Book Review
Handbags & Hooligans by Laina Turner
Book 3: The Presley Thurman Mysteries Series
Publisher: Five Seas Ink
Publication Date: November 24, 2011
Format: eBook - 210 pages
Kindle - 3157 KB
Nook - 633 KB
ISBN: 978-1502777423
ASIN: B006D0H338
BNID: 2940150856141
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Buy The Book:
Book 1: Stilettos & Scoundrels
Book 2: Necklaces & Nooses
Book 3: Handbags & Hooligans
Book 4: Mistletoe & Murder
Book 5: Gems & Gunshots
Book 6: Cupids & Crooks
Book 7: Tiaras & Texans
Book 8: Vows & Victims
Book 9: Accessories & Alibis
Book 10: Romance & Revenge
Book 11: Bats & Bling
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Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Chick Lit Plus Blog Tours.
Book Description:
Presley went to Vegas to watch her friend Anna get married and the event turned into solving the mystery of her brothers girlfriend disappearance. But Ashley wasn't exactly the school teacher she appeared to be. Who was she and was she kidnapped?
Book Excerpt:
“I’m so glad you guys are here. I’m worried about Ashley,”
Jesse said, ignoring me, which was typical. I sighed. Some things never
changed.
But then I saw he was distraught about something. “Why? What
happened? You two have a fight?”
“No, nothing like that. She said she was going to meet you
for the bachelorette party and then was going to go to her own place to sleep.
She said she had to get up early and had a bunch of stuff to do today. We were
supposed to have a late breakfast, and she never called or showed up.”
“Jesse, she never showed up last night. We just assumed she
got busy. We knew you were at work, and neither of us had thought to get her
number. That’s why I left you that message about it.”
“Jesse, are you saying you haven’t heard from her at all?”
Jared asked.
“No, and that’s not like her. I’ve left a million messages,
I’ve called everyone I can think of, and no one has heard from her. None of her
friends, none of her co–workers, no one.”
“It’s not like she’s disappeared for days,” I said. “Aren’t
you overreacting just a little?”
“I don’t think so. This is not like Ashley. She is very
organized and big on manners. She doesn’t just not call.”
Jesse drove us to his apartment so he could take a quick
shower, and I couldn’t refrain from commenting on its sorry state. “Jesse, your
apartment is a mess,” I said, looking around. “No wonder Ashley didn’t want to
stay here.’
“Funny, Pres. I admit it’s messy, but Ashley doesn’t love me
for my cleaning skills.”
“Obviously.”
“Pres, isn’t this a little like the pot calling the kettle
black?” Jared said. “You’re not exactly Ms. Neat freak. Whose dirty clothes are
always on the floor?”
I stuck my tongue out at Jared. “Oh be quiet.”
Over a quick lunch, we decided we would head to Ashley’s
apartment. I was still thinking that as a grown woman it was a little premature
to be worried yet, but to make Jesse feel better I didn’t say anything. He
obviously knew her better than anyone.
“When was the last time you were there, Jesse?” I asked as
we left his apartment and got into his champagne–colored Dodge Lancer. It was
almost an antique.
“What the hell is wrong with your door, Jesse?” Jared asked
as he kept tugging on the back passenger door.
“Oh, you have to get in the other side. That door is stuck.
Ashley calls this my three–door car.” He looked over the hood to me and said,
“I stopped by last night on my way to work to pick up a shirt I’d left at her
place, but I assumed she was with you.”
“We can at least stop by and make sure she hasn’t been there
and cross it off our list. Jesse, I’m sure there is a very simple explanation
for all this.” I had come up with the idea to make a list of all the places
Ashley might frequent and check each one to find out if she’d been seen. Her
apartment and her work were the first two on the list.
As we drove to Ashley’s house, I looked out the window. “It
seems so plastic and pretend here. Like it’s not real.”
“What do you expect? It’s the desert,” said Jesse.
“It’s all bright lights and gaudiness,” Jared said
excitedly. “I fell in love with this place when I first visited here a couple
years ago.”
“No wonder you like it,” I teased. “You’re like bright
lights and gaudiness.”
“Do you like living here, Jesse?” Jared asked.
“I do. The heat can be a little much, but the people are
great. Much nicer than in LA and more normal. The people in L.A. just seemed
like they were so fake. That’s why I gave up. There wasn’t enough genuineness.”
“How far is Ashley’s apartment?” I asked.
“Just a few minutes. We live at opposite ends of the strip.
Not a long drive in the middle of the day, but at night it can take forever.”
“I love what this place looks like at night all lit up,”
Jared said.
“It certainly is something,” I said.
Pulling up in front of an apartment building that was much
newer and nicer than the one they had came from, Jesse parked and cut the
engine. “Come on, guys.”
