Dirty Tricks [Kindle Edition]

Well, well, well...it seems Jo Carnegie is the new Jackie Collins. Wow, talk about a `bonk-buster' of a book. I have read all of Jo's books and enjoyed them all. This latest one was the best yet in my opinion. Her previous books introduce us to all different people living in the village and I must say that each book gives you another look into the lives of the villagers.

Although the books are set in and around the people that live or have lived in Churchminster you could read each one on their own and it wouldn't make any difference. I like having a bit of background on all the various people we have seen in previous books especially when they pop up again in the current one.

This latest release takes us into the lives of Harriet and Saffy. Harriett is quite happy living in London, but with her mother having disappeared off to do charity work on the other side of the world, she realises she is missing something. Her mad idea of volunteering for a charity becomes a reality and before long she is signed up to help out at the Gatsby Community Centre.

The Community Centre introduces us to Zack the very sexy but mysterious man who runs the place, and Win the loud and lovable lady that everybody seems to go to for help. Win is a fabulous character and I could almost picture her in my head chatting to Harriet. Zack was also interesting although it took me longer to work out why he didn't come across as well, however by the end of the book it all made sense.

Saffy meanwhile is set up in the country in her Mum's house and is writing her first book. She is determined to make a go of it, but didn't bank on Tom's supermodel twin brother Rex popping up and becoming a temporary resident in the village. Zack and Tom may be twins and be identical in looks but as men they are polar opposites. Saffy finds herself drawn in to Rex and his world and before long her relationship with Tom is on rocky ground.

As ever the other village characters pop up and one on my absolute favourites is Harriet's Dad Sir Ambrose. He made me laugh at his antics while Harriet's mother was out of the country. We also see fleeting glimpses of Jed, Benedict and Caro as well as Clementine.

As usual Jo Carnegie has done a cracking job of bringing to life these weird and wonderful people of Churchminster. The book was so easy to read and had a brilliant ending that wrapped up things nicely. Don't get me wrong this is not a book that is challenging, but myself personally, I don't read `chick lit' books for the challenge. In particular the one thing that stood out a mile for me with this book is the amount of sex in it! Now I love a good bonk buster with Jackie Collins being a favourite, but was shocked to see the change in JC's books. I don't recall Jo Carnegie writing like that before, although she certainly pulled the hat out of the bag with this book. In my eyes the perfect beach read, forget reality and get your teeth stuck into this glamorous, funny and trashy novel. Perfect!!!

I love Jo Carnegie's books. They have sat on my bookshelf for so long and it was only a couple of months ago that I read the first one. Anyway, I have just finished the fourth, 'Dirty Tricks' and devoured it in two days.

This time the story follows Saffron and Harriet. Both of these characters we have met before in the previous books, but here they become the main focus. Saffron has come back to Churchminster to write her book and accidently gets dragged into helping her future brother-in-law organise a fashion show. Harriet now lives in London and decides, after being inspired by her mum, to take on some charity work. She volunteers at a community centre, where she falls for Zack, who has a few secrets of his own!

As always, it's completely unrealistic and unblievable but I don't really care. It's a great escape read and certainly made me feel better when I was a little under the weather.

Just one more to go now - Horse Play. What will I do when I've read that?!

Great read. Not disappointed. This one concentrates on Saffron and her beau and Harriet and hers..with some of the old Churchminster characters. Hope Calypso and Camilla come back into the future ones. Missed them in this one.