Thanks for the opportunity to guest blog, GM! We don't get to see each other much in real life, so I appreciate the opportunity to hang out with you in your cyberhome.
For my money, there aren't enough humorous mysteries out there that feature both hot romance and intelligent women, but Dana Fredsti is doing her part to set that right with The Peruvian Pigeon, the first in her Murder for Hire series. Dana, a former actress, swordfighter, exotic feline caretaker and current novelist and essayist, bases her series around a theater troupe headed by Connie Garrett, a protagonist who is endearing, believable, smart as the day is long, and -- like most great amateur sleuths -- always in the wrong place at the wrong time.
In The Peruvian Pigeon, Connie is just trying to keep her head above water as her acting troupe, made up of a motley crew of struggling actors (and a few who are just struggling), gets ready to perform at the Emerald Cove Shay Randell Festival. Her bumpy rehearsals are made even more stressful when the dead bodies start piling up. Thrown into the mix is a possessive boyfriend whose dating shelf-life has expired, and Alex, a stuntman called on to fill in for a flakey actor who took another job at the last minute.
I enjoyed the plot and the characters, but the two qualities that set this book apart from the pack are the intentionally over-the-top gangster dialogue used by the theater troupe, and the white-hot love scenes. Here's an example of the classic 40s hard-boiled detective patter sprinkled throughout the book:
"...the solution to this case was gnawing at me, hanging around my subconscious like a fart in a phone booth."
"It was a cold night, and the fog was rolling in off of the Thames, which was kind of scary since I was in San Diego."
"The goon dropped his roscoe when I crunched my grinders into his mitt. I cold-cocked him with a right to his smeller. The other baboon lunged for me and my legs turned to limp pasta as he sank a fist into my belly."
Love that stuff! Even more than that, I enjoyed the very sexy, very fun flirtation and heat Connie generates with Alex the stuntman. In their first meeting, Connie makes clear that she doesn't think he's an actor and isn't a fan of those in his profession. When Alex asks her why, she says, "No offense, but a lot of stuntmen I've met are lucky if they can memorize their own phone number." In the great tradition of Maddie and David in Moonlighting and Joe and Stephanie in the Janet Evanovich series, the two banter throughout the novel as the heat between them climbs.
I don't want to give too much more away. If you want to get a backstage peek at theater while getting sucked up in suspense, romance, and humor, find yourself a copy of The Peruvian Pigeon. Or you might just find a brass glove in your sniffer, see?
Jess Lourey and Dana Fredsti are planning on a pacifistic Thelma and Louise-type book tour from San Fran up to Seattle in late May. Only problem is they both wanna be the Susan Sarandon character, which is okay because even though they won't get laid, they won't get their money stolen by a sexy drifter, either. Check here for the latest tour dates and stops (http://www.danafredsti.com/publicity.html). To win a free copy of Dana's latest book, be the first to email her through her website with the correct name of the 1953 Fred Astaire/Cyd Charisse movie that provided inspiration for the gangster dialogue in her novel. Make sure to tell her GM Malliet's blog sent you!
For my money, there aren't enough humorous mysteries out there that feature both hot romance and intelligent women, but Dana Fredsti is doing her part to set that right with The Peruvian Pigeon, the first in her Murder for Hire series. Dana, a former actress, swordfighter, exotic feline caretaker and current novelist and essayist, bases her series around a theater troupe headed by Connie Garrett, a protagonist who is endearing, believable, smart as the day is long, and -- like most great amateur sleuths -- always in the wrong place at the wrong time.
In The Peruvian Pigeon, Connie is just trying to keep her head above water as her acting troupe, made up of a motley crew of struggling actors (and a few who are just struggling), gets ready to perform at the Emerald Cove Shay Randell Festival. Her bumpy rehearsals are made even more stressful when the dead bodies start piling up. Thrown into the mix is a possessive boyfriend whose dating shelf-life has expired, and Alex, a stuntman called on to fill in for a flakey actor who took another job at the last minute.
I enjoyed the plot and the characters, but the two qualities that set this book apart from the pack are the intentionally over-the-top gangster dialogue used by the theater troupe, and the white-hot love scenes. Here's an example of the classic 40s hard-boiled detective patter sprinkled throughout the book:
"...the solution to this case was gnawing at me, hanging around my subconscious like a fart in a phone booth."
"It was a cold night, and the fog was rolling in off of the Thames, which was kind of scary since I was in San Diego."
"The goon dropped his roscoe when I crunched my grinders into his mitt. I cold-cocked him with a right to his smeller. The other baboon lunged for me and my legs turned to limp pasta as he sank a fist into my belly."
Love that stuff! Even more than that, I enjoyed the very sexy, very fun flirtation and heat Connie generates with Alex the stuntman. In their first meeting, Connie makes clear that she doesn't think he's an actor and isn't a fan of those in his profession. When Alex asks her why, she says, "No offense, but a lot of stuntmen I've met are lucky if they can memorize their own phone number." In the great tradition of Maddie and David in Moonlighting and Joe and Stephanie in the Janet Evanovich series, the two banter throughout the novel as the heat between them climbs.
I don't want to give too much more away. If you want to get a backstage peek at theater while getting sucked up in suspense, romance, and humor, find yourself a copy of The Peruvian Pigeon. Or you might just find a brass glove in your sniffer, see?Jess Lourey and Dana Fredsti are planning on a pacifistic Thelma and Louise-type book tour from San Fran up to Seattle in late May. Only problem is they both wanna be the Susan Sarandon character, which is okay because even though they won't get laid, they won't get their money stolen by a sexy drifter, either. Check here for the latest tour dates and stops (http://www.danafredsti.com/publicity.html). To win a free copy of Dana's latest book, be the first to email her through her website with the correct name of the 1953 Fred Astaire/Cyd Charisse movie that provided inspiration for the gangster dialogue in her novel. Make sure to tell her GM Malliet's blog sent you!
Thelma and Louise: Starring: Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen, Stephen Tobolowsky, Christopher McDonald, Brad Pitt.
Director: Ridley Scott; Screenwriter: Callie Khouri.
