Review: Bundle of Trouble by Diana Orgain

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

I liked Bundle of Trouble. It was fun and had a lot going for it.

From the author’s website:

Kate imagined she’d spend her maternity leave crooning lullabies and snuggling her beautiful new baby. But then she receives a disturbing phone call telling her that a body has been pulled from San Francisco Bay, and the police think it may be her brother-in-law.

Now, in addition to trying to solve the mystery of how one six-pound baby can generate ten times her weight in laundry, Kate finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation with multiplying victims. And when her husband is detained in connection with the crimes, Kate must crack the case faster than you can say “diaper rash” to keep her little family together…

On the plus side:

• I loved the gimmick– new mom becoming a Private Eye.  (I actually considered this when my daughter was slightly older than Kate’s.  The appeal for me was that most of it was straightforward stuff that could be done at a computer, which would not have made an interesting book.  Maybe I should look into it again, though.  hmm…)
• Kate’s character– she was interesting, reasonably fleshed out, person I could identify with.  I was highly exasperated with her at times, but even that was a smiling exasperation.  I particularly enjoyed her lists each day, with a combination of real things she could actually accomplish, good long-term goals to keep in mind, and the occasional “Yeah, right!” item.
• The setup for the mystery was good– it was about as plausible of a setup as you are going to get for pulling a brand new mother out of her house and hunting down some really bad guys.
• All the details about those first few weeks of motherhood. The sleepless nights. The continual feedings. The baby that won’t stop fussing.
• It was a light, fun read.  I chuckled when reading it.

On the minus side:

• Too many characters meant we didn’t get to know anyone other than the protagonist.
• The writing never quite drew me  all the way in.
• All the details about those first few weeks of motherhood.  The sleepless nights.  The continual feedings.  The baby that won’t stop fussing.

If the concept of the book appeals to you, go ahead and pick it up for a light read. You’ll have fun, like I did.

I’m hoping there will be a sequel– I enjoyed this one, I’d like to get to know the characters better, I think the concept has some fun stories evin it, and I’m betting the author will get even better as time goes on.

Thank you to Diana Orgain for contacting me on Twitter and sending me this book to review!