~Princess Charming~

by Jane Heller

      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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