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    Whack Job
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    Whack Job
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    Whack Job
    Ebook273 pages4 hours

    Whack Job

    By Kendel Lynn

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Elliott Lisbon blends her directorship of the Ballantyne Foundation with her PI-in-Training status by planning parties and performing discreet inquiries for charitable patrons.

    But when the annual Wonderland Tea Party makes everyone go mad as a hatter, Elli gets pulled into a shooting, a swindle, and the hunt for a Fabergé egg.

    From seedy pawn parlors to creepy antique shops, Sea Pine Island's other half prove to be as wacky as the wealthy. Elli falls farther down the rabbit hole and finds a scheming salesman, a possessive paramour, a dead donor—everything but a bottle labeled "Drink Me."

    As events evolve from curious to crazy, Elli gets lost in the maze and finds herself trapped in a house of cards with a killer.

    - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    WHACK JOB by Kendel Lynn - A Henery Press Mystery. If you like one, you'll probably like them all.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHenery Press
    Release dateMay 13, 2014
    ISBN9781940976136
    Unavailable
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    Reviews for Whack Job

    4/5

    25 ratings8 reviews

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    • 2/5
      Whack Job (Elliott Lisbon Mystery #2)
      by Kendel Lynn
    • 5/5
      I received an ARC of **Whack Job** by *Kendel Lynn* from NetGalley.com in exchange for an honest review.Elliott Lisbon is very interesting to define. If the situation calls for someone to put together an event called "Wonderland Adventures Tea Party" which will attract roughly 250 people along with their entries to a teapot contest, Elli is the person to call. If someone is needed to find a valuable Faberge Egg that seems to have vanished off the face of the earth and has people prepared to kill for it, Elli will give finding that egg her best shot. And if an individual is needed who won't mind too terribly much if she's coated head to toe in fish guts or dirt, or something else that's either smelly or filthy, Elli is the go-to person for that also. Nothing stops her, not even a former boyfriend now working for the local police department who is highly opposed to a greenhorn private eye invading what he perceives as his territory. And that's what is so endearing about Elli, even when she really should slow down and ease up. Once she's committed to something, it's balls-to-the-wall to the end. I simply HAD to keep reading to find out how she'd manage to solve yet another insurmountable crisis with or without needing 4 more showers to wash away the latest yuck.The bottom line in this book is that Elli wants to get a PI license, and she's not kidding even a little bit about that. She's very good at her job managing the Ballantyne Foundation, and the husband and wife team who own Ballantyne Foundation depend upon Elli to take care of all matters pertaining to them. The Wonderland Adventures Tea Party is one of the biggest events of the year for Ballantyne, and everyone involved wants it to be a roaring success. So when things start going wrong, Elli has to put her creativity on high because she doesn't' want to disappoint anyone. Elli also has a bit of a problem effectively delegating responsibility, so she often ends up subscribing to the "if you want it done right, do it yourself" theory of business management. That may work for the PI part of what Elli does, but it doesn't always work out for the Ballantyne Foundation. Which is why Elli gets rescued more than once by a loyal group headed by Tod Hayes. There's also Carla Otto, Zibby Archibald, Busy Hinds, and Jane Walcott Hatting. This is a murder mystery, and in addition to the murder there is a shooting that takes place early in the book and forms the basis for the mysterious behavior Elli observes from more than one character. It was fun to read how Kendall Lynn twists and turns her characters around a crime that keeps everyone wondering why so much is invested in what appears to be a simple case of a divorce getting complicated. Kendel Lynn manages to juggle many aspects of the case without losing the reader at any point, which is not a simple task at all. This is the second book in the Elliott Gibson mystery series, and it's a winner. Hopefully it won't be too long a wait for the third book so we can enjoy more with Elli and her posse of helpers as well as find out how much closer the PI license is in coming to fruition.Special thanks to Henery Press for approving me to read this excellent mystery.
    • 4/5
      Whack Job by Kendel Lynn ( An Elliott Lisbon Mystery #2)4 starsThis is fun mystery that gets really dirty or at least Elliott is always getting into trouble. You never know what will happen next. She starts out to meet a client to find something from him when he gets shot in front of her. The characters are a mixed bunch. Lot of them are rich. Elliott works with them for both jobs. Whack Job is a good title for this crazy story. It is entertaining mystery.Elliott Lisbon wants to be a PI. She is smart, has a talent for making messes. Her boss wants to have her help a Gilbert Goodsen find his Faberge egg. She is also having a Wonderland Tea Party for sick kids and their doctors. Elliot does not handle blood and germs very well.Detective Ransom keeps telling her to stay out of his murder case. Back when they were in college he broke Elliott's heart.Gilbet is a insurance agent. He is going through a messy divorce and thinks his wife stole the egg. He seems to be falling apart.The setting is Sea Pine Island, South Carolina. I was given this ebook to read and in return agreed to write honest review of it. Received the ebook from Net Galley and Henery press.
    • 3/5
      Elliot Lisbon lives on small, Sea Pine Island. Training to be an investigator, the folks on the job at the Ballantyne Foundation, where she works, seem very forgiving of the time it takes away from her position with them. A missing Faberge egg, a body, a shooting...all of these events make up for a quick read. Look forward to reading again about Elliot and Nick.
    • 4/5
      It's fun. I like brainless, funny mysteries. There are a lot of them and I think this series is on of the better ones.
    • 5/5
