Playing James

Starred review from April 1, 2004
Holly Colshannon, the new crime reporter for the Bristol Gazette, has been assigned to shadow Detective James Sabine, who's less than thrilled to have the klutzy journalist tagging along. To make matters worse, Holly's editor has given her a special six-week column, complete with photos, that acts as a diary of her experiences. Now, as James tries to solve a series of burglaries, he has to deal with Holly, who's so accident-prone she's on a first-name basis with everyone in Casualty (the emergency room). He also must contend with a flamboyant photographer and the constant teasing of his colleagues at the station. James is ready to call it quits, but Holly's column about their adventures is growing in popularity. Then there's the little problem that, despite being engaged, James is beginning to like the spunky reporter. Readers who enjoy such hilarious romps as Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, Connie Lane's Guilty Little Secrets, and Harley Jane Kozak's Dating Dead Men will be delighted by the escapades of Holly and James. This book, which won the Parker Romantic Novel of the Year award in England, is a most impressive debut novel. Highly recommended for public library fiction collections of all sizes.-Shelley Mosley, Glendale Community Coll. Lib. Media Ctr., AZ

Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2004
Holly Colshannon has led an unconventional life from her hectic childhood in Cornwall to her present job as a reporter for the " Bristol Gazette." After writing about pet funerals, Holly gets a promotion, kind of, to crime reporter, the job no one wants. On the first day of her new assignment she's handed the opportunity of a lifetime when she's assigned to detective sergeant James Sabine. The only fly in the ointment is that James hates reporters, and his disdain for Holly is evident. But he ends up playing the straight man in Holly's comic world. James is very serious, and Holly is a disaster waiting to happen, constantly having pratfalls that make her a regular at the local emergency room. Despite James' being engaged and Holly's having a very desirable boyfriend, she seems to be falling for him, but how does our hero feel about Holly? This is a wonderfully entertaining English export that will have the reader rooting for Holly and rolling on the floor laughing." "(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)