Laura Novak

From the first sentence I was drawn into Laura's story of former reporter Clari Drake, now turned full time mom, struggling to come to grips with her career choices, her weight, and the strange world of the rich folk in the upscale Berkeley school to which she and her husband send their two children. When Clari and some friends uncover evidence of some shenanigans in the upper echelons of the school's management, this world gets stranger and more unsettling with each new revelation until the surprise ending.

I was blown away by the author's prowess for description. She can make the most mundane things and events meaningfully jump out from the page, and she endows her characters with layer upon layer of complexity that she peels like an onion before your eyes as the plots unfolds. I was so enthralled by her writing that I found myself doing something that I disapprove of: I was jumping chapters so I could find what happened next!

The read was also fun. Clari and her friends have a very unique sense of humor. I specially enjoyed their meetings at the Ice Pick Cafe with its very sui generis menu items. Did the author make this up or is there really such a place? The book is well written and formatted, with only a typo or two, and the links work. All in all, a thrilling and pleasant read.

So, does the hero of the story find clarity? To figure this out read the book, but consider the following: Today's world is complicated, and the motivations behind people's actions are so much more so. This is reflected in Laura's book, and she pulls no punches. Gone are the days where the good guy felt everything he did was right and everything the villain did was wrong. Finding clarity is about searching for the light amidst the shades of grey, both outside and within.… (mehr)

Make way for Clari Drake - and for author, Laura Novak who has imbued her lead character with the guts and humor a girl needs to haul around a rear end that holds a perpetual care contract with Weight Watchers. Not to mention Mrs. Drake's other baggage, all of which she carries with a lovable mania.

Novak's mystery takes place in Berkley, (known to others as Berzerkley), California and offers the reader a good look into the "village people" from the ridiculous heights of their manors in the Hills to the communist depths of the seedy, Ice Pick Cafe. In these environs Mrs. Drake begins FINDING CLARITY about the dark-doings of the pseudo-academics who have commandeered her sons' beloved private school, the posh and well-respected, Bidwell-Coggins (B-C).

Let's just get it right out there: Things are not what they seem or should I say they are what they seem, but not what they feel like, so changes need to be made. But wait a minute, this is Berkley where nothing is what it seems and in Novak's clever tale, trust me, even what you're sure is true is about as clear as well, the dingy water served at the Ice Pick where Clari conspires with her entourage of real academics to uncover the truth about the take-over at Bidwell-Coggins.

Novak has a knack for nailing human idiosyncracies and she has dealt out a fair share to her Berkley buddies in FINDING CLARITY, but the author's true talent appears in the threads of integrity sewn into the fabric of her tale. Moral behavior represents itself in the characters of Clari and her friends- Elspeth Waldron, the Queen of Patchouli Oil and a Buddhist of the Eight Fold Path and Sydney Green, B-C Dean of Students who is "self-possessed, proud and unique, like an exotic black pearl in an ocean of manufactured beads," among others.

DOWNLOAD this ebook to your nearest Kindle device today. Take Clari Drake with you on your rounds, sit with her while you get your oil changed or wait for a root canal. I promise, spending time with Novak's clever repartee will while away your time and make you want to take a ttrip to the Ice Pick for a Soviet Sub.

The even better news? Clari Drake has gotten herself involved in something else that is none of her business, so another mystery will unfold for e-readers soon. In the meantime, find yourself a bit of clarity today.… (mehr)

This is the first book of a purported mystery series, written by a veteran journalist. Clari is a former TV reporter, now a mom of two with her oldest son a dwarf. To protect him from bullying, she and her husband (a great relationship here, btw) are sending him to an expensive private school above Berkeley. But when the headmaster suddenly disappears and a strange new person steps into the spot, finding out what is going on in order to protect her son is paramount. This book is funny, from the clique of toothpick-thin moms to the evil school board member, to Clari's own insecurities. The characters are deliberately stereotypical, and then they step up and go beyond it. There is definitely potential here for a good cozy mystery series. Even though I got it for free, it would have been worth the normal $2.99 price for sure.… (mehr)