Mermaids in the Basement

by Michael Lee West

Book Overview

Reeling from the loss of her mother, plagued with a bad case of writer's block (and don't even talk about those extra twenty pounds), Renata DeChavannes feels as though everything is just plain wrong. And that was before the tabloids caught her sweetheart, filmmaker Ferg Lauderdale, sharing an intimate squeeze with Hollywood's hottest young tamale.

But the granddaughter of the formidable Honora DeChavannes possesses more hell than belle...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060985070
• ISBN13: 9780060985073
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.3" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Couldn't Put It Down

I love when that happens. I laughed and cried my way thru this charming book about a band of fiesty southern belles on the warpath. The plot twists and turns and will keep you guessing. This book is a sequel to Crazy Ladies and Mad Girls in Love.

Excellent Book

This book is a must read. I could not leave the book till I finished reading the entire book. It really captures the essence of the south. The writer appears to have a good insite about family dynamics and holds your interest throughout. Outstanding piece of work !! Vijay Pethkar, MD

True Southern Hospitality!!!!

From Chapter 1 when you first meet Renata DeChavannes you will not want to put this one down. You become quickly drawn into her life, her feelings and emotions. As she begins to face her past, going home to the South, you are caught up in each chapter. Each character will inspire empathy and possess charming attributes. I would be surprised if you don't find a common trait with each one you encounter. This story has many layers and as I unfolded each one I found the story to be intriguing, charming, and amusing. This was my first read of Michael Lee West. I found it to be an excellent read, full of surprises and hard to put down. I look forward to the next one.

Southern Comfort

Michael Lee West lives on a farm near Lebanon, Tennessee, surrounded by her husband and a large variety of animals, both farm and domestic. This hardly qualifies her to write sophisticated, comic romances set in surprising locales. But she's done just that in novels like "Crazy Ladies" and "Mad Girls in Love." Now, she has surpassed herself with "Mermaids in the Basement," the story of a woman who has to go home to comfront all the ghosts of her past. What she discovers, however, is a very-current mystery and an old trunk that turns out to be sort of a Pandora's Box...it releases even more mysteries of her past. All this is written in a wonderfully witty style. How can you resist a book that opens: "If I had not read the cover story in the March 2, 2000, National Inquirer, it's doubtful that I would have gone to Alabama and ruined my daddy's engagement party, much less sent the bride-to-be into a coma." West is a very Southern writer. Her swift prose paints authentic portraits of people, places, and things Southern. You'll swear you can smell the magnolias. But there is no Southern Gothic here, despite the unpleasant events at the heart of this book. This is a romantic South peopled by ladies and gentlemen you wish were real. West's prose is simple, and her style seems to be simple as well. That's deceptive. While her work is witty and romantic and very easy to read, there are all sorts of things going on under the surface.

Juicy!

I gave this book a five star rating because I could never find a good "stopping place". You know how you tell yourself that you'll put the book up at the end of the chapter? Well, I couldn't help myself; I just had to keep reading. It has elements of romance, drama, and suspense along with a few laughs. I highly recommend it. :0)