Pink Balloons And Other Deadly Things (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
This was a free download on Amazon.com, so I was going in with lowered expectations to begin with. Maybe that's a good thing, because I ultimately enjoyed it, in spite of some of the more outlandish occurrences in the story. (I think I'm just not a fan of mysteries in general, because I find I can't suspend disbelief as readily as I can for, say, science fiction, for some reason.) On the plus side, despite thinking I figured out who the murderer was a quarter of the way in, I was wrong. Also, and this is entirely personal, a lot of the locations are close to home. Alpine, NJ? I used to drive past on the way to visit family. Piermont, NY? I used to go to a college buddy's house parties there. So, that was a pleasant surprise. In the end, though, I don't see myself continuing with the series. I read the synopses and wasn't enticed enough to spend money to download them. The novelty of location has worn off, leaving those issues with just not buying the story (You've been spoken to about not meddling in police matters ... why did you (a) steal a key, and (b) essentially break into someone's apartment, especially if that someone has been missing? And why did the police officer accuse you of murder when the body has clearly been sitting in that bathtub for a prolonged amount of time? Is he new at this? Spoiler alert: no, he's not new.).
This is a story about a single, soon to be divorced mother turned amateur detective. After her husband's detestable fiance ends up topless and dead by the side of Carrie's old pool, she becomes a suspect and desperately tries to prove her innocence. But before she can manage this, other people from her former married life end up dead as well.I finished this book pretty fast, and look forward to subsequent books in this series. I love that the main character Carries reads Janet Evanovich and drinks hot tea. She struggles to take her own advice that she gives to so many of her patients during their biofeedback sessions, especially when it comes to her husband of 18 years. If you are a jerk, cheating husband, this book is not for you. Jerk.I did spend more of the book being totally confused as to how the title connects to the story. My husband asked me what I was reading last night when I was about 30 pages from the end and I said, "...but I have no idea why the book is called this." The "ah-ha!" moment doesn't come until the very end of the book, when the killer's identity is revealed.I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a mystery thriller. I look forward to reading more of Nancy Tesler.
What do You think about Pink Balloons And Other Deadly Things (2012)?
Pink Balloons and Other Deadly Things was a decent read. It was free on Amazon for awhile and I decided to pick it up -- so to speak, since it's Kindle edition. Nancy Tesler comes off as a feminist, but does a poor job executing that role. She insists on referring to God as Goddess, which really threw me off at first, yet makes her women extremely weak. Had Carrie and Meg been incredibly strong individuals, I would let the Goddess parts slip, but they're not. They rely on men throughout the entirety of the novel.Regardless, it was a good mystery book. Dappled with grammatical errors throughout (some that really distracted) the book however flowed decently. Some parts seemed out of place, but easily passed off.If it is still free on Amazon, I would recommend to pick it up. If it is over $3.00 I would pass and buy something with a little more substance.
—Sheree
Carrie Carlin is in the middle of a divorce from her husband Rich, when his fiancee is killed. Carrie is a suspect and looks into the murder. While Carrie is snooping to find evidence, she stumbles across the dead body of her husband's secretary. Carrie hasn't a clue who would kill these woman,but has finally come to the realization her husband is a liar and cheater most of their married life. Time for her to let go of the past and move forward into the future. Along the way, she finds Ted. A man she could grow to love. When Carrie comes face to face with the killer, she stunned to learn she knew the woman all along. And, who are her friends truly are. It gets a bit long winded in middle, then picks up again.
—Adrienne Testa
