Heroine: tall/buxom

       Who in her right mind would want to date 40 men in 60 days?  Greeting card designer and shop owner Wollie Shelley, that's who.  Because let's face it, there's not a lot of money in the card business when your shop is located on the seedy side of L.A. The $5000 payment for participating in the dating research study would mean the world to Wollie.  And as an added bonus she reveres her new boss, radio personality Dr. Cookie Lahven, and is thrilled to be assisting her with gathering material for her new book, "How to Avoid Getting Dumped All the Time".

       But an attempt by Wollie to visit her mentally ill brother at a hospital puts a damper on the project in the form of a dead body.  And Wollie is so worried that her brother might have had something to do with it that she avoids alerting the authorities.  Instead, she allows herself to be kidnapped by an attractive man disguised as a doctor in the hopes that she can buy some time and solve the crime herself.

      She crosses paths with so many bad guys along the way that she could pen her own guidebook, "How to Avoid Getting Dumped--in a River by a Mobster".

What worked for me:

         I genuinely liked Wollie and found her to be a sympathetic character.  I liked her kidnapper too, and thought the sexual tension between them was a lot of fun. (The pet ferret was a nice touch as well.)

         The writing style and humor might not appeal to everyone, but I sure got a kick out of them.

         Size-wise Wollie was very tall and on the buxom side. (It's not often I run across a book where the romance pairs a taller woman with a shorter man.)

What didn't work for me:

           I was disappointed that I didn't get to know Wollie's friends a bit better.  I am hoping that they get more time on center stage in the next book.

           I had some trouble keeping the various characters and plotlines straight at times.

Overall: