Book Review – August Moon by Jess Lourey

Oookay.  As stated in my last post, I’m going to start writing book reviews once a week, focusing mainly on books by authors I’ve met through Sisters in Crime or other networking.  So far they’ve been without exception a wonderful and supportive group of people, so why wouldn’t I want to promote their books? 

I’m only reviewing books I enjoyed because I’ve outgrown the need to show how clever I am by taking potshots at bad writing. 

Okay, MOSTLY outgrown the need.  Bad zombie novels still tempt me, as do movies like BATTLEFIELD EARTH.   They’re so bad it’s just fun to talk about ’em.  But that’s different.  The books I’ve been reading the last few months are all by people I like and respect.  Luckily I haven’t read a bad one yet; if I do, you won’t hear about it. 

Because I really want to get going on my weekly review posts, I’m cheating this time and using a review I wrote for another blog, Mysterious Musings (go there and visit – she has fun posts, reviews AND cute cat pictures!) when Jess Loureyand I were on our virtual book tour in May.  I hope Julia will forgive my plagiarizing myself, but….it’s already written and I have a Fifth of July party to shop for!  Besides, Jess’s book is so good it deserves all the publicity it can get! 

I read a lot of books. I read before going to sleep, in the bathroom (you all do it, come on, admit it!), on the Muni and while I’m walking. Seriously. I’ve perfected the art of reading while walking without a: tripping, b: bumping into fellow pedestrians or other obstacles, or c: getting hit by cars. I read quickly too, so I go through at least five books in a week. Very rarely, however, do I read books that make me laugh out loud, especially in public. AUGUST MOON, the fourth in Jess Lourey’s Murder by the Month series, is one of those rare books that did just that. We’re talking the kind of laugh accompanied by a snort. You know. The kind of involuntary snorting that increases in frequency with age. Luckily the embarrassment factor decreases with each passing birthday. Good thing ’cause I was snorting up a storm while reading AUGUST MOON on a recent plane trip. The people in my row no doubt thought they were sitting next to some strange hybrid of woman and warthog.

Seriously, though, AUGUST MOON is just plain funny. It’s also a cracking good mystery with a well thought out plot, plenty of suspense and a bountiful selection of suspects and assorted eccentric characters adding to the mix. To shamelessly quote the back cover of AUGUST MOON here: Our sassy young heroine suffers more than just unrequited lust during a Minnesota scorcher of a summer in this fourth Murder-by-Month mystery. A dead cheerleader and various oddball fanatics are uncovered in the small town of Battle Lake, “where the women are churchgoers, the men like to hunt, and the body count is above average.”

At the beginning of AUGUST MOON Mira James, sassy young heroine in question, is stood up by a Brad Pitt-esque gardening expert, thus motivating her to give notice at her job as Battle Lake’s librarian and move back to Minneapolis. Before she can put her plan in effect, however, petty theft and the death of a cheerleader draws Mira into the investigation of newcomer Pastor Meales and his evangelical bible camp. To add to the confusion, Mira’s replacement at the Battle Lake library is a member of Pastor Meales’ congregation, a mysterious, cape-wearing wood tick expert arrives in town and another cheerleader goes missing.

Mira’s work is cut out for her as she juggles the logistics of solving the various mysteries, meeting deadlines for her other job as (reporter) writer for the local newspaper, and attending a Creationist science fair at Christ’s Church of the Apocryphal Revelation (think Jesus Camp).

The science fair brought on the major snortfest. Such exhibits as “My Great Great Grandpa Was a Christian, Not a Monkey,” “Biology Proves Women Designed for Housework,” and (my favorite) “Thermodynamic Readouts Confirm Satan Is More Active Than Ever” had me laughing out loud. There really are religious groups who promote these nutso theories, which is both funny and kinda scary. To quote Homer (Simpson, not the Greek epic poet), “It’s funny ’cause it’s true!”

And that pretty much sums up what I love best about Jess Lourey’s writing: her characters, even the over-the-top eccentrics, all have a core of believability that allow the reader to lose themselves in the story. The plot is woven together carefully, but never feels contrived or forced, and Mira is a flawed (and therefore believable) yet extremely likeable heroine. I’m looking forward to a full year’s worth of murder, mayhem and Mira! August Moon

Back from the Thelma and Louise Tour…

…and working on a writing deadline (tomorrow, June 1st!) AND still recovering from road weariness.  So this is gonna be a shorty.  I just wanted to share reviews of my book and Jess’s that I found on Seattle Press Online:

Dana Fredsti & Jess Lourey Book Signings

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Dana Fredsti’s “Murder for Hire” centers on a semi-fictional theatrical group that is best known for murder mystery role-playing … until one night, when the line between acting and real life becomes blurred.

The novel is a well-executed throwback to the era of film noir dramas of the late 1940’s: fedora, trenchcoats, stylish heroines and all.

“August Moon” is the fourth novel in the successful “Murder-by-Month” series by Jess Lourey. Readers will enjoy the events that ripple through the seemingly tranquil town of Battle Lake, Minnesota. A refreshingly strong heroine steps into the role of detective in this scorching summer mystery.

Nifty!