Bubbles All The Way

Table of Contents

 

“Delightfully goofy.”

—*
Publishers Weekly

“A corking mystery.”

—
People

“Wild action, crazy humor, and lively prose will engage
Bubbles fans as well as Stephanie Plum buffs.
Recommended.”

—
Library Journal

“A delicious stew of romance, murder, and slapstick confusion.”

—
Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine

 

 

“Bubbles Yablonsky is a woman after my heart. She’s tacky, sexy, lovable, has a weakness for handsome men, and she’s wacky. Her reasoning will have you holding your sides from laughing so hard. . . . I can’t wait for her next adventure.”

—*
Rendezvous

 

“Strohmeyer’s sharp dialogue gives her fourth an edge even Bubbles’s clippers can’t match.”

—
Kirkus Reviews

 

“Strohmeyer expertly plays Bubbles’s blue-collar working-class background against the monolithic Lehigh Steel’s country club types and their wives. . . . Bubbles may be Two Guys’ “Biggest Loser Ever,” but she’s good-hearted, persistent, and very, very funny.”

—
Publishers Weekly

 

“A pacy, racy, witty roller coaster of a read, with enough plot twists to keep you guessing to the last page.”

—Marian Keyes, author of
Angels

 

 

“Sarah Strohmeyer’s wicked wit and playful intelligence light up the pages of
Bubbles Ablaze
.”

—*Claire Cook, Author of
Must Love Dogs
and
Multiple Choice

 

“As much effervescent fun as its heroine’s name.”

—Meg Cabot, Author of the
Princess Diaries
novels and
The Boy Next Door

 

“Relentlessly funny. I love it!”

—Linda Lael Miller,
New York Times
bestselling author

 

“Reminiscent of
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
with a Polish twist, this book will keep you in stitches.”

—
Romantic Times

 

“The dumb-blonde shtick works well with the whole loony business, and Strohmeyer’s sharp eye for styles and regional details (Tastykakes, scrapple) adds to the realism and the charm.”

—
Publishers Weekly

 

“Better-than-usual mystery beneath the manic-as-usual Strohmeyer mayhem.”

—
Kirkus Reviews

 

 

“There’s a lot to be said for silly that’s done so very well.”

—*
Houston Chronicle

 

“An amazing heroine . . . what a hoot!”

—
Mystery News

 

“A doozy. . . . [Strohmeyer] has a gift for snappy prose and comic timing . . . amusing subplots, rollicking fun, and enough peril and romance to raise the pulse. . . . This frothy, funny fiction is a great escape.”

—
Seven Days
(Burlington, VT)

 

“This is one to take to the pool.”

—
St. Petersburg Times

 

 

“Bubbles is fun, and so is Strohmeyer’s book.”

—
The Philadelphia Inquirer

 

“Possibly the first novel of its kind to offer beauty tips.”

—
The Boston Globe

 

“Fizzy as a bicarb, funny as Evanovich. Should bubble right to the top of the mystery bestseller lists.”

—Carolyn Hart,
New York Times
bestselling author

 

“A strong debut.”

—*
Houston Chronicle

 

“A sexy, irrepressible heroine, riotous supporting characters.”

—
Library Journal

 

“In an era of pluckier-than-thou females, a nitwit heroine could be a welcome change. Enter Bubbles Yablonsky—a breath of fresh air.”

—
Kirkus Reviews

Also by Sarah Strohmeyer

 

The Bubbles Series

 

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80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

 

First published by Onyx, an imprint of New American Library,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

 

First Printing, November 2006

Copyright © Sarah Strohmeyer, 2006

eISBN : 978-1-101-09913-1

All rights reserved

 

REGISTERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA

 

 

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

 

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.

 

 

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This book could not have been written without the assistance of Luci Zahray, the “Poison Lady,” Gun Tart Nancie Hayes, who gives new meaning to the term “going ballistic,” and Stephanie Cotterman, a Bubbleshead who has on more than one occasion come to my aid. Nancy Martin, author of the sizzling Blackbird Sisters mysteries, held my hand through most of this, as did Ellen Edwards, one of the few remaining editors who still meticulously go over each manuscript. Plus, Ellen did a bang-up job in record time. Thank you! It was Charlaine Harris, author of so many engrossing books, including the bestselling Sookie Stackhouse vampire series, who suggested trying Bubbles as a paperback original. And Kathy Sweeney encouraged a radical twist to Bubbles’s life. Finally, thank you, Charlie, Anna, and Sam, for cheerfully and willingly tolerating what turned out to be one hellish year.

D
ebbie Shatsky was the kind of woman that I, Bubbles Yablonsky, loved to loathe.

Just the way she entered a room was obnoxious, pounding her superhigh heels and blinking her big, overdone eyes as though she expected everyone to admire her expensive, genuine leather department store shoes. Or her LOUD VOICE and high-pitched giggle that forced you to pay attention even if you were trying your best not to.

But nothing aggravated me as much as her constant and incessant bragging.

Debbie showed no reservation when it came to boasting about how perfect her life was, how well decorated her house, what unbelievable sales she got at Hess’s the rest of us had missed, and how her travel business allowed her to visit the most exotic locations free of charge. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.