The Next Big Spanish Adventure by Janette Davies.

                         The Next Big Spanish Adventure by Janette Davies.

"It was too late, all the rafters had seen the sitting man, his body bound with white sheeting and his decapitated head, face turned towards the river, resting on his lap."

The saga continues at Apartamento Paraiso with some of the familiar characters we met in the first book and some welcoming additions. "Chaos to the Costa" could have been a headline in the Sol Times. The expats seem responsible for some bizarre goings-on once again. A murder in the least expected place, a beauty spot, apparently staged for maximum effect, to shock and horrify, I.S. style to give it a contemporary feel, followed by a brutal murder witnessed by newly weds on what should have been a happy occasion. The usual cycle of unexpected birth, marriage and natural  deaths complete the pattern. Nothing untoward there. But a 51% share in a brothel?

We are presented with a dramatic opening revealing elements of black humour and an explosive ending which may well shock you which IS dark! James, Carole's brother phones urgently from the UK warning his sister that their father was fuming whilst mum was panicking and crying. Don't parents embarrass you? The bottom line is that they are on their way to visit Carole and she should expect a frosty reception. Has she done something wrong? What warrants an unexpected visit out of the blue?? Father Charles is irate and a bit gullible. He is prone to believing gossip rather than thinking for himself: "I have a son who sleeps all day and mixes with drug dealers, pushers, sniffers and God knows who else all night. Now I've got a daughter who's on the game." I should also mention that he is prone to exaggerate and he's way off the mark about his children. What an idiot.

Charles has been prey to gossip at the golf club with Perky Perkins and the infamous Anji Bailey, a bit of an oddball, stirring trouble perhaps? The history is simply that Carole worked in Anji and Benji's bar and since leaving, has been treated horribly.
Carole's Spanish on-off boyfriend, Guillermo works under-cover with his two cousins in a dangerous pursuit of drug pushers on the Costa. It's a dangerous game, just like the Mexican cartel in something recent like The Counsellor. We are reminded of the shooting and the time spent recuperating for hunky Guillermo.

"The world of illegal drugs is a very dangerous and desperate environment. as soon as we catch and stop one set of criminals, another will take its place."
Carole's ex, Lyle seems involved in drugs, along with Samantha and Barney. Robert Perkins is obnoxious, or in the writer's own words: a "pompous little git." He bought Anji's restaurant and seems fond of patronising the women he leers at.

When Anji returns to Spain she works with Carole in helping to decorate apartments that are going to be rented out. Anji acknowledges the feisty, streetwise nature of Carole who isn't so green as cabbage looking. "You might look like Bambi, but deep down, I think you're more like King Kong." There are moments of sympathy felt for this misunderstood woman but greater moments of mistrust when we find out what she is capable of doing. She thrives on stirring up trouble between Carole and her boyfriend. She eyes him up thinking she can get 'em going! The next thing we know she's waiting to seduce him or perhaps she just wants to keep his bed warm?

"It would be best if you left my bed, replaced your clothes, I would hate to shoot you on the assumption that you were a burglar." Our Anji's nasty streak emerges when she threatens lover boy: "Keep a close eye on Carole, it would be terrible if anything happened to her." Is this La Femme Fatale speaking? What game is she playing? Guillermo reciprocates her threat by warning her that if Carole is hurt he will kill her and that is a promise! Things are heating up as you can see.

When Carole discovers this little episode she hits the roof and behaves like a petulant teenager jumping to conclusions and ends her relationship with lover boy. She even falls out with her best-friend, Sarah-Jane:"I am sick and tired of people treating me as if I am a piece of delicate china-being protective-shielding me from things-wrapping me in cotton wool."

Tension is high during the incident of white water rafting in Cieza, Murcia. A moment of excitement turns sour and this prepares us in some way for the grotesque and unexpected killing at the finale. "Blood seeped from between her fingers, covering the right side of her dress, as mayhem ensued and everyone started screaming." What is going on? Who shot who and why? I suspect there will be a third in the series to pick up the threads of mayhem and chaos to the Costa. Why should the Costa del Sol have all the fun? I blame the expats. Enjoy.

Publisher: Word Play Publishing Ltd. ISBN: 13:978-1503333741 and 10:1503333744.

Available in paperback and kindle.

REVIEW it by Carol Naylor.

Copyright 2015. Permission must be obtained from the author before any of this article review is reproduced.

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