I looked at the building in front of me. It couldn’t have
been more than a couple years old. Almost more of a condo feel than an
apartment complex. Each unit had a decent size balcony. Off to the right, I
could see the edge of the pool, and the grounds were beautifully landscaped. A
far cry from Jesse’s apartment, which had a pool, but it was filled with
greenish water, and even in one–hundred–degree heat I wouldn’t have been
tempted to swim in it. I wouldn’t have wanted to bother the critters living in
that water.
“I thought you said she was a schoolteacher,” Jared said.
“She is.”
“Wow. Teachers must make a lot more in Las Vegas than they
do in Chicago.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Jesse! Look at this place,” I exclaimed. Guys were so
oblivious sometimes. “It can’t be cheap to live in a place like this.”
“Oh. She gets help from her parents. They want her to be
safe, so they send her money to help out.”
“I wish our parents felt the same way,” I joked, but it fell
flat. Jesse wasn’t even paying attention.
“Follow me,” Jesse said, ushering them into the elevator. It
was easy to see he was getting anxious. I was convinced: He must really think
this girl was the one.
“Hey Jesse, we’re going to find her,” I said.
“I hope so, Presley.”
They stepped off the elevator, and the hallway was as nice
as one would expect from the outside. Expensively done in creams and golds,
this wasn’t an inexpensive apartment complex by far. Even with financial help,
it seemed an unlikely place for a twenty-three-year-old to live.
“Here it is,” Jesse said to us, stopping in front of a door
with the number three nineteen on it. He put his key in the lock, but even with
his light touch the door swung open. It wasn’t locked. Jared and Jesse looked
at each other.
“Do you think we should go in?” asked Jared.
I turned to Jesse. “Do you think you might have left the
door open when you were here yesterday?”
“I don’t think I did, but I guess I could have.” He shook
his head. “I don’t really remember either way.”
I stepped one foot over the threshold. “Hello, anyone here?”
I looked at the guys and shrugged. “We might as well go in,” I said, walking
the rest of the way through the door and motioning for Jesse and Jared to join
me.
“Not much of a Suzie Homemaker is she?” Jared said to me in
a hushed voice, not wanting to criticize Ashley’s cleaning skills in front of
Jesse.
“I’m not so sure this is a matter of her housekeeping.” I
looked over my shoulder to my brother. “Is this what it looked like yesterday,
Jesse?”
He stood there staring into the room in front of him. “What
the fuck?” was all he could get out.
The room had been torn to shreds. Someone had obviously been
looking for something. It explained the door being open. “I guess you didn’t
forget to lock up,” I said.
“Oh my God, Presley,” Jesse said. “What happened? What does
this mean? No, it didn’t look at all like this yesterday. Oh my God, something
terrible must have happened to Ashley. Look at all this blood.”
“Jesse, calm down.” Of course, I was freaked out, and having
him freaked out wasn’t helping. Ashley’s apartment wasn’t only trashed, but it
looked as if someone had been playing the dizzy game with an open can of red
paint. You know the game where you twirl around and around until you are so
dizzy you can’t stand. There wasn’t as much when you looked closely, but it was
spattered all over the walls.
This was not the work of average vandals. Or at least the
work I thought average vandals might do. Besides, this wasn’t your average
apartment complex and surely had security measures in place. I wouldn’t figure
it for a random target for theft.
We gingerly walked through the room looking around at the
mess. The cushions on what had been a beautiful cream leather couch had been
slashed, lamps broken, the coffee table smashed in two, everything had been
pulled out of the cabinets, TV knocked off the entertainment center … it was an
absolute disaster. Although, I could still see Ashley had great—and expensive—taste.
Nothing in that apartment was less than name brand quality. The real stuff. I
could tell.
“This was a beautiful place,” Jared said to me. “She either
has a good decorator or great taste.”
“She did it all herself,” Jesse interjected. “She wanted to
be an interior decorator, but her parents convinced her that being a teacher
was a more stable profession. I can’t imagine who could have gotten in here to
do all this damage.”
“Jesse, are you sure she doesn’t have any enemies? I can’t
imagine someone just broke in here and did this.”
“Presley, I’m sure. Someone must have kidnapped her. What if
she’s hurt?” Jesse sounded frantic, “we need to call the police.”
“Does she keep anything valuable here that someone would
know about?” Jared asked.
“Not that I’m aware of. I just can’t believe this. Who could
have done it?”
“Do you know any of her neighbors? Maybe we can ask if they
heard anything?” I said.
“She was friendly with them to say hi and such, and I’m sure
they would recognize me. I’ve spent a lot of time here and have met most of
them on multiple occasions.”
