If You Enjoy a Good Laugh by Victoria Chatham



 AVAILABLE HERE

Like all writers, I have to make time to read books, too. I have fairly eclectic tastes from fiction to fact and back again. My own preferred genre is Regency romance, but I enjoy thrillers, cozy mysteries, and now Stuart R. West’s Zach and Zora mysteries. I’ve read several of his books, but Zach and Zora had me laughing out loud. I get that humour is subjective and what amuses me may leave you cold, but I found Bad Day in a Banana Hammock a clever read.

On the face of it, Zach is a self-absorbed dim-wit. Not the most likely character to arouse my interest, but when he wakes up practically naked in bed beside a dead guy, I want to know more. Zach’s almost sure he didn’t commit the murder, but he has no recollection of the previous night. The fact that he’s is a male dancer (please do not refer to him as a male stripper) and is still wearing his ‘uniform’ adds to the mystery.

The one person Zach knows will help him is his long-suffering sister, Zora. With three kids and another on the way, the last thing she wants is to be involved with Zach’s problems. But he’s her baby brother, and she’s a Private Investigator, so what can she do but help him? This excerpt pulls it all together for me as it shows the relationship between the siblings and her way of handling her kids. If you enjoy this book, check out Murder by Massage and Nightmare of Nannies. You won’t be disappointed.

*****

With a diaper bag strapped over her shoulder, Zora hustled Nikki and Justin out the front door. “Come on, kids. We’re going on an adventure.”

“Adventure,” parroted Justin.

Nikki, already the sullen teen before her time, whined, “Mom, what’re we doing? I’m busy!” “Girl, I don’t wanna hear about busy. Just get in the back seat. Enjoy the sunshine. Remember what that is?”

“So stupid!”

“Zach,” she yelled up the stairs, “Samantha’s already in her seat by the door. Grab her on the way out.” A task surely even he couldn’t mess up. Then again, when it came to her brother, all bets were off.

Justin struggled with his seat, always a battle. No wonder her swear jar had evolved into a bucket. “Just stay still…almost….there.” Clack.

“Mom, really, what’re we doing? Why was Uncle Zach naked?”

“He wasn’t naked, Nikki. Just under-dressed.”

“Is he in trouble again?”

“No.” Yes. “We’re just gonna try and help him with some stuff.” Zora pressed down on the pedal, revving the engine. Hoping to speed her brother along, never the quickest guy to get things done. She checked her phone, fully charged and 10:30 a.m. Plenty of time to clear her brother of murder, get back and have dinner on the table for Phillip by six.

Despite the situation, Zora laughed when her brother stumbled out of the house. He had Samantha’s carrier seat in one hand and kept his pants cinched up with the other. A belt lapped off the end-loop, a wagging brown tail. The suit looked like a relic from the ‘80’s, entirely too large and probably never in style.

As Zach rolled open the back door of the mini-van, he sighed. “I know, right? I look ridiculous. Doesn’t Phillip own any regular clothes? Jeans, a polo, anything?”

“Hey, stylin’ guy, shut up and get in. It’s better than you waving your…golden sack around town.”

“Golden sack, golden sack, Uncle Zach has a golden sack!” Justin joined his sister in song. “Golden sack, gold—”

“Kids, enough! I don’t wanna hear that again about your uncle!”

“But, Mom, you said it first!”

“Again. Not a democracy.” She turned in her seat, double-checking Zach’s strapping in of Samantha. Unbelievably, a grin threatened to eat his face off. Clearly proud of the song his niece and nephew had concocted in his golden sack’s honor. No shame. “Get in, Zach.”

West, Stuart R.. Bad Day in a Banana Hammock (A Zack and Zora Mystery Book 1) Books We Love Ltd. Kindle Edition.

 AVAILABLE HERE