- Carrots

Although I have purchased many books from Amazon for my beloved Kindle this is my first review. Colleen Helme's first Shelby Nichols book, Carrots, took me less than two days to read! And I loved every moment of it! And it only took me two days to read it because I fell asleep from sheer exhaustion! As a true Road Warrior - (I am a regional officer for a government, and I travel every other week 30 weeks of the year) When I buy a book, I need it to be absorbing, riveting, a fun read, a real page turner, a gripper - in short everything I know, like and trust a true escape novel will do for me. I read when I am on planes - usually twice a week if not more - and when I am at the gym, too. I found myself getting bored with music and video, and by accident fell into reading my Kindle whilst on an exercise bike in Trinidad. That got me completely hooked on reading whilst I work out, and whilst on planes! I got Carrots from Amazon when it was on special. I am not the greatest fan of mysteries, and was quite leery as a male that the misadventures of a kind of ditzy blonde were really going to do it for me; but boy, was I wrong. I was a little startled that I got hooked in Carrots so fast. From the moment of Shelby deciding to stop at the grocery store in the pouring rain - something I could totally relate to - to my discovery that our hero was a heroine in the following pages, Helme does such a fantastic job of realistic stream of thought writing that she had me sucked in. When Shelby starts reading minds - Well, I couldn't figure out what happened either until I skipped back a few pages and found that she WAS in fact reading "Dimples'" mind! That did it! Then I was hooked for good, and but bad! Being the parent of a teen, I could totally relate to her interactions with her kids, her mom, her spouse. So gents, don't be put off by a heroine. You will love this book! Technically, and more to the point, Helme's characters are so well built, so well executed, so believable, that you are just completely caught up in the utterly consistent and believable story line, and sucked along on the roller coaster ride. I felt as if I'd been caught in a riptide - and loved every minute of it. In fact, I was in Rio whilst I read Carrots, and turned down a movie, shopping, and dinner in Copacabana and Ipanema to finish the book! When I really think about what I enjoyed the most about the book, and why I was so compelled to keep turning the pages, I came up with several items: - It is well written, and technically correct. NO typo's, NO grammar issues, NO spelling issues! YAY! What a nice, pleasant surprise! - It has well put together, well edited, and superbly crafted BELIEVABLE and CONSISTENT characters. - It has great action and plot flow - You are constantly pushed to keep reading simply because you have to find out what happens next: and you really want to know! - It is written in such a relaxed, casual style, largely in the form of a stream of consciousness, or inner monologue, that it is utterly believable: you aren't being told what happens, you are experiencing from first person, as it happens. A phenomenal way to generate credibility and belief for the reader. - It is very believable from a moral point of view - Shelby wants to do what's right - but sometimes, as she learns, you have to do something a little gray for the greater good. Her inner struggle is what we all go through. Brilliantly captured and executed! - It is a really fun, fast paced, "suburban housewife turned secret agent" style book. And I found that I was so caught up in Shelby's life, I really needed to know what happened next! You can guess that the minute I finished the book, I hit the Whispernet to see what else Collen had written, and I was absolutely elated to find the second Shelby Nichols book available. I hit buy instantly, and I figured I had better write this review before I start it, as I know I won't be back here before I finish it. Too bad work is going to get in the way of my reading schedule this week! Yeah, I have no trouble walking out of a casino, but putting down a good book -- Well, I guess I have to sleep sometime! Seriously, with a doctorate degree, and degrees in English from some of the top universities in the world, and as a professional writer myself, I am a hard man to impress. I bought this book from the description of it. I was not sure if it was for me, but I decided to try it. If you are on the fence on this one, and not sure you'll like it - take the plunge! It's well worth the small price you will pay and then some, and you'll likely become a fan. Colleen, if you read this, I just want to thank you for such excellent and entertaining writing, I hope that you will continue to write the Shelby Nichols series, and please know that you have earned another FFL (Fan For Life). Now I'm off to start Fast Money! Dr. Jeff

Entertaining. But like a previous reviewer mentioned, the protagonist got dumber with each page, which was a little frustrating. Still worth the read.

