Customer Reviews

Expose! (A Vicky Hill Exclusive!)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Vicki Hill series is just plain fun, with a cast of quirky characters and over-the-top scenarios. Don't expect great prose, a literary masterpiece, or a serious edge-of-your-seat mystery - this is a lighthearted, humorous, fun romp.

This mystery series is a hoot! Vicki Hill has an endearing naivete that keeps you rooting for her all the way! And, writing the obits for a small English town newspaper allows her to be in on "suspicious" deaths there. Of course she hopes to one day be another Christiane Amanpour. The outrageous plots of the stories are fun. Snail races, indeed! And all the wacky characters are as amusing as Vicki herself. I can't wait for Vicki's next adventures and am hoping to know more about her dicey parents on the lam in Spain.

My copy of EXPOSE! arrived yesterday afternoon and I started reading immediately. I'd been waiting for this new one ever since I finished SCOOP!, the previous "Vicky Hill Mystery." EXPOSE! did not disappoint. I love British mysteries with a wry sense of humor. (Of course, the mystery must also be engaging, and this one is.) Vicky Hill reminds me a little bit of Emma Wodehouse because while she is smart and well-meaning, she's often wrong in her conclusions about people and events. That's refreshing! Eventually, of course, she fits the pieces together, but her early theories are great fun. There is something so sincere about "Vicky" that I root for her. Also, the author manages to come up with some of the weirdest sports I've never heard of. In an earlier book it was Hedge Jumping. In this one it's Snail Racing. Not only is it a new sport to me, I never imagined that one could cheat at Snail Racing. I'm about to order several more copies to put into Christmas stockings. With so many tragedies detailed on the news, it's a joy for me to disappear into the world of the British cozy, and laugh while I'm trying to figure out "whodunit."

I really like this series. It is entertaining and just a bit different. While I enjoy cozy mysteries, sometimes the mechanism used by the author to get the heroine involved in the mystery can be contrived. In the first few books they have the heroine accused of murdering her ex-boyfriend or husband, her best friend accused (or her Mom, Dad or sister)of murdering someone close to them, etc. In the next book, they have to invent reasons why this housewife (shop owner, pet sitter) would be involved. Vicky Hill is a reporter -- that is how she gets involved. While still a bit far fetched, at least it is plausible. Also, she is likeable, although a bit too naive.