In her debut novel The Last Honeytrap, Louise Lee introduces Private Investigator Florence Love. Her speciality? Entrapment – catching unfaithful men on video. In this book, the first in a series that is set to take off in literary and cinematic form, Florence is employed to entrap world famous jazz singer Scott “Scat” Delaney. Scott’s girlfriend, Alice, wants to be certain of his loyalty before taking their relationship public.
So, Florence has just ten days to seduce the incredibly attractive A-lister, all while sticking to her most important rule: never fall for the target. Then, while waiting to catch a glimpse of the extremely elusive star, Florence becomes concerned that she has a stalker of her own.
Honestly, I’m generally not overly enthused by Chick lit PI-type series, however, I was instantly taken by The Last Honeytrap and Florence Love, Lee’s feisty, over-confident yet flawed protagonist. The flashbacks of growing up with Bambi, her mother, while breaking up the flow of the story a bit, gave added dimension to Florence’s character. Her treatment of her younger brother, Michael, unfortunately, was a little cruel and did not endear her to me, however it provided a good platform to highlight her little bit of growth and change during the book. Being the start of a series, though, there is not as much evolution in Florence’s character as one might see in a singular Chick lit story.
Florence’s job of entrapping men who have been unfaithful is one that is certainly one that is interesting, out of the ordinary, and, in its own unique way, admirable. Who wouldn’t want a chance to catch out some crooked, cheating politician at it with another woman? Lee throws in tit-bits of information along the way about body language and the science of what Florence does, adding to the quirky feel of the book.
Humour, mystery, romance and drama fill the pages of The Last Honeytrap. Lee has brought a fresh and wonderfully British voice to the genre, one I think will transfer well to screen. I think Florence Love and her crazy, peculiar world will be enjoyed by many.
REVIEWER: Emma Codd
TITLE: The Last Honeytrap
AUTHOR(S): Louise Lee
PUBLISHER: Hachette
RRP: $34.99