave Sofie the chance to hook up with Dino, who originally was meant for her sister. And speaking of characters that weren't in this book as much as the others, Pimply Pino wasn't around much either!

Again, I can't stress enough how much I like Sofie. I also like that though the story has one major plot, involving the baseball player, there are other things going on that make the book feel like a snapshot of Sofie's life.

One of the funny parts of the book is Sofie's decision to get a tattoo. Or rather not to get a tattoo but to say that to annoy her mother. She goes as far as getting a temporary lizard on her leg!

The main plot of the story, about Reni Venezuela is a bit haphazard. It is hard to believe that the mystery of what was going on with him ever got solved. That part of the book was tied up a little to neatly for me, considering all the other things going on. They worked together to point to the end result, but still it felt like it wrapped up a little to easily. 

I can't wait to pick up the next two books in this series.

Rating: 4 flowers