"Classic" Review: Cutting Loose by Susan Andersen

I've decided to move all of my old reviews that are scattered across the net to one home. So, every Friday, I'll be posting a review from the past. They were written in 2007 and 2008 and reflect my opinions from that time. I hope you enjoy them!

Originally published on MySpace Blog August 11, 2008

After being so disappointed in so many historicals lately, I was relieved to find a favorite contemporary author did not let me down. Andersen's newest title, Cutting Loose, is the beginning of a new series about 3 childhood friends who inherit a mansion from an elderly mentor.

As the first in the series, Cutting Loose has some necessary backstory that, I admit, is a bit boring. I'll even admit to skimming it, since it didn't really engage me. But the story that followed was terrific. I liked Jane, the repressed curator for a Seattle museum and Dev, the Irish contractor.

Andersen does a terrific job capturing that Irish twinkle I'm familiar with, and I really enjoyed the fact that this hero was not some metrosexual, emasculated, sensitive, modern man. He wasn't a Neanderthal either--simply someone who was very real. You felt that this was someone you knew and someone on whom you could depend. There's something so appealing about that.

My only complaint, and it's relatively minor, was that the physical locations seemed a little fuzzy. The mansion, which is a centerpiece in the story, did not get fully realized. Neither did the museum where Jane works.

Overall, though, this was a wonderful contemporary title. The suspense isn't overdone. You know who the bad guy is, but there is a wonderful tension about what he will do next and when (if) he will be caught.

Well worth the time and effort! I'm eagerly awaiting the next in the series.

Follow up note: I decided to start with this review, since we recently received the awesome news that Susan Andersen has FINALLY been given the go-ahead for the third book in the trilogy!! Yea!!