Madam Tuplip

Author David Ahern provided me with an e-copy of Madam Tulip for review.

Madam Tulip is the fun and often funny story of a young woman trying to make a career as an actress. She is the daughter of the seventh son of a seventh son (I believe that is the lineage) and has the psychic abilities that come with that distinction. There we have the crux of the story.

Our heroine, Derry, develops the character 'Madam Tulip" a fortune teller, to make a little money at a party for the rich and famous. She unwittingly gets caught up in the unpleasant schemes of the beautiful people, and has to rely on her own wits and psychic abilities to protect herself and her friends.

Madam Tulip takes place in a world where no one seems to work a traditional 9-5 type job. Derry's unusual world is filled with struggling actors, artists, and now, the super rich and famous.

Of course you know that I don't give out a lot of story info because it's better if you actually read the book. I mean David Ahern did go to all the trouble to write it. At first I thought, okay this is going to be a light read, and it is for the most part. But I found myself really caught up in the action and was quickly engrossed in the story. The excitement of the conclusion kept me riveted. A well balanced tale that twists and turns, keeping the reader guessing.

Madam Tulip does cross a few genres and can be read from several different viewpoints. On one hand it is a madcap romp through the world of non-traditional people (rich and not so rich). But it can just as easily be read as an action/adventure, murder (or attempted murder) mystery, with a little organized crime tossed in for good measure.

Set in Ireland, Madam Tulip was just an all around fun read for me. The vocabulary is decidedly not American and I will admit there were a couple of words that I didn't know, but that added to the flavor (flavour) of the story. Not much in the way of sex, some violence but not overwhelmingly so, marital discord, family dysfunction and friends who are not who they appear to be.

So, humor, action, mystery readers will all enjoy Madam Tulip by David Ahern. It is the opening offering in a series that should be fun to follow. Enjoy!

Mike