Blondes Have More Felons
A December Vaughn Mystery by Alesia Holliday
Review: Alesia Holliday's new mystery series introduces December Vaughn in Blondes Have More Felons.
The title of this book certainly suggests this is not a serious mystery, nor is it intended to be. It is light reading, frequently amusing, with an average plot involving a major pharmaceutical company taken loosely from recent headlines. What keeps it from floating completely away is Holliday's incorporation of the legal profession into the story. Her experience as a practicing lawyer clearly shows throughout the book and keeps her characters grounded and believable. At over 350 pages, however, the book is a little long and could have used some, to use a legal-sounding term, judicious editing. For example, Holliday may do well in the future to cut back a bit on December Vaughn's seemingly endless italicized mental notes to herself. Engaging at first, they rapidly become distracting.
Blondes Have More Felons should appeal to a fairly wide audience. Berkley Prime Crime is releasing this book in early March, just in time for spring break. If you're heading for a sunny locale, Alesia Holliday's first mystery featuring December Vaughn would make a fine reading companion for the beach.
Acknowledgment: Book Trends provided an ARC of Blondes Have More Felons for this review.
Review Copyright © 2006 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Location(s) referenced in Blondes Have More Felons: Florida
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Blondes Have More Felons by Alesia Holliday
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Format: Mass Market Paperback
ISBN-10: 0-425-20892-3
ISBN-13: 978-0-425-20892-2
Publication Date: March 2006
List Price: $6.99
Synopsis (from the publisher): December Vaughn is tired of her roots. Not the ones in her hair — she is a real blonde after all — but her life in Ohio as a corporate attorney. She's used to turning heads, but now it's time to turn her life around. And what better way to prove all those dumb-blonde jokes wrong than by opening up her own practice in Florida? She's going to take the Sunshine State by storm ...
Soon, she's hired by a man whose wife died because of defective insulin. Now, the drug company and its ruthless lawyers are doing anything in their power to derail the case — and December. It's enough to give a girl split ends.
Luckily her over-the-top office manager, a card-sharp housewife, and a drop-dead gorgeous private investigator are on her side. Because December Vaughn may have parted ways with her old life, but she's not about to give up her new one without a fight ...