Looking for some light summer reading? Look no further. If you are a fan of the light and ridiculous stories of the Stephanie Plum variety, you’ll enjoy Crazy in Paradise.

Newly divorced, Madison Westin inherits her Aunt’s estate which includes her home and a beachfront motel in Tarpon Springs, a small town in the Florida Keys. However, things aren’t exactly going smoothly. The manager of the motel employed by her aunt objects to Madison’s interference and the lawyer her aunt used is of no help. Most people would hire their own lawyer to deal with the situation but not Madison. One day she comes back to the house to find Zach on her couch. Who is Zach, you might ask? Well, he claims to be a friend of her aunt’s, although he’s way too young for her – he’s more Madison’s contemporary. Oh, and he’s suffering from a gunshot wound and won’t go to the hospital.

This is the first book in a series, and it mostly serves to set up the characters for the future. The mystery at the heart of it is what the manager and lawyer are up to and how it fits into the property Madison inherited. I wanted to scream at Madison most of the time to do something more than drive back and forth across the island, but she had to figure things out for herself. Madison was frustrating at times, and the vibe between her and Zach had her almost immediately swooning for him, even though she would deny it. How come all of these women “detectives” always seem to end up with a friend who is skirting the law? I’d like to have a friend to act as my muscle when I need help dealing with people.

That’s the basic set-up of the book. There’s a lot of time spent on Madison deciding what she wants to do with the property. Since it’s a series, there’s no surprise that she decides not to sell it. Her mother comes to visit often and is sufficiently concerned but is also prone to a little meddling in Madison’s love life. There are many other characters on the canvas, perhaps too many for the first book in the series. I think the author may have dropped too many in the first book, but we’ll see how the future books in the series go.

If you like the Stephanie Plum series, I think you’ll like Crazy in Paradise. It’s chick-lit that’s perfect for a light summer read on the beach. You have to suspend disbelief a lot, but I liked it enough to continue the series.

Next book in the series: