SOPHIE LITTLEFIELD – A Bad Day for Sorry. St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books, hardcover, August 2009; trade paperback, May 2010.

Genre:   Unlicensed Investigator. Leading character:  Stella Hardesty; 1st in series. Setting:   Rural Missouri.

First Sentence:   Whuppin’ ass wasn’t so hard, Stella Hardesty thought as she took aim with the little Raven .22 she took off a cheating so-of-a-bitch in Kansas City last month.

   Stella Hardesty knows what it’s like to live with a physically abusive man. After taking care of her own husband, in a permanent way, she has made an off-the-books career out of convincing other women’s men to either change their ways or clear out.

   She has been very effective, in the past, but Roy Dean Shaw isn’t getting the point. Instead, he kidnaps his wife Chrissy’s baby, of whom he’s not even the father. Then, Stella learns that Roy Dean is connected to a crime gang. Still Stella, with Chrissy by her side, is determined to save the baby.

   The prologue left me fearing Littlefield’s book would be cute and folksy and the vernacular would become tiresome. Instead, it helps establish the sense of place and there is nothing cute about this book except the well placed humor applied with deft hand.

   Stella is a wonderful character. She is a survivor in the best sense of the word. Rather than become hardened by her experiences, her empathy for others makes her determined to do for them what they can’t do for themselves, even if her methods are not exactly — okay not at all — within the law.

   She does what the law does not; protects women. She is not your classic heroine; she’s over 50, seen hard life and known pain, both physical and emotional. But she’s tough and smart.

   Chrissy begins as her antithesis; young, cute, big-busted with blond curls. What was refreshing was that Littlefield did not write her as a stereotype. Chrissy provides to be someone not to be underestimated and exemplifies the adage of not getting between a mother and her young, and I hope we see more of her in future books.

   There is great dialogue here, as long as one doesn’t mind rough language. Anything else would have been unrealistic and completely out of character. The book is very well plotted, with a flow that keeps you engaged from first page to last and with an originality that catches you off guard.

   It’s a story that, were the characters men, you wouldn’t flinch. However, because they are women, you are, at times, both uncomfortable and cheering them on. There is great suspense and really well-done action.

   A Bad Day for Sorry surprised me and delighted me. It won an Anthony Award for Best First Novel and it was well deserved. It’s a pleasure to know there are more books in this series.

Rating:   Very Good Plus.

      The Stella Hardesty series —

1. A Bad Day for Sorry (2009)
2. A Bad Day for Pretty (2010)

3. A Bad Day for Scandal (2011)
4. A Bad Day for Mercy (2012)