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Review

Carrots

by Colleen Helme

First sentence:

My life changed that day because I didn't have any carrots.

Summary:

Shelby Nichols is an average woman who is married to the only guy she ever fell for. Her life is organized and predictable, revolving around her husband and two children. All that changes the day she stops at the grocery store for some carrots. As the cashier rings up her purchases, a gunman is busy robbing the bank inside the store. When a customer grabs the robber's mask, he is shot and everyone runs for cover. Everyone except Shelby, who finds herself face to face with the killer. The next thing she knows, she's lying on the floor with a bullet wound to her head. Luckily, the bullet only grazes her scalp, and she doesn't suspect any lasting affects until later, when she suddenly 'hears' what people are thinking. With this uncanny ability, her life takes on a whole new dimension. Her kids think she's bossy and too old to understand them, but that's nothing compared to her husband. He says he loves her, but what is it about the redhead at work that he doesn't want her to know? As if that isn't enough, the gunman knows she can identify him, and he's out to silence her forever. In her fight to stay alive, she is saved from certain death by a handsome hit-man with ties to organized crime. This pulls Shelby even deeper into danger, where knowing someone's thoughts can not only hurt her feelings, but get her killed.

source: Goodreads

My opinion:

Carrots is the hilarious first book in the Shelby Nichols series – one more series to add to my unfinished series shelf.

Shelby just wants to buy some carrots for dinner but is clearly at the wrong place at the wrong time. She gets shot, is taken to hospital with a head wound and after waking up can her other people’s thoughts. As you can imagine this leads to some confusion and quite a lot of trouble.

I really enjoyed reading this book. The story is unique and the characters are well portrayed. Many, even the obviously bad guys, are extremely likeable – Ramon being one of my favorites – and the others are annoying as intended.

Shelby is an amazing main character – she not only tries to cope with her new skills, manage her kids and a household while suddenly having employment which she is not entirely sure she really wants.

My favorite character by far is Ramon who is a real sweetheart even though he has to mimic the bad guy to everybody else. He and his struggle with dealing with Shelby are portrayed so well.

All in all I was impressed by the way Colleen Helme managed to incorporate all the characters thoughts into the story. It gave the book a new dimension and due to Shelby’s gift some really funny things happened.

If you like cozy mysteries or enjoy reading some fun contemporary(ish) adult novels, I highly recommend giving Carrots a try. 

The books in the Shelby Nichols series are:

• Carrots
• Fast Money
• Lie or Die
• Secrets That Kill
• Trapped by Revenge
• Deep in Death

For more information about Colleen Helme visit her Homepage, Blog or Facebook page.