Customer Reviews

Pasta Imperfect: A Passport to Peril Mystery

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The third Passport to Peril mystery was well worth the wait!

Emily, Nana and all those quirky Iowans are in Italy, along with a big group of romance writers. Of course, Emily's luggage is lost on the flight over, but it turns into a blessing when it arrives AFTER their hotel burns down. Of course, since nothing ever goes right for travel guide Emily Andrew, all the romance writers raid her suitcase, leaving her with nothing but the clothes on her back. To make up for the inconveneience of having their possesions burned to a crisp, the publisher sponsoring the trip announces a writing contest, and the winner gets a book contract. Before you can say purple penned prose three times fast, the "pre-published" romance writers start dropping like flies--and they're all found wearing Emily's new outfits!

Maddy Hunter has done it again, I couldn't stop laughing while reading this book. The characters get better with every entry in the series, and the mystery had a great twist that I didn't see coming, though all the clues were there. I've been to some romance writing conventions, and she really captured the types of aspiring authors, which is not surprising considering Ms. Hunter published a few romances herself under a different name.

The only complaint I have about PASTA IMPERFECT is that it came to an end. I can't wait to read the next one. There's a preview chapter at the end, it's called HULA DONE IT? and it's set (where else?) in Hawaii on a cruise ship. I can't wait to climb aboard!

Maddy Hunter has won the triple crown with this latest and third adventure of what I hope will be a long series! Although the premise is consistent - Emily as a travel guide for a group of seniors - the story is fresh, entertaining and hysterically funny. Pasta Imperfect is all that Maddy Hunter's readers have come to enjoy and anticipate. The characters are so real that you're sure some of them must be the "crazy people down the street," and the heroine, Emily, is just like your best friend. Ms. Hunter added some major characters in this story that were not part of the senior travel group, and they were the perfect addition to the twists and turns of the story!

Be careful if you read this book on an airplane or in a doctor's waiting room - your hysterical laughter might get annoying!

In this, the third book in Maddy Hunter's funny Passport to Peril Series, Emily Andrew escorts her group of senior citizens from Iowa on a trip to Italy. Also on the trip are a bunch of would be romance authors. As usual, calamity strikes early and often starting with Emily's suitcase getting lost and their hotel burning down. But things really heat up when the publishing company sponsoring the trip holds a contest where the prize is a book contract with a cash advance of $10,000. Some people will do anything to win and before long the bodies start piling up. All the people who were killed were judges in the contest and Emily's mother is the last judge still around. Emily wants to solve the murder - fast - before her mother becomes the next victim.

This is a funny cozy mystery. Hunter uses the story line to poke gentle fun at romance authors and readers, critics, agents, awards, publishers, Oprah's book club and even Amazon reviewers. Hunter populates the book with humorous, eccentric characters, including Emily's hot to trot millionaire grandmother; her mother who likes to alphabetize everything, including people; Emily's ex-husband Jack, who is now a gorgeous female named Jackie (who reminds me a lot of Lula in Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series); and the assorted Iowans on the trip, including one who wears on readers with her habit of rhyming everything. Etienne, Emily's long-distance, boyfriend appears in a series of phone calls and Hunter intriguingly throws in a handsome tour guide named Duncan, who also is attracted to Emily.

The solutions to the murders is a bit of a let down, but don't let that stop you from reading this very funny mystery.

Maddy Hunter is a writter with rare insight on the tourist trade. She hits the nail on the head about the baseball cap, nylon suited American tourist. Epecially those who shout in Florence at the waiter..."Hey you. Over here."

The tour guide in Pisa makes you laugh out loud.

This the the third of the series. Once you start reading her books they are like candy. You just can't wait for the next delicious one!

I loved this one EVEN more if that is at all possible! She has gotten me hooked onto a new kind of book! They are impossible to put down and downright laughable. I also had a person picked who I thought might have been our murderer, but was wrong this time!

