Sometimes it’s great to find a book which is just an entertaining read: funny with a good-paced narrative, enough mystery to keep you reading and twists to keep you guessing. Ruby Fox has accomplished all of this brilliantly in the first of a series of books featuring Kat Alley.
Kat is an Australian reporter who specialises in digging up the dirt on the rich and famous and spreading it far and wide using social media and her blog. However, this comes at a cost, as she gets to find out, resulting in her career potentially becoming completely derailed, and a celebrity, as a consequence of Kat’s reporting, deciding to end it all. To calm things down, her editor sends Kat to L.A. to cover a story about a Hollywood film star long deceased, Xander Hill, whose suspicious death remains unsolved. Is Kat the person to get to the bottom of it?
Well, the answer is yes but this is an unorthodox tale as Kat is assisted in her enquiries by the most unlikeliest of characters, which I will not reveal here. Her investigation leads her to interview friends and associates of Xander as well as enlisting the help of the L.A. police department, and she uncovers details of a life that may not have been quite what it seemed. There are twists and turns galore and the plot motors along at a fair pace and is well developed.
Ultimately, she solves the mystery and learns a lot about herself in the process. leading to closure for her on a personal issue too as she realises that she can’t just run roughshod over people’s lives and expect zero repercussions – she would be a very unsympathetic figure if she didn’t reflect and Kat is very likeable. Fox has her cracking jokes and her inner dialogue is funny and lively and at times, made me laugh out loud. There is the idea of her being scatty but intelligent, with a touch of naughtiness and a leaning to excess added to make her interesting, and more than a little wayward, but someone who’ll have your back.
This book was an enjoyable way to while away a few hours – light but not vacuous; naughty but not crude; a mystery but easy to follow – all of the hallmarks of a good read.
I look forward to more Kat Alley books!
Scuffed Granny 