Bubbles all the Way by Sarah Strohmeyer

c Waterloo Public Library 2008

Bubbles is back! The one time hairdresser turned journalist, Bubbles is helping her best friend, Sandy, at the House of Beauty when something goes dreadfully wrong. They are doing an elaborate "do" for Debbie Shatsky in preparation for a big night out with her plumber husband, Phil (the wonder man who cleans, cooks, and hates sports--and, he's a highly sought after plumber, don't forget!).

Debbie collapses and has to be taken away by ambulance; this isn't good for Sandy's reputation or her business--and then Debbie dies. Bubbles sees her friend devastated and then fearful as the police investigate the case, based on a mysterious phone call with a tip about Debbie being poisoned. Shortly after that, Sandy disappears.

In the meantime, Bubbles has her own problems to worry about; her ex-husband Dan is blackmailing her into getting remarried, supposedly for the sake of their daughter, Jane, who has had a rough year after getting kidnapped. Now in therapy, Jane is insecure and longs for an intact family. Dan has Bubbbles convinced that if she doesn't go through with it, she is a terrible mother and he will make sure that she loses custody. The fact that Dan abandoned them years earlier, has failed to support them financially, is a crude, cruel and self absorbed man, and married a rich, snobby woman doesn't seem to matter. It also doesn't seem to matter that Bubble's heart is breaking, because she really loves Steve Stiletto--the handsome, wealthy photographer she met in the first Bubbles book.

The story takes twists and turns as Bubbles has to fight for her job, figure out what happened to her friend, try to go along with Dan's plan to save their daughter and cope with the stress of loving one man and feeling forced to marry another. Along the way she encounters an Iraqi war veteran who saves her from a strange drive by shooting, finds herself attending a bachelor auction and bidding on Steve, and tries to console the widowed plumber Phil, who is also one of her neighbors. Things are not what they seem and she digs into Debbie's death, in spite of being warned not to do so: in a strange reversal, the death is declared an accident after all.

However, the strangest stuff comes as the story wraps up; I won't spoil it for you, but it is another good read and one of my favorite guilty pleasures. If you can't get to the beach this summer, you can at least curl up in your favorite chair with this book and pretend you're at the beach!

You can find Bubbles All the Way in the Adult Fiction Paperbacks as well in Large Print.