Review Summaries

• It is received as a sharp debut that links the heroine's momentum to the town's class tensions. More than the mechanics of the mystery, the heroine's strong personality and satirical voice leave the lasting impression.

• The book is valued for its exaggerated heroine and noisy but buoyant plotting. Its rough-edged humor may divide taste, but that same energy is also seen as part of its appeal.

Reviews

• Five Stars

  great series book

• Cute and fun read

  I don't know what I expected, but I got far more. Loved the characters and the twists. I might even have to read it again, and again. And here's to a hairdresser who is possibly named after her father's favorite stripper, called bubbles.

• Fun to listen to!

  This takes place in what Sarah calls Lehigh Pennsylvania...however, being from the town of Bethlehem....PA I recognized the street, West Goepp....Lehigh Valley references and since I used the audio version, the accents that were used. However some of the pronunciations varied. "Saucon" was not the way we said it... But all in all, it was a trip down memory lane...Imagine Two Guys Community College! So funny! Bubbles is great.

• Fun summer read

  Strohmeyer is of the Evanovich school as she writes a quirky, gung-ho beautician/reporter-wannabe who finds herself involved in mysteries. "Bubbles Unbound" may be the first book in the series, as it gives a solid introduction to everyone, including the beauty shop, Two Guys College, and Stiletto. There are a few laugh-out-loud moments. There's also a nice little mystery here. Because I read "Bubbles Ablaze" first, I knew that two red herrings were actually good guys, and I also learned the ultimate fate of the perps there. I can't really recommend "Bubbles Ablaze" because it was so strung-out and unfocused, but that problem is not present in "Bubbles Unbound." Instead we get a stream of colorful characters and a mystery that won't leave you depressed. One of the minuses from a reader's point of view is that Strohmeyer inserts "beauty recipes" at the end of a few chapters, much as some romance writers print recipes there for reasons I have yet to figure out. There aren't many and by golly, I'm going to take notes on some, but they do interfere with the reading. For instance, a color rinse concoction has to be preceded by someone using it in the text. (But it sounds like it'll cover up my gray hairs well.) One of the things I hope the author plays with is that Bubbles, while she never paid attention to much of her schooling besides journalism, has had an extensive and far-reaching (sometimes obscure) education, thanks to her ex-husband being forced by the courts to pay for it. She does take advantage of that in one (two?) place(s) here but I'd like to see more. It's a really fun concept, especially for the sometimes-ignorant Bubbles! A co-worker recommended this series to me because it's one of her favorites. I can certainly see where a vacation could only be improved by packing this book instead of some dreary, too-serious murder mystery.

• Wonderful start to a great series

  Wonderful start to a great series. The characters are all crazy characters, but real individuals at the same time. The story went a bit over the top a few times, but the author knows how to play it for laughs and still keep the story on track. Very fun read!

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