October 15, 2005

Review: Bandit Queen Boogie by Sparkle Hayter

Sparkle Hayter always makes me laugh. She has a sharp wit, a well-developed sense of the absurd, and a thing for Bandit Queens - what's not to like? In Bandit Queen Boogie, Hayter combines interests and ideas that will be familiar to fans of her Robin Hudson series - celebrity obsession, bloodthirsty media types, road trips, Bollywood, Indian Organized Crime, Canada, coincidence, performance art, mistaken identity - and rolls them into a rollicking road tale.

Best friends 4 evah, Blackie and Chloe decide to spend the summer after college in Europe. For Chloe the trip is relationship rehab after getting dumped by the obligatory chic-lit insensitive man, and Blackie goes along for moral support. Both discover they have a talent for crime when they end up inadvertently robbing a married man who tries to pick them up in France. Chloe's and Blackie's crime spree makes for a fun read, but when Hayter thickens the plot with a stolen statue, a missing celebutante heiress, and a murder, things really start to cook.

Bandit Queen Boogie is a good light read. The plot is way more fun than most chick lit. Chloe does a good bit of whining about the boyfriend who dumped her, but it doesn't form the core of the story. Hayter does a great job describing the friendship between Blackie and Chloe. It felt real, and lived in. Like many long-time friends, Chloe and Blackie know each other's faults, and are friends anyway, even though they do fight and get annoyed at each other from time to time.

The European resort settings make Bandit Queen Boogie feel a bit like a mini vacation. It would make a perfect beach read. I wish I had found this book in June or July. I can imagine myself parked on the sand at Venice, Santa Monica or Hermosa with this book in my hand and beer and a bag of salt-and-vinegar potato chips by my side - heaven!
Posted by sk :: 10/15/2005 :: 0 comments

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