A Bad Day for Pretty is Sophie Littlefield’s second book* about Stella Hardesty, a battered wife who got fed up with being knocked around and is now a happy widow of her own making. She runs a sewing shop by day and has a word-of-mouth side business helping other battered women “take care of” their own abusive husbands in a manner that ensures justice but doesn’t quite put her on the correct side of the law. Even so, it’s the local sheriff of all people, a lanky Mr. “Goat” Jones, that she has her heart set on.
In the middle of a romantic dinner with Goat, his tacky, trashy no-good not-yet ex-wife Brandy blows in with the approaching tornado. The storm causes another problem as well: it unearths the murdered body of a young woman, and all signs point to Stella’s friend’s husband Neb as the killer.
It’s up to Stella to figure out the truth, along with her sewing shop employee, Chrissy, a young single mother and one of the benefactors of Stella’s unconventional brand of justice.
If you like your mysteries with a touch of humor and your heroines smart, sassy and romantic, you will really enjoy reading about Stella.
*Although this is her second book about Stella, it stands alone nicely. If you’d like to read the first book in the series, it’s linked below.
Buy it here on Amazon: A Bad Day for Pretty: A Crime Novel
Also: A Bad Day for Sorry: A Crime Novel
Full disclosure: I got this book free and was asked to review it. I read every book that is sent to me by publishers for reviewing, and I only blog about the ones I enjoy.
Oh, good! My next summer read. I just finished Pornology (yes, really) and was wondering what to pick up. I just can’t jump into another Steig book right now.
Pammer
16 Jun 10 at 2:18 pm