Five Star Detour

by Sherban Young

Freelance courier John Hathaway just wanted a weekend away: two days of wine, women and high stakes poker. Instead, he finds himself diverted to an English-style mansion in the backwoods of Maine—compelled to transport a priceless trinket at the bidding of his overbearing uncle.

Once arrived, he quickly finds that half of the residents are not who they say they are, and all of them want his package. It’s up to Hathaway to sort through the confusion, dodging cops, jewel thieves and his own bodyguard. In the process, he will meet the woman of his dreams and manage to deliver just the right amount of chaos into his host’s otherwise humdrum life.

Genres: Mystery

274 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Sherban (rhymes with "bourbon") splits his time between Maryland and Maine, and has often been called the next P. G. Wodehouse, or at the very least the current Sherban Young. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of literature, classical music, baseball and film (although, it should be noted that this encyclopedia is a single volume, pop-up book edition). When he isn’t working on a new novel, he enjoys single malt, poker, billiards and listing things he enjoys.

Reviews

[Karen M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Think 1940's comedy of errors and you have this book in a nutshell. A bit of mystery and a whole lot of confusion over a bejeweled dagger with a cast of characters that would have done well in a Marx brothers' movie.

More bodyguards than you count, multiple thieves, a large rambling house in the middle of nowhere in Maine and a bridge that gets washed out trapping everyone, including the sheriff, in a mixed up adventure of whose got the dagger.

This was a light, at times funny, read.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amusing easy to read trifle