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Review – Boo Humbug

January 8, 2011 By
In Boo Humbug, we find the citizens of Skary, Indiana deep into the Christmas holiday season. Streets and homes are decorated, carolers are singing, and all is well in the small town until Lois Stepaphanolopolis decides she must put on a production of A Christmas Story. Of course, it cannot be the age-old, tired rendition of the play. No, Lois has to put a spin on the story, making sure her telling of the tale lives up to the town’s name.

Lois, without revealing her tampering with the play, recruits the locals who skeptically participate. Alfred Tennison, the local Scrooge himself, signs on as promoter and hails the production far and wide guaranteeing a large audience for the program. Trouble is, the neighboring towns misconstrue the true nature of Lois’s play and expect a far different performance than the one scheduled.

Lois doesn’t have to convince Wolfe Boone and his friend Oliver, both fathers of young babies, to seek out roles once they figure out the nightly play practices give them a much needed break in their rigorous parenting schedules. But trouble soon lands on their doorsteps as well, when their wives discover their devious plans.

Though this book is classified as suspense, I found it much more of a lighthearted read. As I turned the pages, I could almost hear a narrator reciting the words in a fairytale-ish tone and saw the story come to life before me on the big screen. Gutteridge’s whit fills the pages and brings the characters and town of Skary to life. But don’t confuse the jovial nature of the book as one that doesn’t carry a message. Hidden within the tale is a strong message reminding us that all God wants from us is ourselves, fully and completely.

This is a great read, but would also make a wonderful new Christmas tradition to read during the holidays, or a special stocking stuffer for anyone. What better gift to give at Christmas than this delightful reminder of God’s love.

Boo Humbug (The Boo Series #4)
Boo Humbug (The Boo Series #4)
by Rene Gutteridge
List Price: $11.99
Sale Price: $0.74
Buy from Amazon.com
Review – Boo Humbug
Reviewed by Susan Sleeman
I haven’t had such fun reading a book in a long time.
In Boo Humbug, we find the citizens of Skary, Indiana deep into the Christmas holiday season. Streets and homes are decorated, carolers are singing, and all is well in the small town until Lois Stepaphanolopolis decides she must put on a production of A Christmas Story. Of course, it cannot be the age-old, tired rendition of the play. No, Lois has to put a spin on the story, making sure her telling of the tale lives up to the town’s name.

Lois, without revealing her tampering with the play, recruits the locals who skeptically participate. Alfred Tennison, the local Scrooge himself, signs on as promoter and hails the production far and wide guaranteeing a large audience for the program. Trouble is, the neighboring towns misconstrue the true nature of Lois’s play and expect a far different performance than the one scheduled.

Lois doesn’t have to convince Wolfe Boone and his friend Oliver, both fathers of young babies, to seek out roles once they figure out the nightly play practices give them a much needed break in their rigorous parenting schedules. But trouble soon lands on their doorsteps as well, when their wives discover their devious plans.

Though this book is classified as suspense, I found it much more of a lighthearted read. As I turned the pages, I could almost hear a narrator reciting the words in a fairytale-ish tone and saw the story come to life before me on the big screen. Gutteridge’s whit fills the pages and brings the characters and town of Skary to life. But don’t confuse the jovial nature of the book as one that doesn’t carry a message. Hidden within the tale is a strong message reminding us that all God wants from us is ourselves, fully and completely.

This is a great read, but would also make a wonderful new Christmas tradition to read during the holidays, or a special stocking stuffer for anyone. What better gift to give at Christmas than this delightful reminder of God’s love.
Reviewer Info

Susan Sleeman


Susan Sleeman SUSAN SLEEMAN grew up in a small Wisconsin town where she spent her summers reading Nancy Drew and developing a love of mystery and suspense books. Today, she channels this enthusiasm into hosting the popular internet website TheSuspenseZone.com and writing romantic suspense and mystery novels.

Much to her husband’s chagrin, Susan loves to look at everyday situations and turn them into murder and mayhem scenarios for future novels. If you’ve met Susan, she has probably figured out a plausible way to kill you and get away with it. Don’t worry, she’d never follow through on it.

Her GARDEN GATE MYSTERY series featuring landscape designer Paige Turner, debuted in October 2010 with NIPPED IN THE BUD in Barbour Books Hometown Mysteries line. The second book, READ BETWEEN THE TINES will release in e-book format in the Spyglass Lane Mystery series in February of 2012 An avid gardener, Susan has included gardening tips at the beginning of each chapter brought to you in humorous scenarios.

Her first romantic suspense novel, featuring the Morgan Brothers, released with Ryan’s story in HIGH-STAKES INHERITANCE , Russ’s story in BEHIND THE BADGE and the Reid’s story in THE CHRISTMAS WITNESS.

Coming in 2012 Susan’s latest series about five adopted siblings who leave law enforcement to form a private investigations firm called the Justice Agency will debut with DOUBLE EXPOSURE in June and in November, DEAD WRONG will release.

Susan currently lives in Florida, but has had the pleasure of living in nine states. Her husband is a church music director and they have two beautiful daughters, a very special son-in-law and an adorable grandson. In her spare time, you can find her traveling to Oregon to visit her children and grandson, reading, gardening or working on TheSuspenseZone.com. To learn more about Susan, please visit her website, or follow on Twitter and Facebook.
 
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