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Monday, June 14, 2010
title: A Bad Day For Pretty
author: Sophie Littlefield
genre: crime fiction
published: 2010
pages: 292
first line: Mama was already down in the cellar with Gracellen and Patches.
rated: 3 1/2 out of 5
A Bad Day For Pretty is Sophie Littlefield's second book featuring Stella Hardesty, a middle-aged widow who helps women who are suffering from marital abuse. Stella kind of takes the law into her own hands when it comes to abusive husbands. She also owns a sewing machine shop in town.
Stella has feelings for the local sheriff, "Goat" Jones, but as the two are having a romantic dinner, there is a knock on the door and it's no other than Goat's estranged (and trashy), soon to be ex-wife, Brandy. To top it all off, there is a tornado in town that unearths a woman's body. Stella's friend Nebuchadnezzar Donovan...a.k.a. Neb, is accused of murdering the woman.
Chrissy, a young single mom, is one of the women that Stella has helped escape an abusive husband. Chrissy now lives above Stella's sewing shop and works for her as well. She is helping Stella solve the mystery of the 'mummy' that has been unearthed by the tornado. As the story unfolds, there are twists and turns as Stella and Chrissy try to figure out 'who dunnit'.
I liked Stella from the start. She's exactly what you want in a heroine. She's smart, sassy and doesn't take crap from anyone. I also liked that Stella is your average, every day girl, with her own natural beauty. She doesn't look like a barbie doll, nor does she want to. I was rooting for her to win Goat's heart, solve the murder mystery and live happily ever after. I enjoyed the supporting characters as well. Chrissy amused me using her charms as the two women tried to get clues in solving the case. Goat was sweet and couldn't help always trying to save damsels in distress, meanwhile the women in his life are driving him nuts.
If you enjoy a good mystery with some humor and romance, grab a copy of A Bad Day For Pretty.
There was a level, deep below the surface, where women in need connected with each other, where they found out about solutions of last resort, where Stella's number was passed along in whispers and secrecy was guaranteed by all those terrible layers of fear and desperation.
Also by Sophie Littlefield :
A Bad Day For Sorry
special thanks to Tony over @ Blue Dot Literary for making this possible.
