Gone with a Handsomer Man [Hardcover]

Michael Lee West (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 12, 2011

“Gone with a Handsomer Man is fun, funny, and fabulous!”---Janet Evanovich

Take one out-of-work pastry chef . . .

Teeny Templeton believes that her life is finally on track. She’s getting married, she’s baking her own wedding cake, and she’s leaving her troubled past behind. And then? She finds her fiancé playing naked badminton with a couple of gorgeous, skanky chicks.

Add a whole lot of trouble . . .

Needless to say, the wedding is off. Adding insult to injury, her fiancé slaps a restraining order on her. When he’s found dead a few days later, all fingers point to Teeny.

And stir like crazy!

Her only hope is through an old boyfriend-turned-lawyer, the guy who broke her heart a decade ago. But dredging up the past brings more than skeletons out of the closet, and Teeny doesn’t know who she can trust. With evidence mounting and the heat turning up, Teeny must also figure out where to live, how to support herself, how to clear her name, and how to protect her heart.

 

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Gone With A Handsomer Man is fun, funny, and fabulous." --Janet Evanovich

"West's diverting debut plays nice variations on several mystery subgenres—Southern, romantic, screwball, culinary.... Readers will look forward to more helpings of Teeny Templeton."
--Publishers Weekly

"Warm, funny page-turner. Teeny is a delightful heroine and Charleston, S.C.’s historic district is the ideal setting."
--RT Book Reviews

“A fresh, funny and delightfully flawed heroine that you’ll fall in love with from the get go. Teeny is a trouble magnet, and it is wholly diverting to follow her tumbling joyride through bad men and good recipes. By turns sweet and surprising, it’s a wonderful, quirky escape.” --Joshilyn Jackson, NYT bestselling author of Backseat Saints

“Great cook --- though reluctant detective --- Teeny Templeton keeps the pot bubbling as she dishes out pathos, humor, and intrigue in equal measure... A delicious début to this new series.” --Lee Smith, NYT Bestselling author of The Last Girls

"A story as delicious as the food she describes... sprinkled with startling insights... soaked with humor, mystery and redemption." --Patti Callahan Henry, NYT Bestselling author of Driftwood Summer

About the Author

Michael Lee West is the author of six novels, including Crazy Ladies, Mad Girls in Love, American Pie, and She Flew the Coop, as well as a food memoir, Consuming Passions. She lives with her husband on a farm in Lebanon, Tennessee, with three bratty Yorkshire terriers, a Chinese crested, assorted donkeys, chickens, sheep, and African Pygmy goats. Her faithful dog Zap was the inspiration of a character in Mermaids in the Basement. 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (April 12, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312571224
• ISBN-13: 978-0312571221
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (94 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #704,239 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Lee West grew up on the Gulf Coast with a wild tribe of Southern cooks. She is the author of nine books, including Crazy Ladies, Gone With a Handsomer Man, and A Teeny Bit of Trouble.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable romp with larger than life characters and a few twists... March 2, 2011

By Carter's Mom VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Teeny finds her first cooking class is canceled and heads home to be with her fiance. Unfortunately for Teeny, her fiance wasn't exactly expecting her home that evening. An unfortunate series of events follows, and Teeny finds herself incarcerated and alone -- and that's only the first chapter... This book had me interested right from the start. The crazy, over the top characters, worried me at first. I wasn't sure that I would care about them enough to continue, but I did want to see what was going to happen next. I am glad that I kept going. After the initial introduction of characters: Aunt Dora, Bing, Natalie, Coop and the rest, I became invested in finding out how Teeny would handle all her challenges. At times the book reminded me of Carl Hiassen, other times Janet Evanovich, and other times just a fun old chick-lit novel. If you are looking for a quick read that will keep you smiling, this is it. There is romance, mystery, deceit, and wit. Once I got started, I had a hard time putting it down. There was a depth to the characters that surprised and delighted me. There were some interesting plot twists that made the story all the more unpredictable and enjoyable. This was the first book I have read by this author, and I will definitely look for more.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars The Road to Peachy Death April 5, 2011

By Timothy J. Mccarthy VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I'm not sure if it's cool for a guy to admit it, but I'm a Janet Evanovich fan. Her writing is off the wall and unpredictable, her characters are insanely quirky, the humour often provokes laugh-out-loud moments, the pace is rapid, and the romance is present but usually understated. Since authors tend to endorse books similar to their own, when I saw Janet's name on the cover, I had high expectations for this book. Probably too high.

Teeny is a woman who thought she had her life on track for happiness and success, only to find things spinning rapidly out of control. She comes home unexpectedly to find her wealthy fiancé in the back yard with two women, starkers all. Her peach flinging revenge lands her in jail, and when he turns up dead shortly after, she becomes the prime suspect. Fortunately, by the most incredible of coincidences, her hometown first-love -- whom she hasn't seen in years -- just happens to be in the bar she stumbles into, just happens to be a lawyer, just happens to be between jobs, and just happens to have become recently available. Sort of. He takes on the case, and with the help of his wife and P.I., sets out to protect Teeny while clearing her name.

There is some quirkiness here, but it's as uneven as it is charming. Teeny loves to cook and bake, which is fine, but all of the Food Network references become a distraction. The humour is woven throughout but rarely rises above mildly amusing. Romance is in the driver's seat, not quite to the point of being a Harlequin novel, but it drags the pace down to a crawl. If you're looking for a Janet substitute and don't mind forgoing the romance, Carl Hiaasen would be a better choice.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Funny, real, and spunky March 14, 2011

By JujubeMBA

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I loved the heroine of this book. Teeny is a great, well-developed character. I liked that she had little character quirks, such as her recipe writing and her less-than-perfect grammar. The flow of the story worked very well and kept me reading. The resolution was not what I expected, and it's always good to be kept guessing at a murder mystery. But this story is not completely mired in the mystery element, as other well-developed characters move the story forward.

Really, I loved this book until the last few pages. The ending seemed very forced and contrived toward the setup of a sequel book. But the story itself had already had a resolution, so it didn't ruin the entire story. It was still a good read for me.