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One year from her debut novel Rough Diamond, Kathryn Ledson has followed up with an equally exciting sequel, Monkey Business.
Erica Jewell is back doing what she does best – saving the day and saving charismatic Jack Jones – in another hilarious, delightful adventure that holds the reader’s attention until the very last page. Ledson has the delightful ability to entertain. She creates characters who are endearingly Australian in a Crocodile Dundee way, who easily become much-loved friends whose fate the reader will care about.
“Monkey Business” charmingly invites the willing suspension of disbelief accompanied by congenial company and the author’s irrepressible sense of fun. It has all Ledson’s hallmark traits of danger, intrigue and romance, with witty dialogue sparkling throughout.
Distraught when Jack and his loyal aide-de-camp Joe go missing on a mission and that no-one in authority cares, Erica impetuously sets out for the dangerous island of Saint Sebastian to rescue them herself. With the help of a flighty prostitute and select pieces of retro Tupperware, Erica causes extreme upheaval as her efforts on Jack’s behalf turn the island upside down.
What is so endearing about Ledson is that she does not take herself at all seriously and this is reflected in the light-hearted twists central to her plotting. Embroiled within the action is the extremely important matter of Tupperware thefts and the desirability for these life-enhancing essentials on remote Saint Sebastian. Jack, owing his life on this occasion to Erica’s mother’s lettuce crisper, is a scenario that only Ledson could have conceived.
Instinctively knowing what readers want, Ledson provides action, romance and friendship in perfect quantities, set in a real world where the importance of a good haircut or the right pair of (high-heeled!) shoes cannot be underestimated. Women everywhere cannot fail to be captivated by the delicious Jack Jones, from his first appearance in Rough Diamond and now Monkey business.
Reading Ledson is such welcome fun and escapism. Following in the footsteps of Rough Diamond, this sequel entertains much in the same way as spending time catching up with a very likeable friend.