In many ways, this book reminded me of my one and only long-time favorite movie not to be replaced, yet... that I saw over a decade ago! The main character is a homemaker who gets involved--with other things! And throws her family into confusion and fun for readers! Colleen Helme has taken this basic concept of a Mom and, during the midst of accomplishing her daily meal preparation--today will be chicken soup--for which she needs carrots--because nobody's heard of soup without carrots, right--so decides to stop at a local store... Which happens to include a branch bank... Which happens to be robbed during her visit... Which happens to include the robber shooting two people... As she stands there watching him do the shooting! Confusion immediately reigns, but the shooter had the chance to also see the woman watching and he took a shot at her! She is hit, the bullet enters her skull... Shelby Nichols, in this first book of her adventures, is a delightful mix of innocence and a recognition of how her life has become somewhat boring... That is, after she gets shot... And after she discovers that she can hear what other people are thinking... And, of course, one of the things that changes is that she has become involved with Dimples (a cop who is in charge of th bank robbery/shooting and she knows and remembers only as the delightful dimples that he happens to reveal on his handsome face. So, while the police encourage her to be alert and contact them if she sees anybody following her, she goes back to her regular life, which becomes confusing as she hears what her husband and two children plan to say, and answers--before they actually speak... Shelby begins to see what her new skill is, but is afraid of what that may mean to her life (as she should be!). Because the very first time she is out walking, she is confronted with the guy who shot her... That is, until he is shot and killed, saving her life (2nd near-death experience)... The shooter quickly comes to see if she is alright, and explains what she should do: Call the cops as soon as he leaves, explain that he was about to shoot her and somebody nearby shot him instead... Most importantly she did not see who murdered the murderer... Enter the "genteel" mob boss that owns a legitimate business, but was interested in knowing who had robbed the local store/bank. His "fixer" figured that guy was going to ensure there was nobody still living who had seen him--and had already entered the hospital and killed the other witness--so had decided the easier way to find the thief was to follow his other witness... Thankfully he was correct and Shelby was saved by the mob's paid assassin... If you haven't guessed by now, while this is a great mystery, with some suspense on multiple levels of the plots, it really is a fun and humorous story as well... So, sit back and enjoy! Because what happens next is not a return to her normal life... Ramos, the fixer/assassin is one of my favorite characters in additiion to Shelby... Because, having saved Shelby, he seems to have noticed just how charming a woman she is and easy and fun to talk to. Shelby never flirts because she does love her husband, which will be demonstrated several times in a little side hustle happening at her husband's law offie, she does both resent his need to be there all the time, but, also that she feels, interestingly, safe with him... Until she is being called in to give her report to the mob boss, as to how and why Ramos had killed a man in her presence... Ramos was asked to leave during that interview and we learn just how the man has become so successful in his business. Because when he starts questioning what had happened at th bank as well as later, his probing led to a slight revelation from Shelby, which he quickly pursued... Shelby in the past had never needed to lie. Now she was having a hard time with all of the events... When she was then threatened that something might happen to her family, Shelby explained that based upon her head injury, she had become able to read people's minds... And that, if you even have to be told, resulted in her becoming the unwilling personal assistant to the mob boss. Her job was to sit, listen and report back what the other individual had actually been thinking during any meeting! Having to explain all this to her husband was taking her skills of lying to a whole new level... Especially, when she learned that her husband had a new lawyer in his office, who Shelby quifkly saw that he was after her husband for personal attention... but, even worse, later learned that she had a personal relationship to the mob boss! In other words, Shelby was caught in the middle between her husband's colleague and her forced relationship with a new boss that was demanding of her time with her new job in his company! What a mess! But when one of the second in command to the boss was murdered, along with his son, talk of a possible takeover attempt came to the front. Especially, when at the funeral of his friends, there was an attempt to blow up the boss' car when they left the funeral home... And since Shelby would have been in that car, she was quite ready to seek out and share as much information as she could find to help discover who had committed the latest murders and attempted murders! But, I have to say, that the climax was more funny with chaotic confusion rather than an exciting adventurous conclusion... Loved it! Highly recommended! GABixlerReviews

