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Boo Hiss    by Rene Gutteridge Amazon.com order for
Boo Hiss
by Rene Gutteridge
Order:  USA  Can
WaterBrook Press, 2005 (2005)
Paperback
* * *   Reviewed by Melissa Parcel

After horror author Wolfe Boone's conversion to Christianity, the small town of Skary, Indiana is struggling to find its new niche. When a soccer field mysteriously appears, followed soon after by a gourmet coffee shop and a cell phone store, residents begin to wonder if change is a good or a bad thing. Meanwhile, everyone is dealing with individual joys and trials.

Wolfe and his wife Ainsley are trying to come to an agreement about the timing for starting a family. Ainsley's father, the town Sheriff, finds himself playing one of the lead roles in a community play and his heart is captured by Lois, the play's author and director. Recently married Melb and Oliver discover they are expecting a baby and have difficulty accepting the news. And in the midst of this tribulation, a two headed snake gets loose and the entire town is in an uproar looking for it.

This is the third book in Rene Gutteridge's hilarious series set in small town Indiana. For readers of the previous episodes, Skary has come to feel like a familiar place to enjoy returning to time and time again. Though it's not necessary to read the first two books to understand this one, it increases the pleasure. Ainsley and Wolfe continue as strong central characters. Ainsley deals with inferiority problems when a new woman comes to town. Wolfe remains blocked as a writer, unable to find a new subject to write about. His aimlessness gets him into a few sticky situations that he doesn't realize are poor choices until much later.

The series' appeal is wide reaching to both men and women, no matter their age. Part of the fun is seeing people of all ages find love or a new path in life. Although this is classed as Christian writing, the faith message is subtle and never preachy. Humor and insightful, character driven stories drive the novel. Boo Hiss, a unique book filled with quirky characters and off-beat situations, is delightful from beginning to end.

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