I had to look up the definition of ‘romp’ after finishing Riley Thorn and the Dead Guy Next Door, because this hilarious, spirited, warm-hearted book definitely felt like one to me.
Apparently it’s “to play in a rough, excited and noisy way” which certainly fits Lucy Score’s fast-paced, action-packed rom com with a colourful cast of delightfully eccentric characters.
Reading it felt a bit like being on a rollercoaster – although without the desire to lose my lunch at the end (I call that a win).
Here’s the blurb:
Divorced. Broke. Living with a pack of elderly roommates. And those hallucinations she’s diligently ignoring? Her tarot card-dealing mom is convinced they’re clairvoyant visions.
Just when things can’t get worse, a so-hot-it-should-be-illegal private investigator shows up on her doorstep looking for a neighbor…who turns up murdered.
Nick Santiago doesn’t play well with others. Unless the “others” are of the female persuasion. Wink. He’s a rebel, a black sheep, a man who prefers a buffet of options to being stuck with the same entrée every night, if you catch his drift.
When the pretty, possibly psychic Riley lands at the top of the list of suspects, Nick volunteers to find out whodunit. Only because he likes solving mysteries not because he wants to flex his heroic muscles for the damsel in distress.
All they have to do is figure out who pulled the trigger, keep the by-the-book detective with a grudge at bay, and deal with a stranger claiming he was sent to help Riley hone her psychic gifts. All before the killer discovers she’s a loose end that requires snipping.
I’m a big fan of all Lucy’s novels, her writing style is bright and lively but full of heart. Her heroines are feisty and funny and her heroes always just the right level of grumpy to make it into book boyfriend territory. Riley and Nick are no exception. The chemistry between them as well as the things that keep them from acting on it are realistic. Speaking of which, the physic element didn’t seem out of place at all and, in fact, only added to the story.
The only downside of Lucy’s books is I read them too quickly, which can’t be helped. As always, I eagerly await her next one.
Format: Kindle.
Price: £2.49.
My rating: Five stars.
After The Rain 
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