When I first started reading Carrots I thought it was going to be a serious read. I quickly realized it was not, it is more like the Stephanie Plum books, and really enjoyed reading it. It starts off with Shelby stopping at the grocery store for some carrots. At first I was like this book is odd. The descriptions were just a little over the top describing her running for the store in the rain. Again I thought it was a serious book, not a humorous one so that might have had something to do with it. Once I got into it though it was just fun. Shelby gets shot by a robber and has her head grazed by the bullet. Somehow this now makes her able to hear what people are thinking. The description makes it seem like her husband might be having an affair with the redhead at the office, but really that is not it at all. The redhead is just throwing herself at him, and he doesn't want anything to do with her in that way. It was nice to see the husband and wife together and still in love. It wasn't like super romantic or anything, but more the normal what it would be like after so many years. He doesn't want anyone else, she doesn't either. Yes, they have some issues with the mind reading thing and whatnot, but they work on it. Shelby does get mixed up with Uncle Joey, but it is kind of fun. Ramos is a great character, and there is some attraction on his part, but Shelby is happily married so...maybe in future books there will be issues with her marriage and something might happen. Kind of like Stephanie and her men. She goes back and forth. We shall see. Uncle Joey didn't seem that bad, but I loved how Shelby kept trying to find a way to get out from under his thumb. She kind of don't know what she is doing so it is fun to watch her stumble through everything. I look forward to reading more of these books. This review was originally posted to [...]

Shelby Nichols is a happy wife and mother. Out shopping for carrots, she is shot when an ongoing bank robbery is interrupted. After recovering from the shot, she realizes that she can now "hear" people's thoughts. Soon her adventures begin when she becomes the sole witness to the robbery and the pawn in the hands of a crime lord who knows about her skill and is ready to exploit it with the threat to harm her family if she doesn't agree. Can she survive these people and also save her family before it is too late? When I heard about Carrots, I was very intrigued by the unusual title and also a little skeptical about reading it. Who writes a book named Carrots? I thought. But then when I started reading it, I just could not put it down! :) A fresh story with an unusual name, Carrots held me captive right from the very start. I was fully present with Shelby when she stopped to buy Carrots, when she was shot and when she started hearing all those juicy bits of thoughts! Colleen's writing is captivating, engaging and simple. I prefer books written in the third person but this book was the first where I had reached halfway before I realized that I was reading a story written in the first person. Kudos to the author for enchanting me so much that I just got totally invested in her story. The plot is very innovative and gives a cozy mystery with ample of suspense and adventure. Beautifully conceived and executed it succeeds in keeping the reader engaged till the last page. The characterization is admirable and Colleen sketches life like people who are witty, funny and comfortably normal. A refreshingly innovative attempt at a story with a normal housewife as the protagonist who loves to act Detective, I just loved Shelby and laughed, cried, spied and participated in all the excitement with her. The other characters are also great and this is one of the few books where I just about admired all the characters. Flawlessly sketched with their imperfections and character quirks, they capture your attention and stay with you long after you have finished reading the book. All in all, I completely enjoyed reading Carrots and give it a 4.5 out of 5. If you are looking for a good book with a good story, plenty of suspense and adventure then this is the book for you. I will checkout the other books in the series now. :) This review is also available on my blog Njkinny's World of Books & Stuff

AudioBook Review Stars: Overall: 4 Narration: 4 Story: 4 Oh this was a fun story, and the narration provided by Wendy Tremont King provided lots of aural interest as she moves between characters, with subtle and distinct changes to pitch and tone that provided each character with their own particular feel. As the main character, Shelby, her performance managed to incorporate the character’s emotions, concerns, patios and sense of ‘thinking on her feet’ in the delivery: a really good match. Shelby is your more typical suburban Mom, or was, before a badly aimed gunshot grazed her head and left her able to hear everyone’s thoughts. The complications could be endless in this situation: married, kids, grocery shopping, running into a colleague of her husband that doesn’t particularly like or respect you. Sure, we think we want to know what people think, but having that much honesty and unfiltered access to someone’s thoughts not spoken would be overwhelming. And that is exactly Shelby’s reactions. At first. But, when the realization hits, and it seems that the person who shot her is also gunning for her: poor Shelby, rather reserved, clean spoken, and not particularly good at lying to her husband is tossed into a series of situations that will test her skills and her nerves. Told in Shelby’s point of view, we are able to see that her natural manner of behavior is not to be sly or dishonest, and her habit of speaking first and thinking later combined with her own lack of pretense and agenda in her relationships make her rather a poor judge of character. It isn’t until she uses the new gift that she is brought face to face with her own lack of dissembling, and her sharing with us also gives us a unique perspective into the characters: good and bad. And there are several characters: Shelby’s husband Chris is understanding, loves her dearly, and is completely unnerved by her own new skill. Even with his lack of realization of Kate’s interest in him in more than a lawyer to lawyer colleague way is rather typically male, he isn’t interested, so he doesn’t see it. Kate is not particularly likable: even without her overt attentions toward her husband, but there was more beneath her veneer. Uncle Joey and his other associates are rather fun characters: you see the bad guys from the thoughts Shelby shares with us, and through her particular skewed desire to be helpful and wanting to like them. No, this wasn’t a mystery with the culprit a total surprise at the end, but I find those more entertaining: especially when you are led through the story by a character like Shelby. She’s just klutzy enough to hint at a Lucille Ball styled character, and like Lucy her intentions are really all good. She just doesn’t always see the writing on the wall until it is too late. It was light, fun and entertaining and wrapped up satisfactorily at the end. I received an AudioBook copy of the title from the publisher via AudioBook Jukebox for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