“Why don’t you go see if anyone is home and ask, while Jared
and I look around?” I had no idea what to even look for. And even if something
was amiss, I wouldn’t know it, since I hadn’t ever been here before, but I
thought it might help if Jesse didn’t have to be in the middle of this mess.
“But…” I could see he was upset looking at the room.
“Just go. It will only take you a few minutes and Jared and
I will be right here.” I pushed him toward the door. Jesse walked out, and I
turned toward Jared.
“What the hell do you think happened here?” he asked.
“I have no idea, but it sure seems weird. First, that she
would live in an apartment like this on a teacher’s salary and then that
someone obviously trashed her place. Do you think this is blood?” I started to
walk through the apartment, and it was clear, even to me, someone had been on a
mission here. There wasn’t anything left untouched. I walked into the master
bedroom, and after I got over the feeling I was invading Ashley’s private
space, I grew curious to learn more about her by looking in her closet. You
could always tell so much about a girl by her clothes. And shoes. And
accessories.
“Look at this, Jared. Her closet is almost as big as our
entire apartment.” I was so in awe I almost forgot we were supposed to be
looking for clues.
My Book Review:
In Handbags & Hooligans, the third book in The Presley Thurman Mysteries Series, the reader follows the latest investigative adventures of fashionista / amateur sleuth Presley Thurman.
Author Laina Turner weaves another entertaining cozy mystery that follows sassy Presley Thurman as she gets herself embroiled in a new investigation. Told in the first person narrative, Presley heads to Las Vegas for the impromptu wedding of best friend Anna and Jeff. While there, Presley visits with her younger brother Jesse, a black jack and poker dealer and his elementary school teacher girlfriend Ashley. But when Ashley suddenly disappears, Presley once again finds herself caught up in a missing persons investigation.
Handbags & Hooligans is an intriguing cozy mystery that is filled with enough crazy antics and trials and tribulations that easily keeps the reader guessing. Just when you think Presley and friends will be enjoying all that Sin City has to offer, Ashley's disappearance has this sassy lady kicking into amateur sleuth mode, and if that isn't enough, there are dangerous mobsters to deal with, and also the distraction with her ongoing relationship issues with on again / off again boyfriend Cooper Sands, that makes it really hard for her to resist his charms. And even though there are dangerous mobsters who are out to stop Presley's investigation, she is determined to help find Ashley with the help of Cooper and her best friends Anna and Jared, even when danger is around the corner. But like they say ... "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!"
Handbags & Hooligans has a good mixture of humor, mystery, and a touch of romance that will easily keep the reader engaged as they follow Presley's latest amateur investigative adventures. There is a lot that goes on between the pages of this story, the intriguing twists and turns will keep the readers on their toes, especially with the variety of crazy situations that pop up, but Presley's humorous shenanigans, and the intrigue and suspense behind the mystery of Ashley's disappearance will keep you guessing right to the very end! I would be remiss if I didn't mention that I really enjoyed the rich descriptions of the famous landmarks that grace the Las Vegas strip, it makes the reader wish they could take a trip out there and enjoy all that Sin City has to offer!
The Presley Thurman Mysteries Series is an entertaining cozy mystery series that will keep the reader in stitches!
RATING: 4 STARS
About The Author
As she grew older she realized her talents lay in academics and business and for the last several years has been a business consultant and college professor where she uses the analytical side of her brain and not the side that makes up stories.
Through all her career choices she has continued to have a passion for writing. This stemmed from childhood whereas an only child she developed a vivid imagination spending most of her time making things up and thinking the Incredible Hulk lived in her closet.
Proud of her vast experiences in life from barrel racing to being on the dance team for a semi pro basketball team to being a mom of 2 amazing kids, she tells her family and friends that no one is safe from their escapades slipping in to her books.
Taking the plunge to write books (cozy mysteries and chick lit) that she actually let people read in 2010, she has worked her way up to being a real author, having 5 fans (maybe 6 now). Her blog, Writing is a Lifestyle, was launched to share the daily fun in the life of a Real Housewife of the Midwest along with the musing of other fabulous ladies.
Author Website
Google+
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Virtual Book Tour
Tour Schedule:
May 23 - Chick Lit Plus - Review
May 24 – The Phantom Paragrapher – Review
May 25 – Cheryllynn Writes – Excerpt
May 25 – The Mystery Tavern – Excerpt
May 26 – Chick Lit Goddess – Excerpt
May 30 - Turning Another Page - Review & Excerpt
May 31 – Book Lover in Florida – Review & Excerpt
June 1 – A Page To Turn – Review
June 2 - Kelly's Nerdy Obsession - Review
June 2– Living Life With Joy – Excerpt
June 3 – Authors and Readers Book Corner – Excerpt
June 3- Granny Loves to Read – Excerpt
June 6 – Jersey Girl Book Reviews – Review & Excerpt
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