Bride of the Bad Boy
Grade : B-

Endicott, Indiana is like a living episode of Leave it to Beaver. All the moms and dads there are like June and Ward Cleaver and nobody bothers to lock their cars or doors. The only exciting thing that happens in the town is the visit of Comet Bob who appears in the skies over Endicott every fifteen years and causes the citizens to act a little crazy. The citizens also believe that Comet Bob will grant a wish to those who were born in a year when he makes his appearance. Angie Ellison, Rosemary March, and Kirby Connaught were fifteen when they made their wishes. Angie wished for, "something or somebody exciting to happen to this stupid town."

Fifteen years later, Angie is working for the local newspaper, The Endicott Examiner. Has anything exciting happened yet? No. After all, this is Endicott. The most exciting thing in Angie's life so far has been her stint as a travel reporter for the paper when she got to visit such exciting places as Paris, London, Sparta, Versailles, Warsaw, and Glasgow for her article: "The Wonders Down Under - Kentucky, Our European Neighbor to the South."

Now, Angie is on the crime beat for the paper and desperate for a story. She has a tip that the Mob has plans to move in on the local chemical plant and use it as a base to run drugs and launder money. Ever the intrepid reporter, Angie breaks into the residence of the chief suspect Ethan Zorn (it's not too hard, he left his door unlocked) and comes face to face with him, and his gun.

Ethan tells Angie he is a sales representative for a wholesale chemical corporation and is in town to drum up some business. He carries the gun for protection on the road. Angie asks, if he's a salesman, why hasn't he gone to see her father who is the president of Endicott's largest chemical plant? Ethan tells her he hasn't gotten around to it yet. Ethan's story is full of holes, but he hasn't done anything illegal and Angie has no solid evidence that he is a mobster.

Ethan and Angie keep running into each other and she does not know what to make of him except that she is attracted to him like no other man she has ever met. Ethan has credentials, and he knows a lot about chemicals, but on the other hand, he does have some very suspicious associates, but her mother and father really, really like him. Angie is totally bewildered - its starting to look like Ethan really is a member of the mob. Then circumstances beyond her control kick in, and Angie finds herself married to Ethan.

Bride of the Bad Boy moves quickly - too quickly toward the end. Events happen so fast that I was as bewildered as Angie. This is one book that could have been better if it was longer. Also, Angie's reaction to Ethan's real identity was disconcerting. She trusted her woman's intuition that Ethan was not really a mobster and married him, even though to all appearances he was - then when she finds out he isn't a mobster she gets mad?! I'm bewildered here!

Still, like all the books in the Blame it on Bob miniseries, Bride of the Bad Boy is funny, light and frothy. The Bob books are a great mini-series to read when you are in the mood for something humorous. They are a perfect rainy weekend, just curl up and enjoy, set of books.

Reviewed by Ellen Micheletti
Grade : B-
Book Type: Series Romance

Sensuality: Subtle

Review Date : March 31, 1998

Publication Date: 1998/01

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Ellen Micheletti

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