I really enjoyed this series, so much so that I read the first three books back to back. I will be buying the other two soon. Among the many things I liked about the book was the fact that the lead was happily married and her husband was part of all of the stories. The well written plotting was complex but not confusing. There is enough humor the balance the suspense, much of it from how Shelby sees hers; she doesn't take herself too seriously about everyday things. There was plenty of suspense, but it was still a fairly quick and light read. There were a couple of spots were the books bordered on the edge of "get real" like some cozy mysteries do, but I think the author pulled it off deftly. A book can't be too exciting if you stay too far away from the edge, and Colleen Helme knows how to make a mystery exciting. I loved her characters, or at least the way she created them. I don't know if Shelby, the main character has a little crush on the hit man, but I think I do. Her husband is sexy but not overdone and smart. He loves and respects Shelby even when he gets angry or frustrated with her. I definitely want to find out more about "Dimples"; that is just plan mean. Most importantly Shelby is an intelligent woman who makes less than intelligent choices sometimes, but often trouble finds her through a path of circumstance rather than her running into it blindly as happens in many lighter mysteries. In Carrots, Shelby Nichols goes to the grocery story to buy some carrots. Never could she imagine something so insignificant changing her life. While she is at the store, the branch bank inside is robbed and the sees the robber's face so he shoots at her, grazing her head. When she wakes up, she can here people's thoughts. This could go so many directions but while she is at the police station later for a line up, she hears a suspect think that the cops would never find the money where he had hidden it. Not the kind of person who could let that go, Shelby tells the detective working with her that she gets premonitions and gives him a hints to where the money can be found. Once the money does turn up, her detective becomes a believer. If Det. Harris was the only one she had to work with, her life would be complicated enough, but she really sticks her foot in it when she gets so angry at a woman who has a crush on her husband that she lets slip some information she heard the woman think; information that few people should have. Shelby could never imagine where that slip would lead her.

Shelby Nichols (wife/mother, narrator) was at the grocery store getting carrots. BOOM! What had happened at the bank across the street? The Paramedics had arrived. A bank robber had shot her in the head. Detective Drew “Dimples” Harris (Homicide) was asking questions. Christopher “Chris” Nichols (husband, Cohen, Larsen, & Pratt law firm, lawyer) had been notified. Josh Nichols (14, son/brother), & Savannah Nichols (12, daughter/sister) wanted to hear all about mom’s ordeal. Detective Harris was asking more questions. Julie (sketch artist) was going to do a drawing of the suspect on her laptop. Shelby (clairvoyant) had invited Kate (Chris’ associate, lawyer) for lunch. She set Kate straight about her husband. Getting off the parking garage elevator the bank robber had tried to run Kate over. He was supposed to be in jail. Shots were fired at Kate’s vehicle, & when she looked the bank robber had been host/killed. Colonial Mansion. She was greeted by an elderly 60+ man. It was Uncle Joey (Kate’s). Ramos (enforcer) had gotten them something to drink. What did Ramos discuss with Shelby? Uncle Joseph “Joey” “The Knife” Manetto called a meeting with his associates. His good friend Johnny Falzone (restaurant owner), & nephew had been whacked. Uncle Joey wanted names. Steven Cohen (Kates’s father, Cohen, Larsen, & Pratt law firm) had been stabbed to death. News flash: Car Bomb Explodes in Parking Lot of Sunset Mortuary. What were Kate & Walter up to? I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review. Only an honest one. An awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A very professionally written cozy murder mystery book. It was quite easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great murder mystery movie, or better yet a mini TV series. To be continued. There is no doubt in my mind this is an amazingly easy rating of 5 stars. Thank you for the free author; Amazon Digital Services LLC.; book Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)