This was another delightful romp with Hetta Coffey the woman who's never short of a word to say, especially in argument. A working trip to Mexico on her beloved boat-now her home-Hetta encounters the bad guys who have a plot to pollute the sea with fresh water and to upset her friend Lonesome the whale who's currently making eyes at the boat as a possible mate. Hetta soon finds some of the baddies are actually the employers who hired her for the engineering job she's on. Chaos ensues leaving Hetta and her friend Jan on the run from the men with guns and bad intentions.Hetta is a marvel of a woman. She's opinionated, crass, strong and yet as weak as a kitten when love calls. Lacking faith in herself she thinks love is a temporary thing and her boyfriend Jenks will soon be on pastures new. To sit and cry or to kill him? She's not sure, but you'll find the whole thing delightful from start to finish. This is a book I found as a free offer - possibly a free kindle day or as a WLC Free Friday promotion. It looked like a mad-cap adventure thriller on a boat in Mexico – and that’s what it is!Hetta Coffey is a woman who seems to attract Trouble. Fortunately she has enough friends to go through all her adventures with her – except for her boyfriend, Jenks, who appears to put work before a long-planned trip to Mexico by said boat (I should call it ship, really). Even more fortunately, Hetta lands a contract with a Japanese firm that will pay for said trip to take place as soon as possible… which just happens to be hurricane season, so Hetta can’t secure a captain mad enough to take both her and the trip on.Until Fabio turns up. Hot, Mexican and capable. And married. But he does have a charming way of calling Hetta ‘Senorita Cafe’, which I find delightful, having had far worse things said about my name.I found the story hard to get into for the first few chapters – I think it was the ‘California gals’ jargon, all food, wine, personal trainers and hair colourants. However, once on the high seas (or even the mangrove swamps) the story rattles along. The boating jargon is spot on, and I recommend the stupendous chapters on riding out the hurricane – this was sea-going writing at its best. I’m not surprised to find Ms Schwartz writes for boating magazines – she really knows her stuff and how to tell a tale. It’s a cleverly constructed industrial-environmental clash, very true to life, with added lonesome whale to make love to the ship.Despite Hetta fantasising about the possibilities of sex, the whale is the only one with any semi-explicit action in that department. It’s a fun read with a great story and excellent descriptions that put you on the spot, right there on the echo-sounder with Hetta’s crew.I'll be reading more of Ms Schwartz's excellent sea-faring stories!
What do You think about Just Add Salt (2006)?
This is the kind of quick light book I like to read to get through the holidays.
—Rachel
A fun book with lots of action. A little crazy but good escape reading.
—Vadim
I couldn't even finish this book. I found it silly and vulgar.
—allstar_cutieee
great book...held my attention throughout the book!
—Calaf
