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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A slyly humorous romp down the bunny trail, June 23, 2011
This review is from: The Rabbit Died (Holidays From Hell short story series) (Kindle Edition)
In classic Jaffarian style, The Rabbit Died will immediately capture your attention with its vivid opening line. Then, in language ripe with wit and audacity, it will titillate and entertain you till the last digital page is tapped. Not for readers of "gentle" fiction, this first in her series of "Holidays from Hell" short stories is slyly-humorous and mildly irreverent. In it we meet Zelda Bowen, the thirty-something, unmarried, middle sister in a dysfunctional family that is still reeling from the inauspicious disappearance of "dear old dad." It's Easter and the family (minus the deserter) is gathered to celebrate. While grandma keeps the kiddies occupied in another room, the sisters argue about who should take daddy's place as the Easter Bunny. This long-standing family tradition involves donning an enormous rabbit costume, plopping the children on its lap, and distributing Easter baskets. (Think Santa with ears and a cotton tail.) All eyes look to Zelda, who has just stuffed her mouth with a Peep and can't protest. What follows is a hippity-hop down a bunny trail to disaster. As in all Jaffarian's works there is a murder, although not the kind you'd expect, and a whisker-twitch of romance, that hopefully will blossom in future installments. The author quickly introduces and establishes her characters' personalities through snappy dialogue and brief anecdotal narration. Her descriptive metaphors are clever, visual, and will certainly elicit a smirk or guffaw. Zelda is a likable, resourceful, fully developed character that we definitely want to see more of. If she seems familiar, it may be because she's a younger, taller, slimmer version of the author's popular plus-sized paralegal, Odelia Gray. In Zelda's family there is a wealth of possibilities for the next eleven holiday stories. Bring them on. We're ready to celebrate!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mixing Humor and Heartbreak for the First Bad Holiday, June 23, 2011
This review is from: The Rabbit Died (Holidays From Hell short story series) (Kindle Edition)
Holidays have never been Zelda Bowen's thing. As the only single daughter in the family, it's a chance to be reminded that her sisters are married with children. But Easter this year is especially bad. Her father has always been the Easter Bunny for the kids in the family. That won't be the case this year since he's vanished with a woman from his office. And somehow Zelda gets talked into donning the costume for her nephew and twin nieces. What follows is a glimpse of a family in the middle of upheaval. This is a short story, and it didn't take me long to read at all. It is surprisingly funny and heartbreaking all in one. I was laughing one moment and feeling for Zelda the next. I was left wanting to know what happens next, which makes sense since this is the first in a series of short stories. What amazed me was how well the characters came to life. There are only 20 or so pages, and in that time I felt we got to know Zelda and her mother and sisters and their families fairly well. Okay, so it's just the big brush strokes, but they still felt very real. Those looking for a murder won't find it here. This is outside of Sue Ann's normal mystery genre, but it is just as good as anything else she has written. I am looking forward to seeing how the Bowen family continues to grow as they try to navigate upcoming bad holidays. I was sent a copy of this story in exchange for my honest review.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not your average Easter Sunday, June 23, 2011
This review is from: The Rabbit Died (Holidays From Hell short story series) (Kindle Edition)
This is the first in a new short story series from popular author Sue Ann Jaffarian called Holidays From Hell. Jaffarian's other series are mysteries featuring strong female leads including a paralegal, a woman who communicates with ghosts, and another who works for a very nice couple who happen to be vampires ( be sure to check all three series out, they are great fun!) In this first story of the new series we also meet a strong independent woman who has enough drama in her family she has no time nor need for mysteries. We get all the humor and insight of Jaffarian in a small slice of life episode. A great read with wit charm and family drama. I am looking forward to the next installment.
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