I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
For Richer, For Danger
by
Lisa Bork
cozy mystery in Paperback edition that was published by Midnight Ink on September 8, 2010 and has 277 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include For Better, For Murder, In Sickness and in Death, To Love and to Perish
Second in the Broken Vows mystery series set in Wachobe in the Finger Lakes area of upper state New York and revolving around Jolene Asdale…um…Parker. Dang, Jo just keeps forgetting she’s back with Ray.
My Take
I do like this series in spite of and because of Jo. She makes me nuts with her lying and lack of thought or trust. I think she’s whacked to trust Erica with Noelle especially when she’s going against Ray and she supposedly wants to keep her marriage intact! I just know what Jo would think if Ray got somebody to babysit whom she didn’t think was acceptable! Heck, look how Jo reacts when one of the policemen’s wives does babysit Noelle and Jo finds out she’s a sharpshooter! Talk about a positive when there’s a threat against the baby!! Yet, I can also understand her support for Erica. She is her sister and I suspect I’d be doing the same thing…lord knows my sisters do it for me!
And there is lotsa lyin’ goin’ on in this story. Lying to avoid, lying to protect, lying to get answers, lying for expediency.
It’s a homey series with its characters experiencing the real life of struggles and friendships and love and fear. I can’t help but empathize with the characters, okay, okay, some more than others, but I do want to know more just as I keep my fingers crossed for them.
The Quibbles:
Jo is certainly a hypocrite. She gets pissy because Ray doesn’t practice full disclosure with her. Yup. Uh-huh. Because Jo is such a model of trust and honesty with him…uh-huh…
I sure do hope Jo plans to get the school to reimburse her for that window!
In spite of the difficulties that Erica’s bipolar disorder causes and my whinging, I do like Erica’s character. You can always count on her for comic relief or, at least, a car crash. I also suspect that Bork is setting the scene for later in the series that Erica really is getting her act together.
I can understand Jo’s concerns about Catherine but if she is going to be so prideful about being an investigator, she’s gonna have to become much more observant. She also needs to learn something about discretion and tact or she won’t have any customers left. And then, gee, why is it such a big surprise to Jo that she should have worn sneakers instead of heels when she has to chase a couple whom she already suspected wouldn’t want to talk to her?
I’m curious as to what happens with Jo and Ray, if there is going to be a sperm donor, what I hope is the truth about Mark Wynn, and if what I suspect about Erica is true in the next in the series, In Sickness and In Death.
The Story
Jo and Ray are back together with baby Noelle but there’s a hiccup—Abigail Bryce is not who she says she is and the adoption can’t go through until they find the real mother when it becomes a case of murder.
The Characters
Jolene Asdale Parker sells high-end luxury autos in Wachobe in upper state New York. She also seems to fancy herself as a detective. She and her county deputy sheriff husband, Ray Parker, have recently gotten back together and are trying to adopt a little girl, Noelle, whom they “found” in For Better, For Murder, 1. Cory Kempe is Jo’s best friend and the mechanic at her repair shop while Mark Wynn is the man he’s thinking of as a long-term relationship. Isabelle is Jo’s best female friend. Erica is Jo’s bipolar sister who has just gotten rejected by the nuthouse. Seems they didn’t appreciate being her revolving door. Sam Greene is the fellow sociopath inmate with whom Erica has an on-again, off-again relationship.
Theo Tibble and Abigail Bryce, Noelle’s mother, have some unsavory ideas of how to earn money. A career path he is not long to pursue while Abigail is about to have some major issues herself. Dave and Mira Barclay have made their fortune in selling Mennonite quilts and furniture acquiring some amazing cars and race horses along the way. Seems they’re using both the car idea and the horses in some unorthodox ways. William Bryce is the real Abigail’s father and it seems he’s been a very busy boy.
Greg Doran is Jo’s attorney and helping her in this story with Noelle’s adoption. Catherine Thomas is an attorney whom Ray was dating for a year and now he’s gotten her to take on Noelle’s mother’s case pro bono. She’s also turning to Ray for comfort…and something more…a bit too frequently. Brennan Rowe is a hunk of a contractor who has done quite well for himself. Well enough that he has a nice garage full of even nicer cars which, so far, he brings in to Jo’s auto shop for maintenance. Yeah, well, we can only expect the guy to have so much patience when Jo keeps jumping all over him with her accusations.
The Cover and Title
The cover is all wrapped up in blue-on-blue pinstriped gift wrap with a pale blue ribbon with a snapshot montage incorporating a pillow with two golden rings, a sliced-up teddy bear, and the incriminating butcher knife stabbed into the blankets. My guess on the title is having baby Noelle in the Parkers’ lives is definitely For Richer and a deterrent to the birth mother For Danger.
