Agnes and the Hit Man

I have SO lost track of what I have been reading. I haven't posted since August and yet I am NEVER without at least 2-3 books going. I have been doing a lot of review books for Library Journal Express Reviews and for the Children's Literature Database, but I'm sure I've been doing some personal reading in there somewhere. I listen to books on CD going and coming from work and those rarely find their way into the blog. Anyway, things have been stressful at home recently with health and other issues so when I finished my last batch of books for CLCD I dove into pure escapist fare. Agnes and the Hit Man, by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer, is a bit like Stephanie Plum meets Goldie Schwartz (or Janet Evanovich meets Diane Mott Davidson if you want author names).  Agnes is a bit of an entrepreneur, currently partnered with and afianced to Taylor, a man who turns out to be (a) already  married, (b) trying to steal her house and business, and (c) murdered with a meat fork. Agnes, who writes the food column "Cranky Agnes" does have some issues with anger management, but who wouldn't in her situation. Agnes was essentially an orphan growing up until she met Lisa Livia at boarding school and was unofficially adopted into her home for holidays and summers. She seems to attract lying cheating men, Taylor being just the latest. She has moved back to this somewhat idyllic spot on the Blood River in S. Carolina and bought the house of her childhood summers from Lisa Livia's mother, Brenda. Oh, but wait a minute, Brenda is the one who married Taylor and is trying to ruin her granddaughter's wedding, upon which Agnes' keeping the house depends. If you think that's complicated, it's only just the start. A pseudo-uncle, Joey, is concerned about Agnes' safety and has called his pseudo-nephew, Shane, to come back and protect Agnes. Shane kills people for a living. He works for the U.S. government. He's very good at his job, and it's a good thing, because a string of unsavory characters show up trying to kill Agnes or kidnap her bloodhound Rhett--she's not exactly sure which. Predictably, Agnes and Shane get involved. Unpredictably, we find out lots of family secrets about Shane and who he really is. This is a fun read, highly recommended for anyone wanting to get away from it all. Great characters!