How to Lose a Job: A Kate Williams Mystery

I have not read Ms. Bartness' first book (although I plan on doing so), but her second book can be read as a stand alone.The protagonist, Kate WIlliams, is funny and feisty, and thoroughly likeable as she tries to fit into the work environment from hell. Her boss, the county attorney, is convinced his orders come from God, (or vice versa), and his lieutenant is a spy/stalker with poor personal hygeine. When Kate stumbles on a suspicous series of gross over- and under-sentencing recommendations by her department, she and her assistants--a gay , germaphobic investigator and a forty-ish fashion challenged paralegal with a preference for tattoos and piercing--join together to investigate. As the action proceeds, new characters are introduced, including a handsome deputy sheriff, a cross-dressing, retired FBI agent, an elderly neighbor from Brooklyn, and Ralph the wonder dog.Ms Bartness has a talent for both dialogue and character creation.I downloaded the book onto my Kindle, and startled people in public places by laughing out-loud when I read it during my lunch break.

I liked the first one and decided to give the second book in this series a chance. Very disappointed. First of all - Why are Becky Bartness's books so much more on Kindle than most other paperbacks? Second - WTH happened to Chris from the first book in the series? If you are going to write a series and expect people to stay with you - you have to explain continuity issues - such as the guy she was in love with in the first book totally disappearing with no explanation in the second one. Third - whats with the switch from narrative to first person? Very jarring. Not recommended and hey, Becky - lower the price on your books. ALSO!!! get the paragraph spacing correctly.

It was a decent story and they tried to be funny but just wasn't.I continued to read thinking any minute I would be laughing hysterically.

A fun romp. I felt like I had an inside seat to the action.

The book itself is very good but the condition was not as good as I expected it to be. It had been a library book and had the library label on the spine which was not mentioned in the marketing blurb. Since I was buying it for a gift, I would not have bought it had I known.