bookshelf

All Teddi Bayer wants for Chanukah is for her family to pretend they’re normal. You know, loving grandparents, kids that kiss up for good gifts. . .the kind of holiday other people have. Short of that, Grandma getting run over by a reindeer doesn’t sound too bad. . .until, of course, Grandma June goes missing in "Who Needs June in December, Anyway?"

Add in Kate Austin's wonderful story, "If I Make It Through December" and Mary Schramski's heartwarming "The Perfect Christmas" and you've got the Holiday Spirit gift-wrapped for the season!

Talk about a recipe for disaster!
Take one Long Island housewife, add three kids, an ex-husband from hell,and a botoxed mother who can still wound at thirty feet with just a look.
Stirring constantly, thrust a fledgling business into the mix. Add one murder, a couple of suspects, a lot of food and one dreamy detective. Bring to a slow simmer over low heat and then gently fold in one disastrous bat mitzvah. Turn up the flame slightly and add in a mafia don who is a little too interested in our crazed housewife. Sprinkle generously with secret ingredients.
Throw in a touch of danger and cook to perfection. Serve to anyone needing a good laugh.

A Complete List of Novels Available byStephanie Mittman

*Bridge to Yesterday* Harper Monogram 6/95 ISBN 0-06-108-364-X	*A Taste of Honey* Harper Monogram 11/95 ISBN 0-06-108394-1	*The Marriage Bed* Dell 5/96 ISBN 0-440-22182-X
*A Christmas Miracle* Dell 11/96 ISBN 0-440-22290-7	*Sweeter Than Wine* Dell 3/97 ISBN 0-440-22180-X	*Outlaw Love* Dell 9/97 ISBN 0-440-22280-X
*The Courtship* Dell 1/98	A Kiss To Dream On Dell 1999	Head Over Heels Dell 1999

A Heart Full of Miracles
Dell 9/00

Last year I, Teddi Bayer Gallo, nearly killed my husband. This year he's nearly my ex. Last year money grew on trees. This year if my three delicious children and I don't eat, my new interior decorating business might survive. Last year I'd never seen a dead person up close. But this year I've just discovered one. And it's my first paying client….

Can things get worse? Well, the police could suspect my partner, Bobbie, and me of doing the woman in. Then there's my mother, June, who even through all her newly acquired plastic surgery can still give me "the look." And I could fall for sexy detective Drew Scoones, who has fingered Bobbie as his prime suspect.

I mean, really, can you say no to the police?

Let me tell you a story, about a girl on Long Island, who always tried to play life by “the rules”—as outlined in the Secret Handbook of Long Island Rules...

That girl, uh, woman, is me, Teddi Gallo. I’m the mother of three kids under the age of eleven, best friend to Bobbie (who denies there’s any such thing as a secret handbook, but who knows all the moves by heart), and the daughter of June (who has inside info on the rules, but also has a reserved room at South Winds Psychiatric Hospital, as well).

And if I don’t have enough to send me over the edge, my too-handsome-for- his-own- good husband seems determined to drive me crazy. But why?

This is the tale of how I had to re-write that old, dusty handbook—and while doing so, I suddenly discovered the secret to happiness was living by your own rules. And that has made everything different.

4.5/5 - a little bit of a slow start, but once it got going . . . woohoo! Hold on for the ride.

I truly adore Stevi's writing. While it's classified as romance, a lot happens in her books and the focus is never on just the males swirling around her. Instead, you get to see a woman who has a lot to deal with and often makes a fool of herself but who triumphs in the end. Teddi Bayer is a character I love. And, I think I mentioned this earlier in the week, but I'll repeat that I think one of Stevi Mittman's strengths is her consistency. Like the better-known Janet Evanovich, when you pick up a Mittman book or story, you know just what you're getting into.

Whose Number is Up, Anyway? was the perfect antidote to the downers I've recently read and it's an excellent summer read - nice and light. . . .
*UPDATE* - I neglected to say that I thought the ending was wonderful and it had me yearning to rush out and buy the next in the series (which, of course, will not be available for quite some time). The next title is "Who Creamed Peaches, Anyway?" and it has a general 2008 release date. I should also mention that Teddi does change and grow throughout the series. I love Stephanie Plum and her wacky family, but she doesn't really alter much from one novel to the next. Teddi does; and, in that way, I think she's actually a much better character. Don't tell Ms. Evanovich I said that.
Bookfoolery blogspot--for entire review go to: http://bookfoolery.blogspot.com/2007_06_01_archive.html