      She loves her job. The added benefit of getting in her hours for a PI license is the best bonus, usually. Now Elliott has to deal with a client who's mental state starts out shaky and goes downhill from there. The bodies seem to pile up and she isn't getting the cooperation she needs from the local cops. Teapots for the annual tea party keep arriving. The person who was arranging the supplies has screwed up, so Elliot has to balance fixing everyone's mistakes, keeping people on civilized terms, and solving the mystery of her latest investigation.I recommend this to anyone who likes a little looney with their cozy mysteries.
    • 5/5
      Huzzuh! Elliott Lison is back and if you haven’t read the first book in the series, BOARD STIFF, don’t worry because it’s not necessary to have done so in order to enjoy WHACK JOB. While Kendel Lynn does touch upon some events from BOARD STIFF, it’s nothing I would consider a spoiler.Narrative is first person via Elliott and she’s a trustworthy narrator. You might feel a bit frustrated with the way Elliott is portrayed; some might even classify her as a bit clumsy and one might question what Lynn’s intentions are by portraying Elliott that way. Others might point out that Elliott’s actions are ridiculous and over the top, but I don’t see it that way. In all honesty, I see her more as your average woman who isn’t glamorous, but intelligent and resourceful and yeah things happen. Elliott’s easy to relate to and you’ll find yourself cringing at times, but cheering her on at the same time. I admire her tenaciousness to get to the bottom of things despite the obstacles in her way. That’s why when I see poor Elliott getting into scraps or finding herself covered in fish guts, I want to high-five her for taking one for the team. Can we honestly see some police officer getting into Elliott style situations? As much as I love the officers Elliott talks to, I can’t imagine them getting down and dirty even if it’s all accidental.Now for those of you who read BOARD STIFF, you might remember the whole Ransom and Matty dilemma. Well…not much has changed other than Ransom still is Ransom. The good thing is Elliott is ready to move on without either men in her life and even though I’m secretly cheering Team Ransom, I’d love for Lynn to throw a curveball and maybe have Elliott wind up with someone totally different. I know some readers are tired of the whole love triangle, but I don’t really see the Elliott / Ransom / Matty relationship as one. I won’t go into details because I don’t want to ruin the story and I know if I touch upon something regarding them, it could very well be seen as a spoiler. I will say this, I really enjoyed reading Elliott’s emotions regarding these two men in her life and really can’t wait to see where Lynn takes us.What I really enjoyed about Lynn’s WHACK JOB is getting to know Elliott better. In BOARD STIFF Stiff we’re introduced to most of the characters that play a vital role in Elliott’s life, but we get to really know them in WHACK JOB. I adored how Lynn showcased both Elliott’s daytime job (director of the Ballantyne Foundation) while trying to obtain her license as a private investigator. We can easily see where Elliott’s heart lies and while she does enjoy both, Elliott really shines when she’s at the big house (at Foundation headquarters). And as for the overall mystery…let’s just say there were a few surprises. I was a bit worried for a moment that a few things wouldn’t be cleared up, but Lynn doesn’t leave anything unanswered. I had a few ideas regarding apparent culprits and I was proven wrong on all counts!Overall, Kendel Lynn has written a delightful romp and you’ll never want it to end. I enjoyed BOARD STIFF, but Lynn has shown us that her Elliott Lisbon series is just going to get better and I can’t wait for the next installment.
    • 4/5
      I received this book as an arc via NetGalley and Henery Press in exchange for an honest review. Whack Job is the follow up to Agatha Award nominated (for best first book in a series) Board Stiff and I'm relieved to find it doesn't suffer from the dreaded sophomore slump. I'll borrow from the books description for a summary (I couldn't do it better or heaven knows, more concisely): Elliott Lisbon blends her directorship of the Ballantyne Foundation with her PI-in-Training status by planning parties and performing discreet inquiries for charitable patrons. But when the annual Wonderland Tea Party makes everyone go mad as a hatter, Elli gets pulled into a shooting, a swindle, and the hunt for a Fabergé egg. I had fun reading this book - great fun! Elliot is smart, independent, and sometimes delightfully mouthy. If someone pushes her, she pushes back; none of this dainty southern nonsense. She's a little bit of a germophobe, maybe a little OCD, but neither quirk ever overwhelms the story, thank goodness. In fact, knowing what the reader does about Elliot's aversion to germs makes some of the scenes in this book all the more cringe worthy and humorous. I do have to believe she is rather well paid though; she'd have to be to keep ahead of the ongoing destruction to her wardrobe. The mystery plot itself is very well done. We have a man desperate to find his egg, a murder and many mysterious, shady dealings going down. Elliot is proactive and decisive, although oftentimes her progress is made in spite of herself, and I can think of at least one semi-TSTL moment. (I say "semi" because I sort of understood the assumptions she was acting on.) I can't say there were lots of suspects; there were enough, but the story itself was busy; there's a lot going on and I think the pacing kept me from ever really trying to figure out who the killer was. I just wanted to read what happened next. I stayed up way too late reading this book because I was having so much fun. Ms. Lynn is a skilled writer and even though this is an arc, I found very few errors or even typo's. The book rarely dips its toes into the deeper emotions but when Elliot is confronted with the potential loss of a best friend, her fear and longing is clear. When she describes the death of her parents, it feels sincere, though never maudlin. But the clear focus of the writing is humour and it's done with a deft hand; light, believable and never slapstick, even when it could be and would be at the hands of another writer. Are there some magic saves here and there? Sure - Elliot saves the day at the very last second a couple of times, but I don't care if this is realistic or not. I want to believe it is. So, this sounds like a 4.5/5 star review doesn't it? Well, I'm not giving it that last star because the author is toying with a love triangle and I don't like it. She's given me two very likeable men, both maybe vying for Elliot's attention. I don't want to watch this play out over the series - I hate love triangles. So I'm withholding that last star. A quick resolution and the same engaging, high quality storytelling will make the next book a certain 5 star read. I can't wait!