Review by Booklist Review
After Nora Best's debut memoir about married sex made a moderate ripple in the publishing industry, she excitedly plans her next project: chronicling a year of simple joys traveling in an Airstream with her husband, Joe. That is, until she catches Joe and her best friend having an intimate farewell. Nora peels off in the Airstream, finally pulling into a campground in the Wyoming wilderness when she's too beat to drive. It's an exciting time in the middle of nowhere: the "Lot Lizard" killer has recently struck at a nearby truck stop, and a boundary-flouting bear is menacing the campground. Nonetheless, enthusiastically embraced by the campground's host couple, Miranda and Brad, Nora starts to believe she's stumbled on a viable plan B. But, after Brad disappears, plan B implodes: Nora becomes a suspect after a police dog somehow discovers Brad's T-shirt in her bed; Joe turns up, pressuring her to reconcile; and she's menaced by a faceless stranger. A suspenseful romp with a relatable narrator, a skillfully shrouded mystery, and a satisfying romance.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Writer Nora Best, the heroine of this engrossing series launch from Florio (the Lola Wicks mysteries), and her husband, Joe Crane, have sold their house in Denver, purchased an Airstream travel trailer (which Nora nicknamed Electra), and planned an extensive trip, which will be the subject of her next book. Then, during the bon voyage party, Nora catches Joe having sex with her best friend. Nora grabs the keys to Electra and takes off, driving until she reaches a campground in Wyoming, where she's befriended by the campground's hosts, Miranda and Brad. The next day, Nora awakens to find Brad has disappeared. This is just the start of her troubles. An unknown man abducts Nora from the campsite at gunpoint, and throws her down a steep slope and leaves to die. Later, she's arrested for murder, Electra is stolen, and she has an encounter with a dangerous bear. Florio keeps the twists and turns coming as Nora gains confidence and independence. Fans of strong female leads will look forward to seeing more of plucky Nora. (Feb.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Nora Best and her husband, Joe, planned to travel the country with a truck pulling an Airstream while she wrote a book about their adventures. At their going-away party she discovers Joe having sex with her best friend. Furious, Nora posts the video for all her guests to see, then pulls out with the trailer. She drives from Colorado to a Wyoming campground, where the hosts, Miranda and Brad, seem welcoming--until a screaming Miranda wakes her up saying Brad went out during the night, and he was probably eaten by a bear. The sheriff doesn't believe that, and he suspects the newcomer, Nora. Despite her protests, she's arrested. With her mug shot plastered all over the internet, Joe tracks her down. Now that she's had a taste of freedom, Nora is unwilling to handle Joe's issues. She has her own worries. What really happened to Brad? Who stole her Airstream when she wasn't looking? Who is making Nora the patsy in an evil game? VERDICT The first in a new series, told from the viewpoint of a woman over 50, on her own for the first time, introduces a complex story. Florio's ("Lola Wick" series) suspenseful mystery will have readers rooting for amateur sleuth Nora.--Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Florio kicks off a new series starring a Denver woman whose life is in shambles. After her husband, Joe, convinced her to start a new chapter in their lives, 50-year-old Nora Best planned to write a book about their carefully plotted trip in an Airstream trailer. But when she catches Joe having sex with his best friend's wife during their bon voyage party, Nora takes off alone with the rig even though she'd never driven it before. She stops at a National Forest campground near Blackbird, Wyoming, where attractive campground hosts Miranda and Brad greet her warmly and invite her for dinner. The next morning Miranda awakens Nora with the news that Brad got up during the night and may have been taken by a bear. Sheriff Duncan is hostile and suspicious of Nora; park ranger Caleb Dexter is more concerned about the bear. Although Joe shows up wanting her back, he'll have to wait in line, because she's arrested after Brad's shirt is found in her camper. Out on bail, she's attacked in the night by a man who slashes her, strips her, rubs her with bacon grease and pushes her off a cliff. Climbing back onto the trail, she's rescued by Forever, a hiker she met at the campground who carries all her earthly possessions in her backpack. Since the sheriff is still convinced Nora killed Brad, only her poor physical condition keeps her out of jail. In a world in which nothing is what it seems, Caleb's the only person she can trust. Baffling circumstances combine with life-changing adventures in this breathtaking page-turner. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
