Alice Clayton barely escapes going overboard in this book, but escape it she does and the result is a hilarious romp that will have the reader wiping the tears of laughter from their eyes. While both the author and the heroine are Americans, the humor in this book is nearly reminiscent of a really good BBC comedy. It is dry and witty and at times almost raw. Ms. Clayton is relatively new to the literary scene, but one would never know it from Wallbanger.

Caroline Reynolds has just moved into a new apartment in San Fransisco, has a great job as an interior designer and good friends to share her life with. She barely has taken the bubble wrap off her new KitchenAid mixer when she discovers a problem with her closest neighbor. It seems that she shares a bedroom wall with that neighbor and she can hear in very great detail all of his nocturnal activities.

“Oh, God” Thump. “Oh, God” Thump thump. What the…. “Oh, God., that’s so good!”

So can her cat Clive and Clive is just as hot and bothered as Caroline. Well, actually the cat is hotter than Caroline since Caroline seems to have lost the ability to orgasm after a particularly dreadful date. Caroline is just bothered. Even the intense wallbanging of her neighbor with his decidedly unique and vocal bed partners (one even meows) cannot bring Caroline’s “O” back from the dead.

Simon Parker’s job as a photographer takes him out of town on a regular basis and when he returns, he just wants to relax and have fun. Fun for Simon is a variety of bed partners with interesting sexual tastes. While he is out of town on one of his trips, a new neighbor moves in next door and little does he realize the entertainment his bedtime activities will provide for Caroline and her two best friends. As the nightly wallbanging continues unabated and with different partners (Caroline nicknames them Purina, Spanx and Giggler), the tension of the orgasmless Caroline continues to build until one night she has had enough! Wearing a pink baby doll nightie in hopes of reviving the elusive O, she stomps next door to confront her neighbor when his antics stop that O just before its anticipated culmination. Their meeting does not go very well, but somehow a relationship is formed from the ashes of this disastrous first encounter.

It could have been so easy for Simon to descend into a caricature of a manwhore, but Clayton’s deft handling of his characterization makes him an extremely likeable hero. Simon loves women. He respects women and looks and size are not the most important attraction for him. He does get a little defensive at Caroline’s seemingly abrupt judgment of him when they meet face to face for the first time, but she is able to win him over with her homemade zucchini bread. Their relationship is believable and progresses from friendship to love at a realistic pace. The banter between Simon and Caroline is as delicious as her zucchini bread. The first half of the book is as snappy and witty a read as I have had in a long time. Caroline is just funny. Her humor is witty and fast paced and she is one of those people who can come up with one-liners on demand instead of thinking of them long after the moment has passed. If she had not found a career as an interior designer, there might have been a future for her in stand-up comedy.

The second half of the book is what kept it from DIK status for me. It was still very good, but some of the humor felt a little more forced and less organic. There were also a couple of places that dragged a little, but not enough to ruin the enjoyment of Simon and Caroline’s journey. This book just barely missed an A rating. Wallbanger is the type of book that catapults an author from obscurity into the limelight and I cannot wait to read more from this author. If you haven’t read this book yet, you need to go right out and buy it.