FLAMINGO FATALE by Jimmie Ruth Evans

SERIES/SLEUTH: Trailer Park Mystery/Wanda Nell Culpepper
# IN SERIES: 1 (out of 4)
AUTHOR WEBSITE: http://www.jimmieruthevans.com/
GENRE: Cozy/Amatuer Sleuth
PUBLISHER: Berkley Prime Crime (paperback)


Welcome to the world of Wanda Nell Culpepper, and single mother who works two jobs, lives in a double-wide, and has a heart of gold. She has one grown son who is off doing goodness knows what, two daughters, one grandson, two jobs (the local diner and Budget Mart), a gun-toting best-friend, and an ex-husband who ends up dead -- with one of Wanda's pink flamingos piercing his heart. Could it get any worse? Definitely. The local cop, a friend of Wanda's ex, would like nothing better than to pin the murder on Wanda. Desparate times call for desparate measures, and Wanda kicks into gear -- handling her needy family, her jobs, and a murder investigation with her humor intact, and a possible new boyfriend in her younger daughter's teacher.

The mystery itself wasn't hard to figure out, but you don't read some mystery series -- including this one -- for the mystery alone. The characters are the key, and Jimmie Ruth Evans (who is really fabulous mystery author and expert Dean James, author of the wonderful Simon Kirby-Jones mystery series for Kensington) (and by the way, will there be any more in that series??), is a master at creating characters that are easy to love and cheer on. Best friend Mayrene, who is always handy with her shotgun, is as fun to love as Fayetta, a rival waitress at the diner, is fun to dislike.

The Trailer Park mystery series is off to a great start in this first book in the series. I had bought book one a couple years back and for some reason it has set on my shelf all this time waiting for me to read it. Sometimes I will wait until two or three or four books come out in the series before starting, so I can devour them all in a short period of time. This series is already up to four, and I look forward to reading the next three and get current. From someone who has a lot of relatives who live in trailer homes, I could really see and feel this series -- and the subsequent books have moved up on my "to read" pile. Let Wanda Nell Culpepper and her wacky family and friends into your life -- you won't be sorry.