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Later Gator (A Miss Fortune Mystery Book 9)
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Customer reviews
- Later Gator (A Miss Fortune Mystery Book 9)
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- Customer reviews
Top positive review
Fun, funny, and deep
November 29, 2016
I really enjoy this series as a whole, and this book was no exception.
I definitely wouldn't read this installment without reading the previous ones, because Fortune's going through a lot of life-changes right now. Last book she and Carter got back together right at the very end, but without really defining what that was going to be like. Now she's still trying to decide what she's going to to do with the rest of her life, having come to the conclusion that the CIA is no longer what she wants to do, but she's got the added hang up of not wanting to step on Carter's toes if she becomes a private detective, as well as worrying about staying in Sinful if she and Carter don't ultimately work out.
All these deeper concerns are underneath the much more fun and much more hilarious joyride of being in Sinful, with its whacky laws and whackier citizens. Celia is being worse than usual (Please, oh please let her get some kind of amazing comeuppance eventually... I don't think I've disliked a fictional character so much since Umbridge), there's a young man to save, a gater that is starting to think it's a dog, Ida's amazing menagerie of lies, and the usual mishaps the Swamp Team gang gets into whenever they're trying to solve a mystery. I love spending time in Sinful anyway, but with the deeper undercurrents to Fortune's life as well as the fate of the town (Celia as mayor?! *horrified gasp* get that audit done!), the books are incredibly satisfying on multiple levels. It's a light-hearted romp, but with some real meat to sink your teeth into as well.
I definitely wouldn't read this installment without reading the previous ones, because Fortune's going through a lot of life-changes right now. Last book she and Carter got back together right at the very end, but without really defining what that was going to be like. Now she's still trying to decide what she's going to to do with the rest of her life, having come to the conclusion that the CIA is no longer what she wants to do, but she's got the added hang up of not wanting to step on Carter's toes if she becomes a private detective, as well as worrying about staying in Sinful if she and Carter don't ultimately work out.
All these deeper concerns are underneath the much more fun and much more hilarious joyride of being in Sinful, with its whacky laws and whackier citizens. Celia is being worse than usual (Please, oh please let her get some kind of amazing comeuppance eventually... I don't think I've disliked a fictional character so much since Umbridge), there's a young man to save, a gater that is starting to think it's a dog, Ida's amazing menagerie of lies, and the usual mishaps the Swamp Team gang gets into whenever they're trying to solve a mystery. I love spending time in Sinful anyway, but with the deeper undercurrents to Fortune's life as well as the fate of the town (Celia as mayor?! *horrified gasp* get that audit done!), the books are incredibly satisfying on multiple levels. It's a light-hearted romp, but with some real meat to sink your teeth into as well.
25 people found this helpful
Top critical review
Sinfully Good
November 29, 2016
It's always fun to catch up with Fortune and the gang in Sinful and this installment of the series delivered the usual blend of outlandish capers. It lost stars because the author seemed to merely be going through the motions, with this book being a place holder until some real progress happens in the various ongoing plots. We still don't know who will ultimately win the office of mayor. Fortune and Carter are still sniffing around one another but their relationship hasn't developed and further. Fortune is still in hiding from a terrorist. Enough already! I hope the next installment will see progress on two or more of those plots. It's hard to justify paying full paperback price for an ebook that's drawing out previously built suspense instead of moving forward.
89 people found this helpful
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July 14, 2017
Normally I wouldn't consider a little swamp romp a candidate for a 4-star rating, but this series has a niche of its own so I am letting it ride. The series is coming round the bend to a conclusion with more plotting and narrative skill than slapstick comedy to support the story. It's a nice development, with more mystery -and reptiles--taking up the duty to amuse. The ladies are no less funny than usual; the many other swamp dwellers are plausible secondary characters doing their bits to bring Sinful to life. Happily events are somehow less pressured in this episode as Fortune works to figure out where her life is going. It doesn't hurt that Gertie is ably assisted as top-clown by a seemingly domesticated, thieving alligator which she named Godzilla. His occasionally burlesque appearance is made less terrifying by walking on a leash, chasing Fortune through neighborhood yards and streets for reasons Woody Allen could have explained in his best stand-up (back in the day.) When logic would demand shooting the critter, it hisses at her, accepts pastry in lieu of flesh and blood--and the moment passes. That's how I am going to reduce the elements which add up to plenty of gator antics. Add a layer of danger with Ida Belle driving like a maniac and a deadly poacher on the loose, and this turn in Fortune' s adventures offers a fun light summer read.
November 30, 2016
I didn't find it very funny, sorry to say. Some of the antics with Gertie are more ridiculous than humorous.
