Fortune Furlough

I’ve read all 14 of this series and with the exception of two, enjoyed all of them. I loved the last book and thought the author had really found the ability to keep the series fresh. This book disabused me of that notion. I am tired of how Gertie is treated, tired of the ageism, and in this work I got tired of her. She is oversexualized, too much of an air headed girly girly, and the constant stupidity of her actions are not funny. I HATED that she used homosexual slurs to anger a sloppy southern cop – that is not okay and it probably finished me for reading anymore Fortune novels. It isn’t entertaining and I won’t put up with it.

I thought Ida Bell was off character, I don’t know how you can be that mean and disrespectful to your best friend and still have a relationship, moreover, mean it isn’t funny. Fortune’s “retired CIA” role is going nowhere good that I can see. A few more plates of pancakes and donuts all consumed at once and she’ll look like Gertie. Too, all the same plot dynamics are in play here, stealing stuff, finding a way to look at confidential information in the Sheriff’s office, a Swamp Bar substitute, Ida Bell going crazy with a fast boat. The plot was lazy, there is NO WAY Gerti would have been a serious suspect and NO WAY that Swamp Team III wouldn’t have been outed as working together with all the lies they told to people in the same resort they were staying in. I thought this book’s execution was lazy and insulting to the reader. I skimmed the last half and returned it for a refund.

In this book, the fun was gone, the excitement was not there and it was ‘ho-hum’. Certainly not up to her usual standards. I was really disappointed in it. In her past books, I couldn’t stand to stop reading them but in this one, I had to force myself to finish it. It seemed like a chore to read it. What happened to the fun? Aside from the beginning with Gertie at the beach, and her restaurant drama, the rest was just run of the mill. I’m sorry, but it just did nothing for me. What happened? It didn’t sound like the original writer at all. I sure wouldn’t recommend it to anyone else! I would read one more, but if it was not up to her usual standard, I would stop reading her books.

Love all of Janas books. The Miss Fortune series is hilarious and Fortune Furlough is another great read. Life is pretty heavy, reading this series makes me laugh out loud. The plot and character development are fantastic. I didnt think she could go any further with the series and maintain its integrity, but this story takes the girls on vacation to Florida and it totally maintains the story line. Gertie got In trouble in every way possible and it was great. Loved it!

Although I enjoyed this book, it seems that the series is treading water. Without the tension caused by Fortunes earlier troubles, the series needs a new focus and more depth to the characters. Ida belle and Gerties relationship needs to develop beyond Ida Belle constantly being mean to Gertie, and it is tiresome that Gertie is always so incompetent. Look forward to seeing this series evolve, not go the way of so many others, like Stephanie Plum, etc.

I’ve been a big fan up until now. I have to admit, I only got a few chapters into it before putting it down. It was just awful. First, the premise that Gertie was the murder suspect a bad start. The team always fights for the underdog. Making Gertie into a caricature of an indecent old person was absurd. And overtly ageist. And uninteresting. And annoying. We love Gertie, and mocking her to this extent was awful. And, the plot was boring. And the way law enforcement was depicted was really a cheap shot. I’m going to exercise care before buying the next one, if there is a next one. This wasn’t an adventure, it was a twenty car pile up.

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