One Fine Mess

by Mark Petersen

All Jules Nichols wants is to off her abusive hubby. But soon the baddies are popping up everywhere, the staties are suspicious, and her wacko sister won't go away. There's also that darn head in a box. It's no time to lose her own head. But who could've known it'd be so hard to commit one little murder?

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Procedural

384 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 21, 2018

About the author

Addictions counselor by day. Crime fiction addict and author by night. Any resemblance to the quirky characters in my books is, um, mostly coincidental.

I've also worked as an archaeologist, truck driver, logger, and bike-tour guide in Paris.

I attended law school for one day. That was enough.

Crime and comedy? Way more interesting.

Reviews

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is by a big margin the most humorous book I have read in a long time. Laugh-out-loud a few times, but a definite smile &/or roll-the eyes moments for the rest of the times - and I mean the majority of the rest of the time. The dialogue and situational humour fits in very well with Aussie humour - something quite/very unusual for an American writer.

The book centres almost 90% on just three main characters - Jules, Wesley and Cadillac Frank aka Half-Ass Frank - and involves (mainly) love and revenge, the latter being the process of either implementing it or avoiding it. Dialogue is appropriate for both situations and location. Just a hint of sexual activity. Over the last 50 years of my reading, I have rarely found this achieved in such a simple way, with little 'breathing' space, and with such a small number of characters in such a long book - and I really do love a full book, not those less than 200 page attempts found everywhere. Excellent editing.

This is highly recommended by me. I'll be looking forward to any future books from this author.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

**I received this book from the lovely Jane over at RAR**

"Except for the freaked-out man tied up near the cobbler's bench, it was a tastefully decorated camp."

Like I mentioned above, Jane over at Ryder Author Resources sent this book over to me because she thought I would like it.  Funny story with a bad-ass female lead?  What's not to like?  Of course I loved it.  She knows me so well!

This story revolves around Jules and Wesley.  Jules was a stripper with a piece of crap husband who used to beat on her and peddled drugs and weapons.  Real winner, right?  Jules and Wesley decide to get rid of her husband, Eddie, the permanent way.  They carry it out and then spend a good chunk of the book trying to cover their tracks so they can move on with their lives.

While Eddie is a total waste and no one seems to be investigating things too hard, and Jules and Wesley thought they were in the clear, Wesley seems to have a bit of a gambling problem and owes some people A LOT of money.  So now they have their crime looming over them as well as Wesley's other problems.  Jules is such a fun character and I adored her.  Wesley is pretty much a putz and he's lucky Jules loves him haha.

I'm so thankful for Jane for recommending this book to me.  The writing was fun and witty and so entertaining.  And the chapters were the perfect length.  I do most of my reading before bed and I detest stopping in the middle of a chapter.  Though with this book, I found myself saying "oh, just one more chapter' many many times.

[Laure · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jules enlists the aid of Wesley, one of her customers at the strip club where she worked and her lover, to help her murder her abusive, criminal husband.
Hilarity ensues when these intriguing and sometimes, somewhat hapless characters are confronted with unexpected consequences of their plan and the people who suspect them.
Murder, mayhem, suspense, and fascinating twists in the plot, make this a must read. Fantastic book, I loved it!

I am voluntarily leaving an honest and non-incentivized review of this ARC.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read by this author and I thought it was really good. It kept my interest and had me turning pages trying to figure out what would happen next. There are a lot of twists and turns in the storyline. I would be interested in reading more by this author.
*I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. This is my honest review.*

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Typically when reading, I mentally write review outlines. This book, however, caused me to completely give up on that process to wait and see where I was led. By the end, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself wanting to rate the story higher than I felt it deserved at the midway point. Tongues better not be wagging - I know I’m not the only one assigning opinions before the story is finished.

One thing which never wavered was my love of the book’s premise. We all have those days, or even weeks when it seems nothing will ever go right. Every attempt at altering our luck is for naught. We blame ourselves. We blame each other. We blame Mother Nature and everyone else we can think of.