December 2, 2016
I love this series. The characters are very well defined with a lot of depth and personality. So much so that you feel like you are in Sinful, Louisiana going along with their crazy antics almost like feeling the wind in your face on the airboat or the bumps in the road in the souped up SUV while immersed in the story. There is always a funny unexpected craziness going on to give more life and interest to the book, and to give you some laugh out loud antics as you try and figure out who is the culprit. I can't wait for the next one. You get invested in the characters as friends, and I can't wait to see what happens next.
January 10, 2019
I love this whole series. Yes there are some twisted idioms, the occasional missing commas, etc., but the dialog is so great and the characters such...characters... that you I'm reading through the whole series quickly. I love seeing the changes in Fortune. Gertie's adventures require suspension of disbelief, but somehow seem as if they "might" just happen. :) The whole gang is well worth visiting over and over with each book. It IS in a serial form, so it' helpful to start at the beginning with "Louisiana Longshot" so you see the growth of the main character and really get her story.
December 1, 2016
I absolutely LOVE these books.
I read a LOT, and I like and enjoy many books and authors, however Jana DeLeon and her characters in this series of books are favorites of mine. They are an absolute must read. They will definitely be enjoyed the most in order.
Jana DeLeon has such a knack for having you rolling on the floor laughing, with tears streaming down your face, and also has you wondering what is coming next. I can not wait for the next book to come out!!!!
Jana DeLeon's Mudbug series of books are also very good. A very enjoyable series you should read.
I read a LOT, and I like and enjoy many books and authors, however Jana DeLeon and her characters in this series of books are favorites of mine. They are an absolute must read. They will definitely be enjoyed the most in order.
Jana DeLeon has such a knack for having you rolling on the floor laughing, with tears streaming down your face, and also has you wondering what is coming next. I can not wait for the next book to come out!!!!
Jana DeLeon's Mudbug series of books are also very good. A very enjoyable series you should read.
March 22, 2017
Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie get involved in a gator poaching case after Gertie, who has been acting strange even by Gertie standards, tries to save a gator by taking it home with her from the swamp. Gertie names the gator Godzilla and turns it into a sweets craving reptile. However, when her cousin, Petey, who is autistic, is arrested for being the gator poacher, the women really get invested in finding the true poacher.
While there are some truly memorable moments in this book, it was my least favorite of the series so far. The movement of the story was slow. The characters never disappoint. This is a series best read in order.
While there are some truly memorable moments in this book, it was my least favorite of the series so far. The movement of the story was slow. The characters never disappoint. This is a series best read in order.
March 23, 2017
I like this series and this was a fun little read but the story needs to move in a forward direction instead of stall mode. Decide who the mayor is going to be - the indecision has been in 3 books or so while the votes are being recounted (among other things). It was kind of funny about Gertie's alligator being like a pet but totally unrealistic since alligators are reptiles. I don't think that they are capable of being friends with anything, much less a human. Several things need to be wrapped up so Fortune can move on with her life in Sinful. There is bound to be lots of fun stuff to write about as the characters grow and develop.
June 21, 2019
I love the Miss Fortune mysteries. They're funny, and there's always a good puzzle (or two) beneath the laughs. However, this book misses on both accounts. All of the stuff with Gertie and Godzilla, the alligator, was played out in practically the same fashion in another book (which was much better), and the poacher mystery was slow. This is one of the two Miss Fortune novels (and I've read them all now) that failed to make time with Swamp Team 3 interesting.
February 27, 2018
I am a big fan of the Miss Fortune series so I was excited to read this installment. The humor,as always, was in track. The characters are loveable and the writing is so descriptive that the story plays out in my mind's eye like a movie.
I only rate at 4 stars because the story is short. There is no grand ,epic mystery here. Just a short and sweet who done it.
My biggest complaint is the price. For the cost of the book i would like more story. Instead, I get 4-6 hours of giggles. I read too much for that to be affordable. I wish Ms. DeLeon would put her books in kindle unlimited. But for now I have to settle for buying when I can afford it and borrowing th test of the time.
I would recommend this book for readers who: love slapstick comedy, enjoy a small mystery, want a quick read, and who isn't bothered by the price tag.
I only rate at 4 stars because the story is short. There is no grand ,epic mystery here. Just a short and sweet who done it.
My biggest complaint is the price. For the cost of the book i would like more story. Instead, I get 4-6 hours of giggles. I read too much for that to be affordable. I wish Ms. DeLeon would put her books in kindle unlimited. But for now I have to settle for buying when I can afford it and borrowing th test of the time.
I would recommend this book for readers who: love slapstick comedy, enjoy a small mystery, want a quick read, and who isn't bothered by the price tag.
January 31, 2017
I love this series, and I suppose after this many books the story line does have to have less pizzazz, as the heroine is trying to calm her life down. But it was hard for me to not be a little bit bored as I have gotten used to the insane antics of the old broads in this series. Tbat is the reason for the 4 stars, but I will definitely keep going. It is a cute series with incredibly likeable characters, however wild and :unreal" they are.
