Award-winning author Patrice Locke
It’s always a pleasure to read a book when you’ve actually met the author. I met Patrice two years ago at the Women’s Fiction Writers Association retreat in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We shared the airport shuttle on our way home, and she was buzzing with nerves over the impending release of her first book, Exit Signs. Imagine my delight when her second book was published on my birthday–what a nice birthday surprise!
I liked Patrice’s second book as well as her first. What they have in common is a quirky, likable protagonist I rooted for throughout, and a dreamy hero, though these two don’t bear much resemblance to the hero and heroine of her first novel. The story begins with a hilarious standoff between our heroine, Miranda, who’s been abandoned in a crumbling motel in New Mexico, far from her ritzy home in Michigan, after having poached her sister’s fiancé and her father’s classic car. When handsome, hunky construction foreman Dean knocks to boot her out, sparks fly—and not the fun kind, at first.
Miranda is hilarious, beset by mysterious medical problems such as a swollen eye and a terrible rash. Her reflex reaction to every difficult situation is to lie, which of course leads to humorous consequences. After her father’s recent death, runaway Miranda is estranged from her sister Wendy, who left her with a to-do list. Miranda’s only hope of regaining her sister’s trust and the inheritance her sister controls is to follow the list and give herself a total character makeover. This involves changing her man-eating ways, holding down a job (never her strong point), telling the truth, and other tough assignments.
Dependent on the kindness of strangers, including a few of Dean’s close friends, she gradually becomes more and more enmeshed in Dean’s life. Locke keeps us in suspense, throwing up lots of roadblocks to their growing attraction, including a ghost. It all works, tying together in a surprising and satisfying ending. Lots of humor, a few tears—a fun, engaging read.