In this story, Jules and Wesley are thrown one curveball after another. My issue with this is mostly on Wesley’s shoulders. I had a difficult time reading through his character. He wanted to be brave. He was ready to be brave. And then he wasn’t - all within a span of moments. When the story was told through his viewpoint I wanted to close the book. Most of the mess was brought about by his series of well-intended, but bad choices. I was constantly frustrated by his thought process.

The author did a wonderful job with the feints and twists. The flow was smooth and the descriptions felt natural. New characters were introduced to the story in a way which helped explain backstories while creating possible suspects.

The author displayed his talent when writing from the viewpoint of each character. As I read, I could feel completely different personalities. This wasn’t a “show don’t tell” exercise. This was complete submersion into the various characters.

I did enjoy reading the remainder of the book. Jules and Wesley grew as a couple. Maybe now they can gain strength by working together instead of keeping secrets for fear of the other “losing it.”

[Nebulous · Rating 4 out of 5]

"One Fine Mess" by Mark Petersen is definitely an adventure filled crime comedy. Jules Nichols is a fierce, determined woman who emerges as a protective lioness once her family is threatened. I could not help but admire her strength and resolve during the toughest of times. Wesley is an adorable goofball and very earnest. The journey of Cadillac Frank to Half-A**ed Frank (in the literal sense) was hilarious though I ended up feeling bad for him (just a little bit). There are several laugh out loud moments and once you get used to the writing style, this book is one rollercoaster of a ride. I really like how Mark introduced the supporting characters (Detective Burpee, Emma, Homer, Bree along with Sal and Pino) and they fit well into the overall plot of the story. The overall style of the book certainly gave me Carl Hiaasen and Janet Evanovich vibes!
A big thank you to VoraciousReadersOnly for giving me a free review copy of this book.

[Jenna · Rating 1 out of 5]

For me, this missed its mark.

Premise sounded better than it was, author tried to imitate Carl hiassen &elmore Leonard.
Quirky characters but the story wasn’t interesting.
I just couldn’t get into it.

Thank you to hidden gems for the copy of this in return for my honest review.

[Preeti Chauhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Heroine of this movie,Jules, is a stripper who happens to fall for and marry a real jerk,Eddie .Eddie deals in drugs,smuggling and all sorts crimes but the worst part is that he beats and batters up Jules at the drop of a hat.
Jules meets a local hero and together they plan to kill Eddie and start their own lovely family.

But the Hero turns out to be the damsel in distress with his own ghosts and Jules ends up being the saviour.
Throw in a drug addict little sister and the Mob , a sympathetic cop who peeps on Jules private life and you have a thriller that keeps you sitting up till the end.

There are lot of things that are questionable and the pace sometimes slackens when the author tries to give us humour in the middle of a tight moment but this is not a book that you want to leave midway however silly it seems sometimes.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book by Mark Petersen was definitely a fun and entertaining read about how Jules and Wesley should not commit murder. There were so many pieces on the board it was hard for them to keep track of all of them: the mob boss and his crew due to Wesley's gambling debts, an abusive husband who was the murder victim, the local police detective, the state police officers, and a deranged and drugged-out sister. And oh yeah, let's not forget the damn gun that refused to stay safely buried and away from law enforcement's grasp. It was also a story about Jules' love for Wesley in spite of what he did or how foolishly he acted. The plot was so fun and almost hilarious in places it kept the story light and airy. This is a voluntary review of an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from Hidden Gems Books.

[Bev · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is about a woman who wants to get rid of her abusive husband....forever. She also wants to have some babies with her lover. Together they plot a way to do this and get the insurance money to live off of. There are many things going on in this story. It is written well and will keep the reader's interest. Then things start going south in ways neither Jules (the wife) and Wesley (the lover) ever thought about. They had planned everything so well, and the bottom falls out when Wesley and the baby are kidnapped. Oh, let's not forget that the police aren't all that convinced that Jules is a grieving widow without any part in her husband's death. I voluntarily read a copy of this book from Hidden Gems.

