New author for me. Tales based on fairy tales. This one is a spoof on Peter Pan. Capt Hook is being sought for taking peoples money in a ponzi scheme and Wendy and Joelly Roger are out to nail him. A rollicking good time with all kinds of characters from fairy tale being in unusual roles.

an interesting if surreal idea that was poorly plotted... ( )

It was free so there for worth it. ( )

Welcome to the wonderful, wacky world of Wendy Darlin, Miami real estate broker. Her newest agent is a daughter of an old friend, but rather useless until she is given an opportunity to sell to a crook, whom she marries. Said twit has Wendy at the wedding and makes her promise to Take care of said husband if she dies.
Wendy had a previous sort-of marriage to a similar kind of crook after a lot of unwise drinking, and that comes back to bite her as well. Soon Wendy meets Roger Jolly, who seems to be an SEC investigative agent, and is off on a hilarious adventure. She encounters murder, yachts, a helicopter, a dog in live with a pig, more crooks, and the punny names are absolutely inspired!
A delightful dose of unreality to brighten up a dismal spell or two!
Also available as Whispersync. The narrator is either not fully engaged, or having control issues with the gigglesnorts. ( )

Fairytales usually start with "a long time ago, in a place far away" and end with “happily ever after,” offering metaphors that are universal. In 'Wendy and the Lost Boys' the author, Barbara Silkstone, modified the classic story of Peter Pan, offering a unique, contrary point of view.

The story is told in the voice of Wendy Darlin, with a gritty language that is modern, contemporary, and full of spunk. When talking about the pirates she says, “One grabbed my round the waist and did a lumbering polka…. He forced his lips on mine. His breath was a lethal combination of onions and salami.”

Peter Payne (note the altered pronunciation, which alters the meaning of his name) was her first love. They were high school sweethearts for one year. Two decades later, she still keeps and old locket he has given her on their last date. “His kisses were as sweet as whipped cream and twice as tasty.”

Emblematic of a generation that tried to retain eternal youth, and then had to contend with the realities of aging and responsibility, Peter’s presence in the story is felt despite not having many lines. It is up to Wendy to let go of him, in order to grow up. “I knew the only thing I ever loved about Peter was the memory of him… It was time to let go of something that never really existed.

In this story, the Lost boys are valuable artifacts from ancient Egypt, cut from solid black diamond. Charlie Hook orchestrates a mysterious disappearance of them, for no better reason than the thrill to get away with it. Roger, a freelance archeologist who states that he retrieves stolen antiquities, explains, “This box contains the shadows of twelve of the infant sons of the fourth dynasty pharaoh. These shadows are over five thousand year old.”

This is a mystery wrapped in romance, a coming of age of a woman who is already an adult, but is she really? Clearly, she is attracted to Roger, “He gave me a kiss I could feel in my shoes.” Saving the Lost Boys is a worthy goal, But the real challenge for her is finding herself in her own shoes.

Five stars. ( )