Customer Reviews

Dirty Laundry: A Sofie Metropolis Novel (Sofie Metropolis Novels)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This sequel to Sophie Metropolis is a vast improvement on the original (which had good writing but loose plot development). The authors have retained and refined their witty writing, the plot is cohesive, and the characters are just as interesting as they were in the first novel. My only disappointment with this book is that the unresolved plot lines from the first novel remain unresolved.

Fledgling PI Sophie seems more adept at finding lost animals than she does at solving mysteries, but she is improving. I especially enjoyed her relationship with Muffy the Mutt, and once again, the descriptions of the Greek community are dead on.

This book was a joy to read!

Astoria, Queens, New York

Sofie Metropolis PI is back! She's taken on the case of a disappearing family friend, affectionately known as Uncle Tolly, who may have been executed by the Mafia. Of course, the Mafia prefers that Sofie not poke her nose where it's not wanted. Meanwhile, she's also assigned the jobs of finding Fred the missing ferret and trying to serve papers on a guy who slippery. On a personal note, Sofie's mother asks her to investigate whether Sofie's dad is having an affair. And when Sofie goes snooping to check it out, imagine her surprise when it appears to be true!

Poor Sofie Metropolis. She's being pulled in different directions but she has some helpful assistance from the mysterious Jake Porter. He always seems to be there just when Sofie needs some help. With her going from one adventure to another, she needs Jake a lot. Especially when the Mafia appears to have now targeted her. Is it possible she's a little too close to the truth in discovering what's happened to Uncle Tolly? The more she digs, the more it looks like he was doing a little dirty laundering in his dry cleaners. And what about his widow? She's suddenly more interested in selling the Mercedes her presumed late husband recently bought. Will Sofie solve all her cases, as well as her other little problem: her dog has a noxious problem? And will she ever learn more about who Jake Porter is?

Sofie Metropolis is turning out to be a beguiling heroine and gets better with each page is turned. DIRTY LAUNDRY is the second in the series and is like riding a roller coaster-the more you read, the better the ride gets until you don't want it to end. Sofie's antics will make you laugh, put you on the edge of your chair when she's in danger, and have you cheering for her to beat the bad guys. Thank you, Tori Carrington, for creating a character that's not only fun, smart and willing to kick ass with the bad guys, but could be the girl next door with her zany family. Zip your way to the nearest bookstore and don't miss the latest installment of Sofie Metropolis PI.

Tori Carrington kept me glued to my seat with Dirty Laundry. Sofie Metropolis is on the look out for a missing dry cleaner owner and it looks as if the Mafia might be in the middle of it all. Jake Porter, the mystery man from down under, steps up to take care of Sofie when the heat gets to be to much or maybe the cement overshoes are drying fast. Also once again Sofie's Mom has her own special request that keeps her from answering any calls from her. I enjoyed every page of this romance and I look forward to the next in the series. Its a keeper for me!

Sophie Metropolis is a private investigator in training under the mentorship of her Uncle Spyros who owns his own agency. When she is not drinking frappes she is avoiding her mother who wants to hire her to find out who her husband is having an affair with; the wannabe PI doesn't want to get involved in the middle of that family mess. She is working on a case in which she has to find Fred the missing ferret who belongs to a wheelchair bound heartbroken girl.

Her workload also includes trying to prove that a man who wants disability is faking an on-the-job injury. Sophie tries to serve papers on a man who is as slippery as an eel, meaning he always finds a way to wiggle out of it. Finally she seeks the missing dry cleaner store owner Uncle Tolly who has two sets of books that makes it look like he is laundering money for mafia mobster Tony Di Piazza. His thugs are following her everywhere she goes and break into her apartment to steal the books. Sophie is in danger while the mysterious, and sexy and dangerous Australian Jake Porter watches her back; she would prefer he held her tight in bed.

Readers who like well written humorous tales with an eccentric support cast will want to read DIRTY LAUNDRY. The heroine is a modern woman who is close to her old world Greek family allowing readers to visualize a Queens Greek-American neighborhood. Sophie's dog with his extreme case of flatulence will have readers laughing out loud as she tries to cure his condition so her apartment can smell clean in case Porter joins her.

Harriet Klausner

This was better than the first and She has had a truce with the Demon Dog in the first book. The aussie is hot, dog is grateful and mom is still on her back to get married.
Man, life is good. Grab a box of nilla wafers and a glass of milk and dig in to this book heartily.
FUNNY.. Good chick lit,

Okay, so the sequel to Sofie Metropolis is much better. At least the editor seems to be earning her paycheck this time. 'Thomas the Toad' ex husband is only mentioned thirty times as opposed to a hundred.
The plot is stronger and I enjoyed Sofie's attempts to serve court papers to the cross-dressing bloke in the pink nightgown. People breaking into her apartment, car troubles, dog troubles, studly man around at the drop of a hat, a funeral home, maniacal granny, dysfunctional folks - all blatantly cribbed from Stefanie Plum...not so much.

This is a much, much stronger effort than the first offering in the series. As I read the first book, all I could think on almost every page was "Stephanie Plum wanna-be," and not a very good one at that. In this book, however, Sofie finds her own voice. She is funny, charming and gradually more confident. She seems comfortable in her own skin. Her sister, Efi, also is one of my favorite characters despite her limited presence in the first two books. In short, Sofie doesn't have to want to be Stephanie--she's doing just fine on her own.

After reading the first book, "Sophie Metropolis", in what is now a three book series, "Dirty Laundry" adds to the great satirical picture painted of the later immigrants (after WW II) Greek Americans living out their lives in Astoria, Long Island. Sophie is a private investigator who works on missing dog cases, adulterous spouses, and even murders. Her ethnic life is woven seamlessly into her PI activities and the Greek subculture is really a second facet of the book. It is hilarious and farcial; one would not term it the usual mystery investigation and solution. These books are good and entertaining. What else could you ask for? If you are Greek American anywhere in the USA, you will recognize your world in Sophie's. If not, welcome to one of the funnier aspects of this group.

In the spirit of Stephanie Plum, Sophie Metropolis gives another wonderful read.
Dirty Laundry was entertaining and kept me enthralled to the end!

OK I give you that this book is better than the debut book.
What caught in my throat on page 1 was Sophie talking about going to Church, or not going to Church, and she (or the authors) called our Sunday service a MASS. noooooooooooooooooo. Our service is The Divine Liturgy. Why a Greek husband-wife writing team would make such a mistake, or it was the fault of editor who didn't know better, I don't know - This series is supposed to give the reader more insight to being a Greek kid in an American world, so the info needs to be correct. Some folks still think we worship in temples to the gods...
So you can guess I was bracing myself for any other culturally incorrect things to pop up in this book. There weren't more, thankfully.
The story deals with a Greek laundry owner who disappears and Sophie is asked to find him. She gets over her head in things, but thanks to sexy Porter, she is ok. All's well that ends well...WELL Sophie meets a nice man she thinks is her sister's suiter, and she sees what a gentleman he is...and I had another Stephanie Plum moment...is this going to be Joe to Porter's Ranger?? OY. and that's not Greek.
But I have to say all in all, I like Sophie and yes I have the hardback of the 3rd installment. Do I feel passionately about this series?? Yes.
As a Greek-American I can relate to things (like My Big Fat Greek Wedding) - it may be on the side of slapstick and exaggeration, but fundamentally somewhere there is fact. Stop with the Plum like coincidences - Carringtons, get Greek facts straight if you're writing about a Greek girl - she has all of us Greek girls rooting for her - and the recipes are good too. Still can't stand frappes - yuk