Stella Whitelaw

There isn't an audio edition listed for this book, but that's what I tried to listen to - a downloadable audio book from my library that was made from cassette tapes, apparently. It's a different reader than the last time & she has too much of British accent. On top of the poor audio quality, I just can't catch all the words which didn't make it worthwhile to continue. From what I caught in the first quarter or so of the book, it's pretty much like the last. I doubt I'm missing anything stellar.… (mere)

First Line: "Look, is this really necessary? You know who I am."

Jordan Lacey was on the police force for a short while, but she's not the most politically correct person in England. After telling a superior officer what an idiot he was-- in ringing, bell-like tones in front of all sorts of witnesses-- Jordan finds herself without a job.

She decides she's going to be a private investigator, but she doesn't know how much call there is for one in a low crime area like Latching, West Sussex, so she adorns her office windows with displays of secondhand books and bits of glassware and china she's able to pick up on the cheap. More often than not, she has to replenish her display windows.

There's also more P.I. business than she thought there'd be. There's the woman who's lost her turtle, and the other woman who believes her husband is cheating on her... and then there's the body of the murdered nun Jordan discovers in an abandoned, boarded-up hotel.

Pray and Die is really a character study of a true original more than it's a mystery. Jordan is unique. She's fiercely independent, knows how to live on scarcely any money, and her thought processes don't always run along the same lines as the rest of us. This can be a very good thing.

She may secretly hope for a knight on a white charger, but she's more prone to collecting a series of misfits:

"So don't come to me for advice about men. I'm a loser. Leave them alone if you can. If you can't, pick a good 'un. If there aren't any around, then get a cat and a library ticket."

Although I'm a dog person myself, I think that's excellent advice.

Even though I made friends with Jordan while I read about her and I did find this book to be a wonderful character study, the mystery was practically non-existent. If that doesn't matter to you, you should love this book about an endearing, quirky young woman. I do know that Jordan is such a charmer that I'm looking for the second book in this series.… (mere)