Nutcase

I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I sat and read a book cover to cover in one setting.  I’m still sort of in shock to be honest with you.  When we got home from going out to eat tonight, a storm was moving in – that much was obvious. Knowing that our television and Internet comes in via satellite, I thought there was no point in turning on the television or computer so I went over to the bookshelf to pick a book to read.  I tend to pick those sent to me to review first and save the ones I actually purchased for “later.” But something about this book caught my eye so I grabbed it and one I was sent to review and headed off to my room.  I looked at both and thought, what the heck.  It’s been forever since I read a book I personally picked out in the store.  I think I’ll read this one – Nutcase by Charlotte Hughes.

After just glancing at the cover, I remembered why I bought it – there’s a quote by Janet Evanovich (one of my TOP FAVORITE authors) on the front, and if she endorsed it, I had thought when I was in the bookstore, I need to read it. Of course then I came home, life happened and it ended up in the “to read” stack that never seems to grow any smaller.  In my typical fashion, after finishing the book, I realize this is a SERIES and it’s not BOOK 1!!!  As it turns out, that’s what happened to be when I became a Janet Evanovich fan – I picked up one of her Stephanie Plum books in a bargain bin on a school trip and started reading only to realize that it was a series.  Luckily for me this time (unlike with the Stephanie Plum series), I discovered that Nutcase is only book 2 (unlike that book 5 I ended up with by Evanovich).  But once again, I’m upset that I’ve started a series in the middle.

But back to the book. The focus is on the protagonist – Kate Holly, a psychologist who just might need her own psychologist (oh! wait…she actually goes to counseling in this book).  Like my favorite heroine, Stephanie Plum, everything in Kate Holly’s life is “crazy.” She seems to draw out the “crazies” just like Plum.  Wow!  That might explain this glowing review.  That’s not where the similiarties end – Kate has 2 men in her life – Jay, a husband/ex-husband and an Thad, ex-boyfriend hoping to rekindle their “love” with the husband is officially the ex-husband. Noticing a trend?  Then there’s the crazy family – Stephanie has Grandma, Kate has her mother and aunt (twins).  And don’t forget the sidekick – for Stephanie it’s Lula, for Kate it’s Mona.  Yep…..Charlotte Hughes is after my heart, and I can see why Janet Evanovich said this book was “Great fun!”

So what kind of mayhem does Kate find herself in? Kate runs her own office where she tends to have more nonpaying patients than paying ones, her marriage is on the rocks (even though she knows that Jay is the only man for her), her aunt decides to marry one of her patients, she’s been evicted from her office, she has an overbearing ex-boyfriend, oh! and her husband who is a firefighter is battling a very dangerous arsonist.   I won’t tell you how any of these things turn out, but I will assure you that you’ll love every twist and turn in this book…oh, and if you can’t tell there’s a few mysteries thrown in too – a mysterious patient who claims to be Marie Osmond and the arsonist.  Have I mentioned my two favorite genres? Chick Lit and Mysteries!  When you combine those two as the McDonald’s slogan goes, “I’m Loving It!”

In fact, within 15 minutes of finishing Nutcase, I had scanned Charlotte’s website/blog and headed over to Borders.com to order the first book in this series, What Looks Like Crazy.  I’ll be reading it the day it comes in I’m sure!   The third book in this series will be titled Hanging By A Thread (Just read on Charlotte’s blog it will now be called High Anxiety), and I can’t wait to read it as there was a preview in the back of Nutcase of Kate subbing at an anger management meeting that of course goes “crazy.”