Out from Under

Pea Pod Girls Investigations #1

by Melanie Donithan, Dee Middleton-Taylor, Suzanne Curry

Three small town, middle-aged women with big town dreams open up The Pea Pod Girls’ Investigations. Gigi VanWey, the Amazon Queen, Tallulah Dewy Townz, the pint-sized rebel who can open a can of whoop ass, and Babs Rosencrantz, the Jewish Guru, had no idea how much trouble they could stir up with their first case. These extremely resourceful women are three peas in a pod who know how to get a job done.

Their first client, trophy wife and recovering-sugar-daddy-addict Cyndi Lou Montgomery, wants to find out how one minute she’s watching the Douglas County 4th of July celebration and the next, waking up in the Douglas County Prize Bull Barn in a most un-lady-like situation. Now Cyndi is being blackmailed, and given specific instructions to follow. The Pea Pod Girls didn’t know that a home explosion, being shot at, missing evidence and unwanted help from the new town sheriff, Jackson Lee – who, by the way, is so hot you could fry an egg on his fine ass – would be part of the job.
The case comes to a head when the Pea Pod Girls set a trap for the blackmailer at the annual Midnight Madness Costume Ball. Will the Pea Pod Girls be able to solve the mystery before the clock strikes midnight?

188 pages, Paperback

First published January 25, 2015

About the author

Newly published author attempting to get a grip on the whole process of not only writing, but social media and marketing. It's a whole new world for me.

Reviews

[Laura Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s never too late to start your life anew. Tallulah Dewy Townz, at 52 yrs. old, quits her investigator’s job at Child Welfare Services and opens her own investigation business. There’s plenty of cases to go around in Wenatchee, Washington.
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Once she finds office space, it isn’t long before she has several new employees. Her 72 year old neighbor, Arizona Wyatt Zanderfield, offers her secretarial skills cheap.
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And when Tallulah’s best friends, Gigi VanWey; Pea Pod Girl #1 and Babs Rosencratz; Pea Pod Girl #3 stop in to check out her new business, it feels natural, only right to hire the gals too. With Tallulah being Pea Pad Girl #2, now they can get down to the nitty gritty. And boy, do they.
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I can’t count how many times I busted out laughing while reading this book. The author gave me some seasoned ladies to fall in love with.
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Each of the Pea Pod Girls is tough, says exactly what they are thinking, and are like momma bears if anyone threatens the others. The author flashes back to show how the girls met, and the laugh riot never stopped.
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And before I forget, wait until you get a load of Arizona. She’s hired as a secretary, but she’s not afraid to stick her nose in the case. Her shouts to the girls from the outer office had me snickering. I could just see her out there, leaning towards the inner office door, growing impatient, and shouting at them to get to the good stuff.
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Their first case is a doozy. Cyndi Lou Montgomery gets caught with her pants down, literally. A recovering sugar daddy addict, she falls off the wagon and someone gets pictures and a video of her in some very compromising positions and they want money to keep quiet. The poor thing, She has a loving husband and this one lapse could cost her everything.
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I don’t know what I loved more. The fact that these gals were around my age. That they were full of p#ss and vinegar. How tight there friendship was. Or how much snark they could sling.
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All through the book I was thinking, “Bring it.” Cause these ladies are like terriers when they got their teeth into the case. Give them a wrecking ball and all obstacles fall.
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I raise a glass to these authors. They gave me such a fun, thrilling read. I truly didn’t want it to end. Just loved the Pea Pod Gals.

I received this book for my honest review.

[Terri Neel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet home Wenatchee!!!! What a fun and suspenseful read! I love the strong, whimsical bond these three friends have!! It is a book that when I started to read it and had to put it down for the night and knowing that I could not read it again until I got home from work the next day and that was driving me nuts!! This book is written by middle aged women and being of that age I could so relate to many situations that they expressed in the book. So many times I thought I had this mystery figured out and then I was taken on another road of possibilities....Ladies nicely done! Can't wait for the next one!!! Soon I hope!!!

[Michele Null · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given a copy of this book free in exchange for an honest review. There, that’s out of the way! I love the characters in this book. They are charming, witty and very entertaining. I wish that there had been a prequel written that gave the reader the complete background on the three Pea Pod Girls. I do think this would have been very entertaining and enlightening and might have helped make the beginning chapters of the book not quite so confusing with the way the author went into little rants about bits and pieces of the Pea Pod Girls and how they met each other. However, I still really like the book. It was very entertaining and kept me wanting to read more. The author did an excellent job in providing many potential suspects for the perpetrator in this book and did not give anything away that led me to conclusively know before the end who was the person the Pea Pod Girls were looking for. Can’t wait for the next book to come out.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun read. However, you have to take it as more of a girls-fest than a true mystery. Sure, there is a crime involved and suspects galore, but it's the friendships that shine in this book.

I liked the narrator of the book, and she's got some humorous lines. However, I had a hard time being able to navigate the whole Pea Pod Girls group while in her head. I also felt like some dialogue and action scenes were being summarized instead of the author(s) actually taking the reader along for the ride.

Overall, I think it's a nice book, especially since it's the combined effort of multiple writers. It's also got some sassy heroines (note: also a little raunchy at times) and an interesting town setting.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book reads like a episode of The Golden Girls meets The Closer, both shows I loved when they were on TV. I love the wacky characters. You just have to keep turning the page to see what these 4 women will say, think, and do next. I haven't read a book in a long time that I would just love to crawl into and be a part of the crew. I could picture myself being a part of this crew of women. Not sure I would want to be known as a Pea Pod, but it would never be a dull moment. Thank You Heather for an AWESOME read.