"It Takes Two to Mango" By Carrie Doyle: Review/Giveaway

 Review by Terrance McArthur

 Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of the book and links to purchase it.

Paraiso Island—It’s a Caribbean paradise. Warm breezes, easygoing attitudes, delightful accents, local cuisine, rest.

To Plum Lockhart—It’s a place of torment. Humid air that frizzes her hair, a place where things take forever to get done, language barriers, unfamiliar foods, murder.

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Image Source Poisoned Pen Press

Ousted from her high-power New York City travel magazine editorship by corporate downsizing, she talks her way into a villa broker position on Paraiso. She finds an arrogant co-worker who undermines her at every opportunity, a decaying property—Casa Mango—that she will manage, and Juan Kevin Munoz, a mega-handsome chief of security who manages to bother and attract Plum at the same time.

When her first booking at the renovated villa results in murder, Plum and Juan Kevin launch into a morass of do-nothing police, a tangle of motives and lies from the victim’s friends, and neighbors who have their own little secrets.

Plum comes to the island with attitudes, prejudices, and entitlements that make her an unsympathetic protagonist, but her drive and the island’s environment and people make a gradual change. She undergoes a metamorphosis, loses her high-maintenance crustiness, and discovers happiness and self-worth in the Caribbean. You stop laughing at her, and you find yourself enjoying her.

Why Read It Takes Two to Mango?

•                 Plum’s development from a self-centered workaholic to a person who recognizes her faults.

•                 Juan Kevin is more than a studly hunk—he’s kind.

•                 The settings—Rush-rush New York City is a stark contrast to the lush, lush tropical island. The descriptions of Paraiso become a virtual Caribbean vacation for the reader.

•                 The mystery has unexpected twists and turns, with enough red herrings to fill a Jacuzzi.

•                 Doyle’s a seasoned writer, known for the Hamptons Murder Mysteries, and this is the beginning of a new series.

So, park yourself under a beach umbrella with a cooling beverage, and enjoy. Remember, It Takes Two to Mango.

 To enter to win a copy of It Takes Two to Mango, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line "mango,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen August 7, 2021. US residents only and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win. If entering via comment be sure to include you email address in case you win. BE AWARE THAT DUE TO THE CURRENT CRISIS THERE MAY BE A DELAY IN SHIPPING THE WINNING BOOK. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section in Kings River Life and in our mystery category here on KRL News & Reviews. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. And check out our new mystery podcast which features mystery short stories and first chapters read by local actors! A new episode went up this week.

You can use these links to purchase the book. If you have adblocker on you may not be able to see the Amazon link:

It Takes Two to Mango

Terrance V. Mc Arthur is newly retired as a Librarian in Fresno County, California. He is also a storyteller, puppeteer, magician, and maker of pine needle baskets. On top of that he writes stories that range from rhymed children's tales to splatterpunk horror. He's an odd bird, but he's nice to have around.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.