Finding Veronica

by Louise Forster

London based chef, Jennifer Dove believes she leads an exciting life, until her unconventional sister, and wanna-be Goth niece, join her to attend their uncle's mad-cap funeral in Australia. Barely hours into her stay, she disturbs an intruder and is questioned by the police. Sexy local, Calum McGregor, is an easy going guy, unless he thinks Jennifer is in danger. Throw in fluffy pink stilettos, her uncle's missing girlfriend Veronica, a house that wants to fry her, a fireman to the rescue, a Russian skulking about, and already life is more interesting, and it's only day two. Will she ever unravel her uncle's cryptic message? Time is running out, in more ways than one.

Genres: Romance, Mystery, Chick Lit, Fiction, Humor, Suspense

226 pages, Paperback

First published May 17, 2011

About the author

Louise Forster grew up in a Victorian country town. She ran barefoot along dirt roads and loved looking through the leaves of tall eucalypts at the azure summer skies. Eventually, she grew up, and the country town became a suburb of Melbourne. Running barefoot to catch her train to work would have caused more than a few raised eyebrows so she opted for stilettos, of course. At eighteen, Louise travelled through Europe, parts of Africa and the Pacific Islands. These days Louise lives on the far north coast of New South Wales on a small property that includes her extended family, three dogs, three cats and all manner of wildlife.

There’s more on Louise's website. www.louiseforster.com

Happy reading ~~~ Louise.

Reviews

[Noelle Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is refreshingly original, both in story and in writing style.

I felt so at home with the honest Australian characters - from the two main protagonists, to the dear little old ladies for whom butter wouldn't melt in their mouths. We all know people just like the characters in Finding Veronica. They were real, warts and all, quirky, oddball and sometimes, flawed.

I also resonated with the Australian accents, vernacular, and colloquialisms. The author, Louise Forster, has skillfully taken a slice of everyday life, and put it down on paper.

Forster has captured the eccentricities of everyday characters in a small country town, and created cameo appearances for almost everyone; from the local volunteer fireman, to the undertaker, and the CWA. She has then woven them through a rollicking good yarn full of intrigue, mystery and romance.

The two main characters, Jennifer and Cal, are extremely likeable and the reader has no trouble feeling for them during the ups and downs of their relationship.

But best of all, this book is funny! Laugh out loud funny! I really enjoyed its originality, the wonderful characters, and the writer's ability to create a sense of fun.

[Beverley Eikli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny, touching...hilarious!

I love books that make me laugh and cry and this one did both.

If you like your romance laced with sizzling attraction between two thoroughly engaging protagonists, underpinned by an intriguing mystery, you'll love Finding Veronica. This is a really imaginative tale set in an archetypal Aussie country town (with a dash of London) peopled with quirky, well-drawn characters. At the same time as I was engaged by the potential for the lovely Jennifer Dove and the absolutely hot and drop-dead gorgeous Callum to hit it off, I was madly turning the pages to discover the motives and loyalties of the other characters in the book.

The ending completely took me by surprise and it was worth every page! (And I just adored Callum!)

[Jess Chambers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun read that actually had me laughing out loud. Jennifer Dove thinks she has an interesting life working as a chef in London. However, when she arrives in Australia to attend the funeral of her eccentric uncle, her life immediately becomes a whole lot more exciting. Hours after arriving, it becomes clear that there was more to Uncle Bob than she realized. A cryptic message, a mysterious Russian intruder and Uncle Bob’s missing girlfriend Veronica … what does it all mean? Throw in Calum McGregor, the sexy local who immediately sets Jennifer’s pulse racing, and you end up with a fast-moving story full of humour and warmth.

[Janine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun story, great characters, wonderful descriptions put you right in the story.

[Petra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good story, funny, sexy, and great description of an Australian country town.
The characters very well defined with an unusual twist at the end.

[Louise Forster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fleur Smithwick review

Finding Veronica by Louise Forster

REVIEW Posted by Fleur on May 16, 2012 On her blog http://fleursmithwick.com/ And amazon. Fleur gave Finding Veronica 4 stars.

This is funny, romantic and very sexy. A little predictable perhaps, but that only adds to the tension. Louise Forster paints characters beautifully. Jen is sparky, bright and honest; Calum is just gorgeous. I fell in love with him right away. A bevy of other well-drawn secondary characters keep the story rolicking along. There are times when I read sex scenes that I either cringe, or skim read very quickly, but Louise’s scene is genuinely very sexy, not squelchy or over crude or prissy. It was just great sex! Loved the novel and will follow this author with interest.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maggie Stiefvater, an author whose book recommendations are usually perfect for me, recommended a book called "Saving Francesca" several years ago. I filed that title away and when I saw "Finding Veronica" for a discounted price, I (inadvertently) bought it for my Kindle. The titles reminded me of each other, but this was not Maggie's stellar recommendation. Instead, this was fluffy chick lit. I read it over Christmas break ~ it held my attention but was just for fun. (Side note: I wish I could proofread books for authors like this. I can't believe how many typos slip through and get published.)

[Eleni Konstantine · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this book - the characters were witty and likeable, the Aussie town was quirky, and the mystery of Veronica and the foreign men was a good subplot. I really enjoyed the romance and the banter between Jennifer and Callum, and also the family closeness of Jennifer with her sister and niece. Lots of laugh out loud moments- firemen, bagpipes, and bulls - and some really emotional moments remember the uncle.

I know that there is another book called Finding Elizabeth on the way. Can't wait to read it.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute story although it could have used some touching up and there were some grammatical errors. Once one of the main characters even had another name although maybe the errors and mistakes are only in the Kindle edition.

[Kris]

I enjoyed this, it's a bit predictable and I found the relationship a bit rushed, but then figured that there was maybe stuff we didn't see?

Quite a lot of typos, and there is NO way an Aussie would call undies "panties"!

[Johanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some fun, but the dialog got painfully bad a few times and I figured out the plot twist in the first chapter.

[Beverly Hayhurst · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty predictable but a fun and fast read