Snoops in the City by Darlene Gardner

A Novel with Thoughts and Ponderings

SNOOPS IN THE CITY

Author: Darlene Gardner ISBN: 0505525860 7/2004 CONTEMPORARY Publisher: Love Spell

Tori Whitley was possibly the world's worst snoop. Who else would fall for the man she was investigating? As a favor to her private-detective cousin, she agreed to tail Seahaven businessman Grady Palmer. How hard could it be—especially following a man with such a cute rear end? But checking out Grady proved easy on the eyes and hard on her heart. He was packing charm, intelligence, and too many secrets. Tori had no choice but to discover the truth—by going undercover instead of going under the covers. And all the clues led to one conclusion: To be a successful private eye, sometimes you had to follow your instincts . . . and hope you bagged the man of your dreams.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Despite a sometimes unbelievable storyline and too much clutter (as in too many characters), I found myself enjoying snoops in the city. Boasting a cast of slightly zany characters, this story is what I call a 'cozy read' - lighthearted and, for the most part, fun.

snoops in the city worked for me, mainly, because I liked the heroine, Tori Whitley. In today's romance landscape where older, more sophicated, more self-assured heroines seem to abound, Tori was like a breath of fresh air. In the shadow of her two older, highly successful siblings, Tori is still struggling to find her niche in the world. She's bombed at all her attempts to find her 'perfect job', but she's not down and out - yet.

Ms. Gardner, I think, did a marvelous job with Tori's character, mainly by not crossing that fine line towards stupid. As in Too Stupid To Live. Tori is anything but dumb. Good-natured and intelligent, Tori is willing to try just about anything to find her 'perfect job'. I found her character endearing.

The chemistry between this heroine and her hero, Grady Palmer, is another element I liked about this story. These two likeable characters are almost immediately attracted to each other, but intelligent enough to explore feelings before jumping each other's bones.

I did not like the secondary romance between Grady's sex kitten younger sister and the nerdy city official. I never warmed to either Loreli or Wade. Furthermore, Wade's bratty twin daughters grated on my nerves. This romance, to my way of thinking, really didn't add anything to the story. It did distract from the story, however, by cutting in to time better spent focusing on the primary romance, on the investigation into corrupt city officals and on a really interesting character, Grady's grandmother.

All in all, though, snoops in the city was an enjoyable read. Ms. Gardner's efforts paid off in a light, breezy and fun story.

Debbie Jett

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