Book ReviewSofie Metropolis

Reviewer's Rating: 
4
I truly enjoyed this book...and yet, it failed to rock my world because (see explanation in review).
Publisher: 
Tom Doherty Associates, 2005
Synopsis: 

BOOK ONE: SOFIE METROPOLIS SERIES. Sofie Metropolis should be married.  But when she caught her groom and her maid of honor carrying on with each other in the church, Sofie canceled th wedding.  She took the honeymoon by herself, and she kept all the presents, including a small apartment building filled with just the sort of quirky tenants you'd expect in an old Queens neighborhood like Astoria.

Sofie should be waiting tables-her father and grandfather have competing restaurants on opposite corners.  Instead, she's a junior-VERY junior-private investigator at her Uncle Spyro's detective agency.  Which means she finds missing pets and takes photos of people's spouses doing things they shouldn't.

Sofie's life takes another unexpected turn when her latest cheating spouse case turns into attempted murder-of Sofie-and she's rescued by a dashing Australian bounty hunter.  And there's a missing "vampire" to find, not to mention Sofie's mother's best friend's lost dog...


As you can tell from the summary, there's a lot going on in this starter series novel, but it's all good.  I quite enjoyed this book like a spritz of water in the face in the heat of summer.  It reads much like Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series but there's no Grandma Mazur and Sofie's mother is much more overbearing.  It does have a great sense of humour much like Evanovich that had me laughing out loud and sharing parts with my husband.

There's kooky characters in general within Sofie's family, her apartment building, her neighbors and her coworkers but it all fits together quite well.  Sofie grounds the book with her earnestness to do well, please her family and scrape out a name for herself in her newfound profession.  Hers is a fun, fairly predictable ride that promises much good reading in the rest of the series.

As for the romance, it's a cat and mouse game for now and will probably be a slow cooker type storyline throughout the series.  That sits just fine with me as a spicy side dish to an otherwise full meal of fun.

Where this series starter failed to earn my top rating and a spot on my personal shelves is the fact these read like a one trick pony which does not translate into a return reading.  Granted, it's a pretty hilarious trick if your library has a copy.

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