Guest Review of Cover Story by Rach

Today I have the pleasure of bringing you a guest review from Sarah Pritchard

What They Say

Tobi Fletcher's career is going places. Just ask her. Any day now, she's going to write the story for her Sante Fe newspaper that will Make A Difference. Of course, Pulitzer prizes and the like will soon follow.

Unfortunately, her editor doesn't have the same vision. His vision has her investigating a series of gnomicides. Yes, gnomicides—the wanton murder of garden gnomes.

It's a nightmare for Tobi. She's spent her life working towards a career she can be proud of—and proving she's nothing like her mother. She's intelligent, independent and so uptight she can't even let go to sneeze properly—and, unlike her colleagues, she certainly can't appreciate the funny side of the situation. She wants to work on the big story—a cover-up in a senator's office.

Reluctantly, she interviews Simon, the man who reported the 'incident' to the newspaper—clearly a lunatic—his four-year old daughter, and the other residents of the street. Each has their own theory about the murderer, ranging from the slightly possible to the ludicrous and Tobi, unfortunately affected by her pollen allergy and having to repress sneezes regularly, writes the story.

Her editor loves it and demands more; interstate papers pick it up and reader feedback is overwhelming. Apparently, she's not going anywhere just yet—and, dammit, that means facing her pesky attraction to Simon. Along the way, Tobi discovers there are many truths and secrets to be uncovered—other people's as well as her own. The question is, will the truth really set her free?

What Sarah Says:

It was a sweet story that was easy to read and thoroughly enjoyable.  I connected with the characters quickly and found myself drawn into the story.  I loved Tobi the lead character journalist, I felt her frustrations and felt like she was a really person I was friends with.  I also loved Anna the daughter of the person who had raised the terrible gnomicide story that Tobi had been assigned to.  She was sweet and I found myself caring for her and wanting Tobi to warm to her as initially she did say she wasn’t really a ‘child’ person.  I got to know the residents of Los Alamos Court where the story mainly centred and found I was trying to help them solve the mystery based on information I was learning about each resident.  I really felt part of the story and could truly sense the community spirit it emulated.  It made me feel a bit sad and nostalgic that a lot of communities and streets nowadays seem to have lost this sense of spirit.

I really liked that it kept you guessing about who was guilty and not such a predictable tale as some stories turn out to be.  It had a couple of twists towards the end.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable story yet lighthearted which really helped me to overcome the book hangover I was suffering from.  I can not wait to read more by this author.

4 out of 5 stars

About The Author

I live with my own personal hero and four dogs on the east coast of Australia. Our house is on my dream property – 10 acres of native trees on the side of a hill, within driving distance to the beach.

I've always loved dogs. I'm extremely fond of all animals, but dogs have a special place in my heart. My current pack is: Dougal the Border Collie (the most perfect dog that ever there was), Oliver, a black Lab x doberman (the Heathcliffe of dogs - all brooding, clingy and likely to snap) and Fergus the Jack Russell (the canine Bart Simpson).