I can't wait for her new book to come out!!!

What a fun read this is. I enjoyed myself thoroughly. The main character is someone you can relate to - flawed (meaning human), quick witted, funny, plagued by bouts of self doubt, and throughout it all, she remains a caring individual.

I am a fan of travel mysteries and when the travel destination is Italy, I am totally hooked. I try not to look to deeply through the reality lens with books like this. Like the Cat Who series and the alphabet books by Sue Grafton, the fun for me comes from the crisp writing, intricate plot twists, and the challenge of reading subtle clues clever authors have planted along the way.

Why only 4 stars? I think that if all of these deaths happened on a fun tour, I would have gone packing for places unknown. But the author kept me distracted and I hung in until the end, still guessing "who dun it?"

I'll read the rest of the series based on this edition if only to find out if people keep going abroad with a this Typhoid Mary of death and destruction.

This is the first Maddy Hunter book I picked up (loved the title) and I'm glad I did. The characters are wacky and fun. The writing is crisp and witty. (I like Janet Evanovich too.) I'm looking forward to playing catch up with the earlier books and picking up the upcoming one, as well. Thanks for making me smile, Ms. Hunter!

Emily Andrew is at it again. She is helping escort a trip to Italy. She is with the senior citizens from Iowa. Even Emily's mother came along, much to her grandmothers chagrin. They have joined a group of highly competitive aspiring romance writers. There are some seasoned writers on the trip to impart their knowledge.

First Emily's luggage is lost. After the hotel fire, Hightower Books, the trip's sponsor, decides to hold a writing contest. When the aspiring writers start falling like flies wearing Emily's clothes, Emily begins to investigate what the connection is and who is killing everyone. Is it another aspiring author who doesn't want the competition? Is it someone else on the tour with a hidden agenda she hasn't discovered yet?

With the help of her ex-husband turned woman, she begins to get to the bottom of things. Her mother is one of the judges of the contest and she is worried for her safety as well. Her grandmother, a whiz on the Internet, does some research for her and assists Emily with the investigation.

Emily is also talking long distance to her Scotland boyfriend, Inspector Etienne, for assistance with this case. He was recently injured and unfortunately can't remember the important question he wanted to ask her. Between all the static and his memory loss, it makes for amusing conversations.

Can Emily figure out who the killer is before they strike again?

This is a terrific series. Emily and her tour group will keep you laughing, and out loud, too. I always enjoy this series. The fact that every book is set in a different wonderful destination is one reason. The other is that there are so many hilarious things that happen as well as plenty of bodies turn up on each tour. The characters in her stories are so well crafted and really add to the story. I especially enjoyed the aspiring writers and the published writers who were supposed to impart some of their wisdom. She really had down the relationships between everyone involved. It was so believable. I highly recommend this book.

Made me laugh so hard I had to go to another room so I wouldn't wake the rest of the family up.

Emily is back for the third installment in Passport to Peril. This time she finds discount tickets for the senior citizen's travel group to Italy. The catch is that the tour is with a romance writers gathering. And these writers are competitive considering there is a writing contract on the line. This does not detain the seniors though from their travel fun, but mayhem sets in when one of the contestants is found dead. Emily must try to help solve the murder along with none other than Jackie, Emily's exhusband turned woman.
This time around Emily's grandmother has a little romance going with George another senior tour member, but Emily's mother has joined the tour. This does not set well with grandma's plans of getting George alone in her room. So Emily has the task of trying to keep her mother busy while Grams sneaks off every chance with George.
It also seems that Emily has a new love interest in the young tour director. So a love triangle between Emily, Etienne, and the tour director looks like a future developement in the story line.
This book is a tiny bit off from the other two as far as the enjoyable factor. I could never put my finger on exactly why, but I still give it four stars because the comedy kept me laughing.
I do recommend this book to those reading the Passport to Peril mysteries because as another reviewer said there is a cliff hanger at the end. Cant wait to see what happens.