Review/ Giveaway Don Bruns Don't Sweat The Small Stuff

December 10, 2010

Review/ Giveaway Don Bruns Don't Sweat The Small Stuff

I have to admit I didn't quite know what to expect when the fine folks at OCEANVIEW

offered me the chance to review Don't Sweat The Small Stuff. I was looking for a change of genre and the premise of this book sounded fun:

James Lessor and Skip Moore are officially licensed private Investigators through the Florida Department Of Agriculture (really!), just in time for their new case. James and Skip have been hired to seek out a saboteur of a traveling circus. Things quickly go from bad to worse as a carnival worker is killed and strange attacks begin to effect the young pair. As the cast of carnies line up to be suspects James becomes more enraptured with the lovely Angie as James receives an unexpected visitor in the shape of his on again and off again love Em.

I really enjoyed this book! This book is a part of the "Stuff" series but I didn't have a hard time catching on. Brun's does a great job of moving the story along while giving you a sense of James and Skip's past adventures and experiences. I'll admit i don't know much about the other books so I'm going to focus on what I enjoyed in this volume.

THE GOOD

I'll admit I'm a "SKIP" Skip is responsible, Skip worries. Despite being in his early 20's he thinks about his future: where it's going, what he will be doing. He also is in the midst of being "off" in his relationship with Em, and dealing with a slight resentment towards James. His girlfriend is bothered by Skip's immaturity , something that seems intensified by the presence of James in his life. He contemplates all of these concerns while yet again being roped into one of James schemes: the job a the Moe Show. though I'm older than the characters in this novel I could really relate to their struggles and their dreams. I felt for Skip, his irritations with James rarely last but they are intense.Though he cant see it Skip needs James. Through James influence Skip takes risks and has experiences he never would on his own.

THE BETTER

James is the comic relief of the book and was responsible for many head shaking and sighing while reading. Like Skip we all probably have a "James" in our life. you know those people: The land on their feet like Cat's, Always have a get rich scheme or a Plan. James initially came across as one note to me. I thought he was a typical 20's stereotype in the beginning due to his usage of the monikers "Dude" and "Amigo" but as the story unfolded I discovered a depth to him that was quite touching. Bruns has a wonderful flow of dialogue between James and Skip that is quite fun.

CONCLUSION

A wonderful mystery book that kept me guessing to the end. Short chapters make the reading quick and fun. I would definitely seek out the former and future books in the series.