Wednesday 29 March 2017

Books Read: Puzzle Girl by Rachael Featherstone

Love is a riddle waiting to be solved…

Clued-up career girl Cassy Brookes has life under control until one disastrous morning changes everything.

When she finds herself stuck in a doctor’s surgery, a cryptic message left in a crossword magazine sends her on a search to find the mysterious ‘puzzle-man’ behind it.

Cassy is soon torn between tracking down her elusive dream guy, and outwitting her nightmare workmate, the devious Martin. 

Facing a puzzling love-life, will she ever be able to fit the pieces together and discover the truth behind this enigmatic man?

Amazon links: Kindle or Paperback

I love discovering new authors so when I was asked by the authors agent would I like a review copy of Puzzle Girl I didn't hesitate to say yes as the concept of the book intrigued me, a budding romance played out between the pages of a puzzle book.  And what a first novel it is for Rachael Featherstone as within a few short chapters I was hooked and wanting to know how it was going to play out for Cassy, would she find her happy ever after with her puzzle man?

Cassy thought she had had her perfect man in her boyfriend Seph until he announced that he was leaving her after 7 years.  If that's not enough to deal with, she's also having to fight for promotion alongside her colleague Martin who seems to be stopping at nothing to get the job even claiming credit for work that's Cassy's.  But things start to get very interesting indeed when an accident brings her to the local drop-in clinic and she discovers a puzzle book with a make your own cryptic puzzle in it, as fan of cryptic clues she decides to add her own and on her follow-up visit she's surprised that someone has completed it and added a note of their own.

What follows is a hilarious tale of mishaps and cringeworthy moments as Cassy, along with her best friend Dan, tries to find reasons to go back to the walk-in clinic to find out if there was a response from 'Puzzle Man'.  And as for what she's dealing with at work, I'd have wanted the ground to open up and swallow me if I'd found myself in one of the situations she did... although I did have a chuckle at her misfortune.

Yes at times I did think the storyline was getting a bit repetitive and OTT at times but at the same time I couldn't help but hope that things would turn out alright for Cassy and that she would find everything she was looking for, romance and job security.  Alongside Cassy, Dan and Martin, are a whole cast of interesting colourful characters, especially the clinic receptionist Janet, who each had a part to play in this entertaining story.

If you're looking for a fun read then I don't think you'd go far wrong than pick up a copy of Puzzle Girl to entertain you for a few hours. An accomplished debut from Rachael Featherstone so I cannot wait to hear what's next from her.

I'd like to thank DHH Literary Agency for sending me a proof copy of Puzzle Girl to review.

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