This novel has it all – changing locales, fast paced action, and quirky characters. How could you not have quirky characters with a clown in the title? The quirkiness starts with David Graham who is an uptight, by the book FBI agent with a stick up his butt. It continues with Stacie Monroe who is a fly by the seat of your pants investigative journalist. Can you just see the sparks starting to fly?
The novel opens with Stacie searching for her friend’s brother, Alan, who has impregnated the daughter of Mike Caputo, the local mob boss. Alan has disappeared along with some of the mobster’s money. Stacie’s first clue leads her to pose as a receptionist at the Resort to Nature in Phoenix, AZ where she believes Alan may have fled. To Stacie’s chagrin the Resort to Nature is a nudist resort. Okay, this poses some interesting problems… Where does one hide a gun?? Or anything else??? You’ll have to read the novel to find out!
We discover early on in the novel that Stacie’s family dynamic is a huge reason for her cavalier attitude toward life. It starts with her mother who is a lawyer, and progresses to her father who is a symphony conductor, and finishes with her sister who is labeled the “always-perfect Cynthia”. Thank heavens for her grandfather who was a career police officer. Stacie needs all the knowledge that he’s given her to stay alive during this novel! She’s able to handle weapons, defend herself against mobsters, use hand lotion to stop windows from squeaking, and pick handcuff locks with her earring. All handy talents for a gal to have!
I found it especially interesting to watch the interplay between David and Stacie as they endeavor to solve the mystery of Alan’s disappearance and the missing Caputo mob money. David’s approach is very methodical and well thought out, while Stacie’s approach is “if I try this what will happen?” Stacie’s approach usually lands her in hot water with David riding to the rescue! As the novel progresses, Stacie and David start to incorporate each other’s techniques into solving the mystery. David begins to loosen up and take more risks and Stacie is more aware of her actions. For instance, when Stacie and David escape from mobster Caputo’s lake house in a Corvette, David states that they confiscated the car, they didn’t steal it. However, always the FBI agent, David has the Corvette towed in after it is involved in an accident so that the proceeds can be used to fight crime and Caputo in particular.
The budding romance between David and Stacie is a joy to watch unfold. In the beginning of the novel, David has no intention of ever being anything but a loner. As an FBI Agent, he spends most of his time undercover and could be killed at any time. As much as he wants to have a relationship, he’s afraid of risking it. Stacie, on the other hand, is ready, willing, and able to love David with all her heart. David’s hard shell begins cracking about midway through the novel and by the end of the novel he emerges ready to love Stacie with all his heart.
The mystery involving Alan’s disappearance and the missing money becomes more and more intriguing as the novel progresses. Just when you think that you know where the story is headed it goes off in another direction. The novel is bittersweet in parts, hysterically funny and has a mystery that leaves you in suspense until the end! My only regret is that we never get to see the picture of David, Stacie, and Alan in full clown regalia!!
Reviewed on The Romance Reviews by Wicked Tiffy's alter ego Ann