[Melissa Basnight · Rating 4 out of 5]

What could go wrong went wrong with everything that happened in this story. A woman is trying to get away from her abusive husband and her boyfriend owes money to the mob, her sister wants to make her life miserable and the detectives are watching her. Definitely some humorous situations that everyone in the story gets themselves into. The story kind of reminds me of Christopher Moore books with the crazy situations that the characters get into. Fun romp through their crazy lives. I received an ARC and I voluntarily reviewed this book.

[Kay Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable Read

This book makes a great story line and crazy events an enjoyable adventure. How this story was even dreamed up should be a second book.

[Louise Dubord · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Voracious Readers Only. It is a violent crime comedy riddled with crazy events that always turn out badly for the protagonists. Early on, I realized that this is not my kind of humor, but I wanted to give the book a fair chance. The dialogue is often confusing, because you don’t always know who is talking. It seems a bit contrived, as the author almost stops serious predicaments to inject some humor at what feels like a weird time. The story is unreal at times and the protagonists seem prone to make stupid decisions.

[Joe Beauchamp · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was out there from the reviews and description, but thought a change from solid mysteries and thrillers could be good. A lady with a loser boyfriend. Maybe the inspiration here is to get a boyfriend who lies about important things and owes big $ because of gambling addiction, oh, and is very much a whimp? Yes it is in 2 parts. After 20%, I thought I should press on because occasionally they get better. This did slightly with an occasional interesting situation. The 2nd part felt very tacked on. Had to have an OK Corral moment, I guess.

[Les · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is pretty much a really violent screwball comedy. The plot and characters are fairly predictable. There is very little nuance. One of the issues for me is that it was difficult following the dialog because a lot of the sentences are clipped, so its hard to tell who is actually talking much of the time.

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book, through Reading Deals, and I gave an honest review.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had fun reading this book 📖!

It's an entertaining story with likable, (though somewhat flawed) characters. The bad guys are scary but just klutzy enough to be funny.

Great 👍 read 📚 .

[MGB · Rating 2 out of 5]

“One Fine Mess” was one fine mess. I kept hoping that one of the characters would draw me in, but it was not to be. The three main characters at the start of the story were flawed, two of them deeply.

[Kindle Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

It must be me. I did not enjoy this book
I was told it was hilarious. I found it tedious.
The elements were there. They just didn't mesh for me.

[Susan Oshrin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining

Kept me shaking my head, but still hoping it would all work out. Really got me into the characters, and invested in the outcome!

[Cath · Rating 3 out of 5]

This books follows the confusing world of Jules and her lover Wesley and her plan to get rid of her abusive husband, Eddie. She makes a plan and believes she has everything covered, to live on the insurance money and not have to live in chaos. To have the chance to have children with her lover and live a quiet and peaceful future. No matter how good her plans, something will always go amiss, when one plans a murder.

Soon, she has loads of problems, not just the police investigating Eddie’s murder, but other criminals, mostly linked to her late husband’s activities. The mob, bikers distributing drugs, a hitman and even her jealous and crazy sister. Wesley starts to fall apart and the police seem to have further evidence and Jules starts to worry about what errors they may have made.

There are other murders required to survive the situation, the kidnapping of Wesley and their child making matters worse, and Jules has to keep her s**t together. The plan for just a simple method of getting rid of her abusive husband, has certainly got more and more complicated as time progresses, not easier. Will a life of peace, money and happiness with her little family ever actually happen?

I found this to have quite a slow start, for me, but did find it more engrossing towards the end of the book, as there are multiple scenarios occurring to ramp up the action. Some of it seemed quite unreal at times, but I suppose with the main character’s way of life, this could be what the author is reflecting. I received a copy of this book from Hidden Gems and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.