Mothers Day Out is funny, adventurous, lots of mystery and plenty of intrigue to keep the mystery fans attention. Margie Peterson, mother of 2 children under the age of 5, wife to ambitious lawyer, has been a stay at home mom, but decides to take a part-time job as a PI. In short time the adventures she finds herself in makes for a humorous mystery of a read. Take the time to snuggle in to your favorite reading spot and enjoy Karen MacInerney's Mothers Day Out. Karen MacInerney is a talented writer, and I enjoyed this book. It was a fun romp that kept me turning the pages. What I liked: The humorous, well-crafted writing, the fast pace and the believable characters. What I struggled with: This book requires a lot of suspension of disbelief. The humorous cozy genre, in general, tends to ask that of its readers, but in this case, there were just too many crazy things happening in a short time span that felt implausible. The other thing I struggled with is how much danger Margie, as the mother of two small kids, exposed herself to, without thinking of its potential impact on her children till she was up to her eyeballs in it, almost as an afterthought. Just a small tweak there, like her struggling with it first but justifying in her mind why she had to go for in anyway, would have made a huge difference in my ability to buy it. I liked the plot, which had just the right amount of complexity for my taste.It’s obvious that Janet Evanovich is an influence on the author, and I recommend this book to anyone who likes the Stephanie Plum novels. Just park disbelief at the door. The characters were colorful (I loved Peaches), but I admit to being borderline offended by the sense that the main characters reacted to the New Age beliefs of Margie’s mom as lunatic fringe. This is a fine line to walk, because what looks odd to some people are actually the core beliefs of others. I do have a sense of humor about the “odd look,” though, and felt the contrast between stuffy Prudence, Blake’s mother, and Margie’s crystal-carrying and herb-tea-recommending mother with a boyfriend named Karma, was delightfully ironic. If I were her kids, I know who my favorite grandma would be, even if she was so ‘70s, Margie’s real name is Marigold. (That was hilarious.) I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway, and I’m glad I read it. I’d definitely read another in the series and liked that it didn’t have a Hollywood ending that wraps things up in a tight package with a red bow. I’m curious where Margie goes next and look forward to more by this author.
What do You think about Mother Day Out (2000)?
This book was rather amusing. It was rather a mixture of Stephanie Plum and Kinsey Milhone.
—jford63
Easy fun read. Unrealistic however and very convenient quick ending. I like tho
—Iain
Interesting but subject matter not to my taste. Not recommended.
—harhar42
Not the same caliber of her Gray Whale Inn series.
—MoMo1415
