The Miami Mummies are coming to get you!
Review from
Big Al's Books & Pals
Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin
Genre: Humor /Mystery /Adventure
Approximate word count: 45-50,000 words
Availability
Kindle US: YES UK: YES Nook: NO Smashwords: NO Paper: NO
Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store
Author:
“Barbara Silkstone is the best-selling author of the Wendy Darlin Tomb Raider series ~ Mystery Comedies featuring Wendy Darlin, Miami real estate broker and part-time Tomb Raider. Silkstone enjoys doing playful things with language as she writes criminally funny tales ripped from the headlines...shaken, not stirred, and served with a twist and a chuckle. She lives in south Florida where she survives on buttered popcorn and fried chicken... extra crispy.”
You can find out more about Ms. Silkstone at her website or connect with her on her blog orFacebook. Ms. Silkstone has also recently opened another website that has nothing to do with books. “The Second Act Café is a place for those lingering on either side of fifty. It’s about getting even by having fun. Life truly should be one long laugh.” Her books are also available on Audible.com.
Description:
“The legendary mastermind criminal and mummy thief, Kyzer Saucy, strikes again. Part-time tomb raider and full-time real estate broker, Wendy Darlin joins her lover, archaeologist Roger Jolley as they struggle to save a rare Miami mummy from the clutches of this evil genius. Can Saucy be stopped before he kills again? Meanwhile can Wendy keep her promise to Alfred Hiccup as he attempts to transmigrate from the afterlife? Or has Wendy finally made one promise too many?”
Appraisal:
As always Wendy hits the ground running. She just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time with hormones raging. Ms. Silkstone's plots are character driven and I am not sure she has any control over Wendy at all. She is a smart, take control type of heroine and doesn't let anything get in her way, besides holes in fabric, water in her face, or heights.
Miami Mummies is a homage to Alfred Hitchcock with character names such as Alfred Hiccup, Tippy Henman, Gary Grant, and Stewart James. Tippy's construction site, where the mummies were found, is the old Bates Hotel. In a secondary plot Alfred Hiccup, Wendy's mentor, recruits her to repossess, it's not stealing if it was originally stolen from him, a bronze Remington statue that has been located in the lobby of the Cowboy Pension Fund on the top floor of the North by Northwest Financial Center in Miami. You can tell Ms. Silkstone had a lot of fun weaving this story and the Hitchcock elements together. I found myself chuckling through it all.
This is not just slapstick humor, there is a good mystery, unscrupulous political figures, evil lobbyists, a spoiled heiress, and a radical spinoff tribe of Seminole Native Americans trying to protect what may be an old Tequesta Indian burial site. Unfortunately, Roger Jolley is away on other mummy business involving the world’s most notorious mummy thief, Kyzer Saucy, who wishes to totally eliminate Roger by crafting an exotic demise. However, when he hears about the archaeological finds around Miami he joins Wendy in her quest to get to the truth about the Miami mummies.
I was glad to see more of Kit Kennedy in this book. He is a lot of fun to have around. I did fear for his safety a time or two through some of the plot twists. Ms. Silkstone does an excellent job bringing her story to life using recent headlines in Miami's news while making it a fun romp through Alfred Hitchcock's movie portfolio. There are a couple of new characters introduced who may make appearances in future books, it will be interesting to see. There is no cliffhanger at the end of this story but some things were not tied up in a neat little bow leaving openings for further adventures.
FYI:
Miami Mummies is the fourth book in the Wendy Darlin Tomb Raider series.
While it could be read as a stand-alone I would recommend reading Wendy and the Lost Boys, London Broil, and Cairo Caper for a complete appreciation of the characters.
Format/Typo Issues:
I found no significant issues.
Rating: ***** Five Stars
