"Terrific private investigative tale"
Greek-American Sofie "Sof" Metropolis has always been a
well behaved respectful daughter. That is until moments
before her marriage ceremony when she sees her
groom "schtupping" the maid of honor. Sof dumps the
womanizing former fiancé, keeps the presents, quits her
waitress job at her family's restaurant, and joins Uncle
Spyros' detective agency. Sof expects glamour, but finds boredom and being on call
24/7 the norm. Her neighbor the forgetful Mrs. Kapoor
demands Sof find her missing Muffy, an evil canine who the
unlicensed sleuth (blame that on New York State's stupid
law) believes should stay lost. Sof also must prove that
Mr. Romanoff still lives instead of being spiked in the
heart as one would do to kill a vampire. Then there is
her paying client, Bud Suleski, who wants her to obtain
evidence that his wife is cheating on him. While juggling
her cases, the FBI seeks her and Jake Porter, who does not
exist in any database. Jake keeps helping her out of
trouble at timely moments as if he is her personal Aussie
angel though she wants a lot more with the attractive hero. This terrific private investigative tale reads more like a
chick lit amateur sleuth novel as Sofie is a rookie
learning on the job. The story line focuses on her
lighthearted cases with a hint of romance between the
heroine and Jake. Tori Carrington writes a fun breezy
detective tale starring a likable protagonist who brings
alive the mean street of Queens, New York. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted May 27, 2005
SummaryOn her wedding day, right before the ceremony, right there
in the Greek Orthodox church, Sofie Metropolis discovered
her groom and her maid of honor in each other's arms.
Sofie took this as a sign, and since then, she's been
doing her best to confound her own, and her family's,
expectations.
First, she is no longer waiting tables at either her
father's or her grandfather's dueling Greek restaurants in
Astoria, Queens. Second, she kept the engagement ring (the
garbage disposal choked on it) and all the wedding
presents, including the small apartment building that was
a gift from her parents. It's not easy to collect rent
from an eccentric group of tenants that includes a trio of
lackadaisical business school students and a nice little
old Jewish lady who plies Sofie with ethnic delicacies,
but at least Sofie has a roof over her head. And her ex-
fiance's recliner in the living room.
Sofie also has a new career, thanks to uncle Spyros's
detective agency. Okay, so far, the cases haven't been all
that exciting-mostly, Sofie's been tracking down lost pets
and cheating spouses-but at least she's in control of her
life. And even Sam Spade had to start somewhere.
Then Sofie's mother's best friend, Mrs. Kapoor, who
seems to dose everything, even tea, with curry, reports
that her dog has been stolen. Sofie must drop everything
to search for the meanest mutt on the face of the
earth . . . .
The agency's usually unflappable office manager comes
to Sofie in terror because the neighborhood "vampire" has
disappeared, replaced by his even creepier nephew . . . .
Tailing a wayward wife, Sofie is caught in a shoot-out
and is rescued by Australian man-of-mystery Jake Porter,
who might be a bounty hunter and who definitely gets
Sofie's engine started . . . .
And what is Jake Porter doing in the middle of Sofie's
adultery case anyway, and why is the cheating wife now on
the run?
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