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If you’re hungry for a light, funny read with likable characters, a smidgen of romance, and a dash of mystery and adventure, Sis Boom Bah is a tasty morsel, but at $24.00, it’s kind of an expensive little treat.
This is the story of the Peltz sisters – never married Deborah and thrice-divorced Sharon. Both in their mid-forties, they have yet to figure out a way to relate to one another. Deborah is the younger of the two, lives in New York, and writes for a popular soap opera, while Sharon runs her own party/catering business in Florida where their widowed mother lives. Both are successful in their chosen careers, but neither has ever found The Right Man, even though each has gone through many of The Wrong Men in her search for true love.
Primarily Deborah’s story, Sis Boom Bah is told in the first person. This endears the reader immediately to Deborah and lets us see the world and everyone in it through her eyes. She’s smart and funny and much more reasonable than her sister, the anal, self-sacrificing Sharon.
When their mother suffers a heart attack, the two sisters must learn to work with each other instead of constantly bickering. Their suddenly assertive, recovering mom insists “her girls” grow up and get over it, so Deborah and Sharon do their best to learn to get along. But when Mom’s cardiologist turns out to be rather hunky, the sisters each find themselves vying for his attention.
In order to better care for her mother (and because she’s had it with life in New York), Deborah quits her job and moves to Florida. At this point, the good doctor tells Deborah he likes her best and wants to get to know her better. When she decides to take him up on it, she accepts an invitation to his house, only to find disaster awaiting her. As a result of this sudden turn of events, Deborah decides to investigate the “situation” personally, while sister Sharon takes a different approach and hires a lawyer (or does the lawyer hire her?). In the course of settling in to her new life, Deborah also manages to find a new man, the totally appealing Ray Scalley.
This book was marketed as a relationship story where two divergent sisters supposedly finally find happiness (or harmony at least) with each other. It was, but then again, it wasn’t. It was more a mystery/adventure with a hint of romance thrown in. While it’s a pleasant read, humorous, fast-paced, the sisters’ constant bickering whenever they were together eventually grates. When the chips are down, Deborah moves heaven and earth to protect her sister, but I never got the feeling Sharon would have done the same.
If you’re a Jane Heller fan, you’ll no doubt really enjoy this book. It’s not a standout by any means, but I liked it well enough.
Grade: B-
Book Type: Women's Fiction
Sensuality: N/A
Review Date: 24/06/99
Publication Date: 2000
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Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.