SOUTHERN FATALITY by T Lynn Ocean
It is always nice to read a novel by an author who seems totally into her subject matter. Such is the case of T Lynn Ocean and her latest novel SOUTHERN FATALITY. This is a "Jersey Barnes Mystery" and Ms. Barnes is a private investigator. The book is so enthusiastic in its descriptions and adventures that you get the impression Ms. Ocean would like to be "Jersey Barnes." This is a classic case of an alter ego living the wished for life.
Jersey Barnes makes her home in Wilmington, North Carolina. It is there where the Barnes Agency is located along with her bar/restaurant "The Block." Jersey has a couple of female associates who man the Agency and the Block is co-owned and operated by her high school friend Ox. Then there is her dad Spud who is more trouble than any parent should be, and her boyfriend Bill who is more a boytoy than serious romance. He keeps talking marriage and she keeps putting him off.
As the book opens Jersey is seriously talking about retirement. She wants to have long glorious days on her boat, and to live the easy life that she has earned. Since she is still young she wants to consider marriage and kids - maybe. But then her boyfriend Bill asks her to help out a friend and she agrees.
Lolly, Bill's friend, is married to wealthy Sam Chesterfield. Lolly thinks he is cheating on her and Jersey agrees to check him out. This "gratis" investigation leads her to the discovery of far greater crimes including murder and kidnapping. Jersey must use all of her skills and the assistance of her entire crew to bring the bad guys to justice.
T Lynn Ocean writes with total assuredness about her characters and their involving ways. The mysteries in the book are not nearly as much fun to read about as the people who are making them happen. This is a character driven book and usually those are the best kind.
Jersey is such a distinct character and full of so much fun and adventure that it would be easy to see her stories become the basis for a TV series. She is smart, sexy and full of sass. Plus all the people in her life would add to the flavor of such a show. But until that happens we will just have to satisfy ourselves with future books about the adventures of Jersey Barnes.
So for now grab a copy of SOUTHERN FATALITY and get to know Jersey and her cohorts. She is a woman of many talents and many friends and reading about her and them makes for solid entertainment in the literary field.
SOUTHERN FATALITY is published by Thomas Dunne Books. It contains 278 pages and sells for $23.95.