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Monday, June 6, 2011

Me, Myself and Why? A Modern Threesome by MaryJanice Davidson

Book Description:
 

From New York Times bestselling author MaryJanice Davidson comes an outrageously funny novel about a highly unconventional FBI agent, a rather odd serial killer, a best friend on the edge, a gorgeous baker. . . and oh, yeah, love.
      Sweet and innocent with a twist of girl-next-door, Cadence Jones is not your typical girl and certainly not your typical FBI agent. Just ask her sisters, Shiro and Adrienne. (Wait. . . best if you don’t ask Adrienne anything.) But it’s her special “talent” which makes Cadence so valuable to the FBI and it never comes in more handy than when she and her partner, George, get tagged to bring down the Threefer Killer. A serial killer who inexplicably likes to kill in threes, leave behind inexplicable newspaper clippings, and not one shred of decent forensic evidence, soon starts leaving messages that seem to be just for Cadence and her sisters. Could it be that this killer knows all about Cadence’s special “talent”?
      In the meantime, love blooms in the most unexpected place when Cadence meets her best friend’s gorgeous brother who is in town visiting—and she discovers that he knows her secret too! When attraction burns hot between them, her best friend isn’t thrilled with the romantic development and this time Cadence just might agree!
      Suddenly Cadence finds her unbalanced life turned even more upside down as she tries to date a baker who wants to get in her heart and in her bed, dodge a pesky psychiatrist, keep a leash on her sociopath partner, while trying to catch a serial killer who’s now fixated on her.
      Some days it’s not even worth getting up in the morning.


Review:
     From MaryJanice Davidson's fertile and wacky imagination comes FBI Agent Cadence Jones, a woman with Multiple Personality Disorder.  She is an agent in a secret branch of the FBI, comprised entirely of agents suffering from various mental illnesses and disorders.  The theory is that it takes crazy to catch crazy.  Her partner is a sociopath, her boss like knives a little too much, and the admin assistant is a scarily efficient agoraphobic girl.  Cadence is the best agent in the branch, and she and her two "sisters" are a well-rounded investigative team all by themselves.
     Fans of Davidson's Betsy the Vampire Queen series, hoping for a light, paranormal romantic read in that vein, will be surprised.  This is a wholly original premise, with nary a paranormal creature in sight, just plenty of humans with their own foibles and tics.  The romance is there, but plays second fiddle to the hunt for the serial killer.  Cadence's potential new boyfriend happens to be her best friend's brother.  He's well aware of her diagnosis, but views it as an exciting plus in their dating life.  And even better, all three Jones girls like him.
     The story is outlandish and offbeat, and loaded with Davidson's trademark dry humor and nutty observations.  It is written in first person narrative, switching frequently between all three sisters.  Ordinarily this could be quite confusing, but each sister has such a distinctive voice the reader can easily follow.  And each personality switch is marked by a chapter break as well.
    A story dealing with mentally ill characters could have easily been insulting, but the characters in this book are all open and upfront about their issues.  They are what they are, and they have learned to use their "quirks" to the FBI's advantage, giving them useful and productive roles in society.  There is no preaching, and no goody-two shoes pontificating about their diagnoses. There ARE a lot of funny, work-place related descriptions, as the agents have to get along with each other.  If you thought the guy in the next cubicle was a PITA, try dealing with a sociopath, a kleptomaniac, and an OCD knife-weilding boss.
     I really enjoyed this book - it was fresh, funny and fast.  And it's on sale at Amazon right now - how can you go wrong for $3?  The second book in this series will be published in 2012.


   

4 comments:

  1. You can't go wrong with MaryJanice - I really enjoyed the first Betsy book and am looking forward to read the rest sometime. And now this is going to that TBR list as well! Thanks!

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  2. Hi Nikola - I love the Betsy books, too! I still need to read the latest in that series. In case you need more books for your TBR pile (haha!) MaryJanice also writes the Wyndham Werewolf books, which are a lot of fun.

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  3. Thanks for the follow! I am following back!

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