Heroines: One
average, one plump, and one extremely tall and thin
(main character)
Pat, Jackie, and Elaine, a trio of divorcées known as the "three blonde mice", escape the bitter New York winter and set off on a tropical cruise
upon the "Princess Charming", a ship caught in a 1980s interior
decorating vortex whose passenger and activities lists are filled with
every cruise stereotype imaginable.
A series of mishaps, an
overheard phone conversation, and an
anonymous note slipped under a door makes it plain that one of the women
is the target of a planned hit by her embittered ex-husband. But which gal
is at risk? And which passenger was hired to send this unfortunate
lady to sleep with the fish? The polyester-clad-disco-king-has-been? The
used car salesman with the short-lived short-term memory? The fastidious,
well-to-do, bird-watching bachelor?
What
worked for me:
Ms. Heller's
writing gets to the essence of the
subject quickly, distilling the key pieces of information and throwing
them out at the reader in startling combinations. It's amazing what
she can convey in her effectively succinct yet descriptive phrases!
I loved the tongue-in-cheek
humor in this story. Elaine was the epitome of the catty, witty friend you love
to hear
talking about others but secretly pray that she
never talks in that way about you.
There were a slew of wacky, true-to-life characters
in this book with plenty of
choices for possible bad guys to keep you guessing.
And I enjoyed the burgeoning romance
between the man-wary Elaine and her new friend Sam, but I enjoyed their
octogenarian tablemates far more. We should all be so lucky in our
love lives!
Size-wise the ladies were varied.
The main character had some reservations about her six foot height and
slender build, but mainly because she had lost her luggage and was forced
to wear clothes that didn't fit her correctly.
What didn't work for me:
Some folks
might not care for the first person point-of-view, but I personally
thought it worked very well in this book.
Overall:
This outrageously
funny mystery seasoned with a dash of romance makes for excellent
light reading. I recommend it to fans of the mystery and romance
genres alike.
Warning: there's a bit of coarse language and a couple of sexy
scenes.
If you liked "Princess Charming" you
might also enjoy "Name Dropping", "Bet Me", "Infernal Affairs",
"Dating Dead Men",
"Crazy For You",
"Switcheroo", "Plum Girl",
The Stephanie Plum mystery series,
"Welcome to Temptation",
"Faking It",
"Fast Women", and
"The Saving Graces".
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