match.com + CSI = true love

I feel like I’ve read Rachel Gibson before, but when I looked through her author page, all of the books looked both similar and complete foreign at the same time. I’m sure I’ve read something; I just can’t remember it right now. (Update: I found it. After reading the review, I can say that I have absolutely no memory of reading it.)

Lucy Rothschild is a mystery novelist who is researching for her next novel. Quinn McIntyre is a local homicide detective with a potential female serial killer on the loose. Lucy goes undercover to some online dating sites, looking for the next victim for her book, and Quinn is also undercover online, searching out his murderer. So when “nurse” Lucy and “plumber” Quinn meet, neither of them knows the true story, but they both know the other is lying. Of course, Lucy fits the profile, so Quinn starts digging a bit, but then Lucy acquires a stalker of her own, and Quinn realizes that not only is Lucy not the killer, she’s also in danger. Hijnks ensue, scary things happen, Lucy has lots of margaritas with her three author friends (perhaps a set up for three more books?), and finally she and Quinn pull their heads out of their rear ends and realize they belong together.

This was an enjoyable read on a rainy Saturday. It’s not great literature, but it’s okay, and the characters were pretty likable. And Lucy has some good points about internet dating; specifically the aging, balding, overweight, unemployed men who are only looking for women who are under 27 with the “sorry, no fatties!” added to the end of their profile. And I’m not saying that aging, balding, overweight, unemployed men can’t achieve that goal of dating the perfectly young, perfectly healthy, perfectly proportioned beautiful woman, but generally, they need to bring lots of “roses” to that date. Lots and lots.

My favorite part of the whole book, though, is this snippet that I found when I went to Amazon to pull the link for the review: Rachel’s storytelling career began at the age of sixteen when she ran her Chevy Vega into the side of a hill, retrieved the bumper and broken glass from the ground, and drove to her high school parking lot. With the help of her friend, she strategically scattered the broken pieces and told her parents she’d been the victim of a hit and run. They believed her, and she’s been telling stories ever since.

I kind of want to be friends with her now.

More reviews found here.