Driving Me Nuts! [Kindle Edition]

PJ Jones (Author)

Book Description

Driving Me Nuts! Three mental patients, two loaded guns, one stolen car, and a whole lot of trouble.

Every Friday night Ruckus and his roommate Fred sneak out of Shady Grove Home for the Mentally Insane for a ride in their orderly’s convertible. A trip to the used book store and the Dairy Queen is Ruckus’s one little routine among the chaos of pissing all over the lunch trays.

There is nothing routine about Apple, another Shady Grove resident who wants to go joyriding with the boys. It quickly becomes obvious she has bigger plans than getting an ice cream cone— plans that could land them in jail or even worse.

When their lives are threatened by three angry ex-cons and a crooked cop, it’s up to Ruckus to get his friends back to Shady Grove in one piece. But first, they all need to face reality and confront their tragic pasts. It doesn’t take long for Ruckus to realize that if Apple doesn’t drive him totally nuts, she just may be the one to help restore his sanity.

"Driving Me Nuts! will surely tickle your funny bone!"
Five Stars and Reviewer Top Pick - Diana Coyle, Night Owl Reviews

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

P. J. Jones spends her days scrubbing pots, collecting clown figurines and chasing five squealing kids around the house. No, that sounds too pathetic. She lives on a 70 foot yacht and drinks sparkling wine by her pool while basking in the salty air and communicating with the local dolphins. Too far fetched? She sits in front of a computer most of the day, writing, deleting, then writing some more, until her butt is numb and her brain is fried. Better? Prior to becoming a full-time chair warmer, PJ Jones not-so-enjoyed a short stint as a journalist and then seven agonizing…eh blissful years as a high school English teacher.

Product Details

• File Size: 615 KB
• Print Length: 161 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005WOQJ9K
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #279,531 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Read This One October 28, 2011

By C. M. Barrett

Format:Kindle Edition

P. J. Jones, best known for her parodies, breaks new ground in Driving Me Nuts, a tale of three patients at a mental institution. Ruckus, who relieves his bottomless sorrow by urinating in unusual locations, Fred, locked in a prison of childhood trauma, and Apple, a self-confessed klepto nympho, whose back story is far more tragic, steal a car and take a ride that turns into a Texan version of Dante's Inferno.

As an adventure full of hair-raising and life-threatening episodes, it's a first-rate read. What makes this story outstanding, though, is the tender treatment Jones gives her wounded protagonists. We see deep into the hearts of Ruckus, Fred, and Apple and watch them face and vanquish their individual demons in a way that's both convincing and moving.

We need many more stories like this, and I hope P. J. Jones is working on a new one.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Quirky & Insane (in a good way!) May 14, 2012

By Karen Fowler

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Having read a short story by PJ Jones (Ralphie the "Special" Werewolf, I think it was) in a collection at some point, I already knew the Jones has some serious comedic chops. So I expected this novel to be funny based on that, and of course the cover. And it was... that's quirky-funny, not silly-funny. There is a big difference.

What I wasn't expecting was for Driving Me Nuts to have some substantial meat to it as well. Funny yes, but "only" funny-- no. In fact, the absurd/ crazy moments balance out the more serious notes perfectly, making for a complex, satisfying novel.

And what better way to deal with life in all it's craptastic glory, than to inject a little humor into it? In the end, I knew those damn nut-jobs, felt like they were friends or neighbors. Who am I kidding-- they were my kin :-)

Excellent fast-paced, quirky plot, tight writing and 3-D "jump out at you" characters. I will not hesitate to read more books my PJ Jones. In fact, I'm off to search for whatever else she's written.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Changing lanes with PJ Jones October 18, 2011

By M. Edward McNally

Format:Kindle Edition

For those of you who don't know, PJ Jones primarily writes devastating parodies, blowing the doors off sacred cows (I know, mixed metaphor) from vampire romances to the porn industry. So maybe porn isn't a "sacred" cow, but still...Jones's stuff that I have thus far read has been parody. Gleefully crude and wonderfully funny, and like all parody, subject to scorn from those who just don't "get it."

This book, is not that. Oh, it's still funny in places, and Ruckus's...urine-related form of self expression provide some yucks with the yucks, if you will. But really, this is a much fuller work: With heart, grief, love and loss, tragedy, brutality, redemption, and hope. Jones's skill with drawing characters, which can make even a rotting zombie dry cleaner likable, brings real life to Ruckus, Apple, and Fred. They may be crazy characters, but they are never caricatures, and their story is more than worth the telling. And the reading.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A review by Free Book Reviews March 23, 2012

By Albert Robbins III

Format:Kindle Edition

Overall Feedback: I picked up this book expecting a hilarious and hectic ride in one of PJ's great parodies. What I found was a serious story with real emotion and compelling characters interspersed with great and well timed humor. I was drawn to the characters and felt as if I were experiencing their lives with them. If you want entertainment with purpose then here it is staring you in the face.

Point of View: A little bit of everything is thrown at the reader as far as point of view but you will spend most of the book looking through the eyes of Ruckus.

Voice: Just because life does not care does not mean you have to give up.

Character Development: Well rounded, fully developed and entertaining to the last drop.

Plot: A serious ride through hilarity that we, as readers, should have no problem imagining happening somewhere at sometime in someplace.

Dialogue: This is where the wit of Jones shines the most.

Pacing: You will find yourself on the last page not believing the day is done.

Setting: This is happening somewhere, sometime and someplace.

Continuity: The only thing I found as a possible issue here is that the action comes at the reader later in the book after an abundance of humor. This could possibly put some readers off but if they stick with it they will understand the whole.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Thanks, PJ! April 23, 2012

By cewtwo

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

What a wonderful book.

The description of this tome seemed good enough for me to get it. I was not disappointed.

Character development was fast & good. I started to care (against my own feelings) almost from the start.

I found it hard to put the kindle down while reading it.

New characters seemed to come from around every corner and everywhere this cast of characters went!

Like the offbeat book? You'll love this one!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars "I am a rule breaker. I piss on lunch trays."--quote from Ruckus February 21, 2012

By Cynthia E

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

4 STARS

This book starts out beyond hilarious and then takes a slightly more serious turn with jabs of humor here and there.

This is my second read by P.J. Jones, and I haven't been let down yet. This book was brilliantly written. Jones' crazy sense of humor really shines with these amazing characters. I bonded with the characters and felt what they felt (and that is what a good book is about).

Like I mentioned above, this book isn't all laughs and giggles. There are some serious moments. Afterall, these are mental patients and there is a reason why they are considered insane.

Overall, this is a seriously good read and I would definitely recommend it!

More About the Author

PJ Jones spends her days scrubbing pots, collecting clown figurines and chasing five squealing kids around the house. No, that sounds too pathetic.

She lives on a 70 foot yacht and drinks sparkling wine by her pool while basking in the salty air and communicating with the local dolphins. Too far fetched?

She sits in front of a computer most of the day, writing, deleting, then writing some more, until her butt is numb and her brain is fried. Better?

Prior to becoming a full-time chair warmer, PJ Jones not-so-enjoyed a short stint as a journalist and then seven agonizing...eh blissful years as a high school English teacher.

PJ would LOVE to hear from her readers @ [e-mail] or you can visit her webpage @ http://pjjoneswrites.wordpress.com/