REVIEW: CB-Repo Chick Blues by Tracy Sharp
Dear Ms Sharp,
If readers are looking for a kickass heroine, they need look no further than Leah Ryan. You have this girl kick some serious shit in Repo Chick Blues. I will admit to loving a well told first person book and admire anyone who can pull one off and still show us most of the feelings and motivations of the other characters. The one character I still feel that I don’t know too well is that of Leah’s boss/love interest, Callahan. But, and correct me if I’m wrong, I get the impression that you have future books planned for these two so I’m guessing that this is a deliberate move on your part.
I know almost nothing about the car repossession business. I have watched Repo Man a few times but I doubt all the real ones end up floating out into space in a glowing, nuclear contaminated car. :) But you seem to have talked to some people and learned the basics of the job as well as the lingo. Thanks for working all this into the story in a nice, flowing way. I also appreciated how the bits of backstory don’t bring the action to a complete stop.
Some readers will think that Leah takes too much on herself and feels too responsible for her family’s breakdown after her younger sister was abducted by a probable sexual predator but I’ve known of families who have come apart after suffering terrible losses. Her cutting and burning herself, as well as her juvenile crime record, seem realistic in these circumstances. It also serves as a believable motivator for her actions against the crime lord when most people would have given up in the face of his threats not only to her but to her brother and friends.
And thank you for not pulling Leah and her friends back from the brink when it came to dishing out justice. Call me a bloodthirsty wench, but I just loathe those books in which a heroine feels compelled to offer help to the very villains who’ve made her life hell just so she stays above reader reproach. I say she should be allowed to kick ’em in the nuts!
And yet, I do have a few faults to find. How could Leah and Co partake in the finale gunfight scene and not have any cops showing up and not really have to face any repercussions afterwards? This was a sore spot for me throughout the book. I know Woodard had some of the police in his pocket but how many dead bodies are allowed to pile up in one town before the journalists will force the cops to show at least some interest? I mean, somebody has to eventually notice that all this is going on.
And there was one scene that bugged me. Leah shows up at Jack’s place thinking something has happened to her brother and there are squad cars and police there. Then after that one mention, the cops just seem to vanish from that scene. Suddenly Leah and friends are swearing vengeance for what Woodard did do and I kept wondering, what happened to the police who were mentioned as being in the room when the scene began? Oh, and why does Leah wait after the rescue scene in the woods for help to arrive for those rescued when all the time she knows Woodard has her brother? I would think that she’d be tearing back to town to find him.
OK, back to more of what I liked. The dialogue is convincing, the fight scenes seem well choreographed, the sex is hot but you don’t have the characters incapacitated with mental lusting at inappropriate times and Leah is great with animals. Gotta love that. A good friend of mine has Rottweilers and you appear to know the breed. Major bonus points for you.
So, final wrap up thoughts. Overall a good story, likable characters and lots of action. Thanks for nominating your book Tracy, otherwise I’d never have known about it.
~Jayne
*cries* I was really keen to pick this one up until you mentioned that younger sister thing. I’ll look out for her next book, anyhow. Thanks.
Maili, the younger sister is never really onstage during the book. She’s shown in a flashback and her probable fate influences the heroine but we never see or know what really happened to her.
((Maili))
This book has a great cover. It looks like something you could pick up in mass market at the bookstore. Actually, I’d buy this book if it was in mass market at the bookstore, lolol.
And Yayyy for getting subscribe to comments plugin!
Thanks, Jayne for reviewing it. You make some valid points and I’ll watch out for stuff like that next time. I’ll have to go through Finding Chloe, the second in the Leah Ryan series, again, with another fine toothed comb hehehehe! I think it was Michael Connelly who said that writing is like spinning plates. You have about 7 of them in the air and have to make sure not to drop any of them. I think maybe I dropped one when I didn’t bring up the cops again :)
Maili, like Jayne said, the abduction of the younger sister is merely mentioned here and there as motivation for how Leah turned out the way she has. There isn’t anything graphic there in terms of violence with her.
Oh! And I do know rotties. I just lost my gorgeous girl in January after her long battle with cancer. The rottie breed is my favorite and I will have another one or two in the future. I miss her every single day. There’s a pic of her with me on both my webpage and my blog :)
Ah Tracy, I’m sorry to hear about the loss of your Rottie girl. They’re a great breed in the hands of those who know them and can channel their protective impulses.
When will Finding Chloe be out? And will many of the same characters be in it?
Oh, and are the repos mentioned in this book based on real cases?
Tracy, {{{hugs}}} on the loss of your baby. I know the feeling.
And I always LOVED this cover! Now I’ll have to pick up the book. ;-)
the younger sister is never really onstage during the book. She’s shown in a flashback and her probable fate influences the heroine but we never see or know what really happened to her.
That’s even worse. I definitely won’t pick this book up, then. A shame. Thanks for the much-appreciated hug, Angie. :)
Jayne, I think I’ve found a Reviewer Soulmate. As in, a reviewer who thinks the same way I do, because I felt the same way about RCB. :)
Well Maili, at least I’ve saved you from spending your money on something that would have upset you. Maybe some of our other reviews will be more to your taste.
May, gotta agree with you and everyone who’s commented on the cover. It’s so not a usual ebook cover and thank the Lord for that. No plastic people in unlikely sexual poses with bizarre expressions on their faces. The title is great and is what initially drew me to trying this book as well.
That’s classic!
Oh hmm, looks like my attempt to quote didn’t work very well.
I was talking about the line about plastic people in unlikely sexual poses. LOL.
Jayne, I haven’t yet sent in Finding Chloe because they don’t like to have two books in a series out too closely together. There isn’t much repo stuff in Finding Chloe, as it’s more of a mystery than a thriller. There’s still a lot of suspense in the second book, though :) The same characters are in Finding Chloe, with the addition of a new love interest. But don’t worry, Callahan is still around :)
The repo cases in Repo Chick are fictional. I just took what I learned about repossessing cars and used my imagination.
May, sorry that you’d find Repo Chick too disturbing to read. Maybe you’d like the second book better. I’m writing the series in a way that you can read them in any order and it won’t matter.
And I LOVE the cover! I practically begged April Martinez to do my cover for me, and she did a fantastic job. She is amazing.
Oh, and thanks for the hugs, Raine!
Tracy, it’s Maili, not me. I’ll be glad to read the second book–I’ll critique it for you to get it ahead of time too! LOL.
Ooops! Sorry! Thanks, May :)