"Ton of fun in this amateur sleuth mystery"
She's a full figured woman who is comfortable in her own
skin, not caring that many people are prejudiced about her
size. She works for Mrs. Madrone, a very wealthy woman who
lives in San Francisco and gives away sizable sums to
charities and organizations that apply to her foundation
for a grant. Josephine Fuller, Jo to her friends, is the
person who investigates the requesting organization and
then reports her findings to Mrs. Madrone. Jo's latest assignment is the Friend in Need Centers, an
organization that councils pregnant women but in reality is
a front for the pro-life radicals. At the same time she's
performing her duties, she is looking for evidence for
clearing her friend Thelma of a murder charge. Somebody
doesn't like what Jo is doing because she is shot at twice
and comes dangerously close to dying a third time. The protagonist of this novel is a very likable woman who
gains reader empathy but not their sympathy because she
doesn't need it. She believes she's attractive and
appealing and the audience accepts her on her own terms.
The story line is fast paced and the reader never knows who
the killer is until the author reveals it in an exciting
and believable climax. A TON OF TROUBLE is a ton of fun in
this amateur sleuth mystery. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted June 15, 2002
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Set in the beautiful wine country of Napa Valley, A TON OF
TROUBLE once again has plus-sized sleuth Jospehine Fuller
caught in the middle of a gruesome murder. When she
receives a note from Wolf Lambert, the director of X rated
films starring XXL women, Josephine decides to stop and
visit him at his winery. Her spur of the moment impulse,
however, leads her right into the middle of a murder
investigation when a body is found in one of Wolf's wine
barrels and her friend Thelma, a supersized porn queen, is
one of the leading suspects.
Her investigation, however, has to take a backseat to her
day job - looking into a women's clinic to see if it is a
worthy cause for her wealthy boss to support. Josephine
soon discovers that this women's clinic is a cover-up for
extreme anti-abortionists. Unfortunately, it's headed up by
a gun-toting, self-righteous, religious woman who has taken
an instant dislike to Josephine. Soon Josephine is balancing her time between digging up the
secrets of one of the most powerful wine families in the
valley and uncovering what exactly is happening behind the
closed doors of the clinic. As if that weren't enough, her
on-again, off-again relationship with Mulligan seems to
have turned back on. If only she can convince him that her
involvement with the porn industry is a purely professional
interest. Filled with Josephine's common sense approach to life and
her ever-present sparkling wit, A TON OF TROUBLE is a fast,
fun, entertaining read.
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