Customer Reviews

Lucy's Launderette (Red Dress Ink (Numbered Paperback))

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Another winner from the long list of Red Dress Ink books. With so many wonderful and talented American authors out there --- it's so nice to them getting recognized and discussed.

Betsy Burke's "Lucy's Launderette" is a hilarious and really weird romp into the world of stalker brothers, pot head roommates and deceased grandparents. It's a refreshing tale of redemption and getting on with your life. I found it fun, quirky and really unique. Loved the backdrop and thought that Burke's talent was really highlighted in the way she does dialog.

Love it and would recommend to others!

Cheers!

Again, Red Dress Ink scores big with its latest installment. Lucy's Launderette is a unique, albeit quirky, seriocomic novel about a young woman who should've come of age long ago.

Lucy's life goes to pieces after her grandfather dies. All of her troubles -- an unstable brother who stalks her; a stoic, bonkbusting roommate; a non-existent love life -- increase tenfold. To make matters worse, she has to keep the promise she'd made to her grandfather about looking after his eccentric girlfriend and his launderette business. However, the aforementioned plights might just turn her life around...

Betsy Burke's language is rather unique and refreshing. The voice and dialogue are sharp and crisp, even dark at times. I must admit, however, that the novel's setting (Vancouver) and jazzy cover had sealed the deal before I even started the first chapter. I'm glad it turned out to be such fun, enhancing read. I await RDI installments with utmost anticipation. Highly recommended...

In Vancouver, at not quite thirty, Lucy Madison wonders why her life feels it's in perpetual spin cycle. Her roommate, a voluptuous towering Viking, has a man a night while Lucy has a man a century. Her job at the Rogues Art Gallery is to hold up the sculptures so that they stand perfectly erect though male phallic symbols (all the exhibited work) seems as hard as her boss nasty Nadine. Her biker grandfather committed suicide with one last drive into the sunset instead of cancer therapy. He willed her his launderette and to take care of his squeeze of six years, Connie the Vegas stripper who is pregnant with Lucy's future aunt or uncle. Lucy's lover is a bore, her brother has escaped from the nut house in his Superman costume and stalks Lucy, and her father has lost it.

Surrounded by crazies, losers, and bloodsuckers, Lucy needs a dramatic change or she will become her sibling's tights wearing sidekick in the loony farm. She sees the launderette that her grandfather left her as the ticket to rinse her life anew, but will she take the chance of starting a fresh cycle?

Though Lucy's troubles seem minor in the scheme of life, she is a fresh individual poorly coping with those infringing in her sphere, which is why she is considering changing her lifestyle. The story line is amusing with serious undertones that sometimes get lost in Lucy's laments. Still Betsy Burke provides a solid look at a person at the crossroads of major decision making as Lucy wonders is that all there is?

Harriet Klausner

"Lucy's Launderette" deals with Lucy, whose life was not going anywhere as her job at an Art Gallery was anything but inspiring, her love life was at a standstill and her beloved grandfather, Jeremy, recently died. Not to mention, she has a psychotic brother who is constantly terrorizing her. After Jeremy died, he left a note for Lucy to take care of his pregnant girlfriend, Connie. Both Lucy and Connie do not get along well but each needed the other to get through the tough times together. Soon, Lucy quits her job at the gallery and decided to run Jeremy's run down launderette and she has an idea to transform it.

"Lucy's Launderette" was extremely slow at the beginning. There wasn't a concrete storyline that keeps the readers mesmerized or wanting for more. In fact, the first half of the book was slow, dragging a little, and quite uninteresting. Not to mention, half way through the book, I was wondering when does the "launderette" part come, because afterall, it is supposed to be about Lucy's Launderette. In addition, this book lacks humor and it can be a bit dull. It does pick up a little at the end. In conclusion, this book is average and I think there are definitely better ones out there.

Plot originality flows through this Red Dress Ink selection. We have insane family members, a traveling gnome, a temperamental artist, and a Harley riding grandfather, just to name a few. Lucy is in the center of them all. Typical of the genre, Lucy is young and free and trying to find her place in the world. The title indicates where her place will be, but the plot takes too long in getting us there.

Lucy's brother Dirk is constantly threatening her, but this is never fully developed or resolved. Lucy falls in love with her brother's caseworker, and this character (Sam) suffers the same fate. Burke just has too many sub-plots going for the depth and length of this novel.

Great ideas, but the story rushes to a happy ending without showing readers how the characters really grow or get there.

This is an interesting story about a struggling artist, and how she graciously handles her burden of responsibility. Lucy is a likeable protagonist, surrounded by quirky secondary characters and lots of bizarre situations. I was a bit putt-off by the indifferent attitude the characters exhibited towards casual sex with multiple partners, which was quite prevalent in this novel, however the depth of the plot and the well-developed characters was strong enough to compensate for that.

I thought this book would be a typical chick-lit type of tale, but I was wrong! Sure, there are the elements for a truly chick-lit story, but it goes beyond that. The main character's family is a little off the beam, as are some of her acquaintances. There is laugh-out-loud fun on several pages, and some serious stuff on others. This book is worth the reader's time, and I'm glad I read it.

This is a Canadian book about Canadian characters - something we don't see often enough. Overall, it's downright charming. The plot is unique, the setting is priceless, and the characters are believable. The big problem is the way the book resolves - the final chapter seemed like it had been written by someone else who didn't know that Lucy had developed a spine and a sense of self-worth along the way. The book also suffers from many mistakes that could easily have been prevented with a final proofreading before publication. As a writer, I notice these things (believe me, I wish I didn't). Don't get me wrong - Betsy Burke is a gifted storyteller. Really and truly. You just have to go into this book understanding that it wobbles to an unsatisfactory halt.

I enjoyed the change of scenery for one of RDI books. Having been to Vancouver B.C. many times, I recognized many of the locations. Lucy's story wasn't as shallow as some of the other RDI books are. I really liked the way Lucy's character grew up and the quirkiness of the other characters was charming (June, Winky, Reebee). I'm glad I picked this up. After Thin Pink Line and Carrie Pilby, I didn't want to read any more RDI.