I want to be best friends with Terry Faye, the heroine of
TRASH COURSE by Penny Drake. I want to drink coffee and eat
cheesecake with her as she tells me about her latest case.
I want her to teach me martial arts so I can sneak my way
into her investigation. Terry is a little snarky, a lot
smart, and seriously kickass. What more do you need in a
friend and heroine?
To be honest, I want to hang out with her and all her
friends. There is Diana Hawk, the omnipotent and mysterious
owner of Hawk Enterprises, and Terry's employer. Slava, her
quirky Ukranian best friend, is a college professor who
would rather be investigating than teaching. Zack Archer,
charming photo-journalist and potential love interest,
raises suspicion when he works his way into their current
case. Hawk Enterprises has been hired to determine the
whereabouts of the old Peale brothers, eccentric hoarders
who haven't been heard from in several months. Their first
task is to navigate a booby-trapped house filled to the
rafters with apparent junk. When two bodies are found, they
are tasked with finding the brothers' wills, an
investigation that unearths a decades old family mystery.
TRASH COURSE, written in first person from Terry's point of
view, reads like a tale being told by a good friend (with a
really cool life!). The storytelling is fairly
straightforward with lots of dialogue, a style which I
prefer. Drake effectively builds suspense with the simplest
of actions. The attempts to navigate through the Peale's
home evoked the same feelings I get from a haunted house,
fear and anticipation of what might be around the corner.
I really liked that Terry made smart and logical choices,
not foolishly putting herself in danger. The only element of
the story I found lacking was the romance. There was no
romantic tension, which is surprising given Zack and Terry's
personal histories. I found it hard to believe Terry would
trust Zack so easily. The same action and suspense evident
in their efforts to find the truth, should have been evident
in their journey to love and trust each other.
TRASH COURSE is an engaging and action-packed PI-type
adventure that I highly recommend. I hope this is the start
of a series featuring these appealing characters. I would
be seriously disappointed if I did not have more
opportunities to get to know them and unravel their secrets.
© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy