Here’s the set-up for Barbara Silkstone’s The Secret Diary Of Alice In Wonderland, Age 42 And Three Quarters, just 99 cents on Kindle:
This comedy mystery, the first in a s
eries of criminally funny fables, is set in Miami and London. Fans of Stephanie Plum will cheer for Alice as she watches her back in attempting to keep her head, while being stalked by Nigel’s daft ex-wife and inept, but dangerous mobsters. Alice’s world is filled with memorable characters strangely reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland. She’s guided through her dangerous adventure by her own Cheshire Cat.Nigel, a chubby John Cleese with serious dress-code problems, whisks Alice to England. Alice sees him as her White Rabbit rescuer. The plot trips along at a cracking pace with Alice flinging zingers like a drive-by shooter.
After Alice discovers a gangster’s freshly beheaded body in his Miami mansion, she launches a desperate self-defense in a kangaroo court. The main witness against her is Algy Green, a bumbling cockney swindler who super-glues his bat wing ears to his head and commits perjury for theme park tickets. But in the middle of the trial a small piece of evidence opens her eyes.
There is a saying that there are no new stories, only new ways to tell old stories. Ms. Silkstone took the original Alice in Wonderland, and deftly wove it into something uniquely her own. This book was a fun, fast paced read and almost as strange as the original AIW, in a good way. I loved watching the courtroom scenes place out. Ohhh the dirty little secrets all coming to light and taking out the bad guys one by one… great!–
Red Adept Reviews – 4 and ¾ StarsThe Author Nails a Brilliant Tongue-in-Cheek Spin on The Lewis Carroll Classic ~The heroine, Miami real estate broker, Alice Harte, is caught between her thug boss, Leslie Archer, and an angry mobster intent on exacting revenge for the death of his brother. Archer’s wife, Maris, is quite a character herself surviving on white wine and diet biscuits; she adds another slice of anxiety to Alice’s dire situation. Then there’s Nigel, a British charmer who may be the happily-ever-after man of Alice’s dreams. A who-dunnit with twists and turns coupled with quick witted humor. The story stands alone in the unlikely event the reader doesn’t know the original.–Review by Becky Littrell for Chicklit Club.com
Barbara Silkstone is also the author of another 5-star 99-center, The Adventures of a Love Investigator, 527 Naked Men and One Woman – a humorous nonfiction account of her odyssey into the hearts and minds of over 500 men. Her writing has been described as perfectly paced and pitched – shades of Stephanie Plum and Carl Hiaasen without seeming remotely derivative. Fast moving action that shoots from the hip with bullet-proof characterization.
The author adds:
When you’re a freelance writer with a quirky sense of humor, being in the right place at the right time helps a lot. I’ve accidentally sky dived, been elected president of the Japan American Society (I’m not Japanese), been stalked by crazies, and ran off with a real life White Rabbit.
I’m a single mother, living on the edge in South Florida. My background includes parochial school, commercial real estate, public speaking, teaching, and church administration. My writing history is equally as diverse. I started an underground newspaper in grade school and was threatened with excommunication by the nuns.
After being published in the horror genre, I was fortunate enough to take part in writing workshops with Stephen King, Robert B. Parker, and James Michener.
I enjoy doing playful things with language, blending two distinct words to create a new word. If I’m laughing out loud when I’m writing, then I know I’ve hit the mark. I’m working on Wendy & the Lost Boys right now. I laugh so loud while I’m writing that the neighborhood committee has asked me to move.
For six years I traveled the United States listening to men reveal their darkest secrets for my book, The Adventures of a Love Investigator, 527 Naked Men & One Woman
And here, in the comfort of your own browser, is your free sample: