Review: Nikki and the Lone Wolf/Mardie and the City Surgeon by Marion Lennox

Yesterday I rhapsodised over a romance featuring (not involvingtheres quite a difference there in terms of both semantics and legality) a mischievous pug called Tank. The book that found itself at the top of the TBR was this two-in-one from local author Marion Lennox, and curiously enough, dogs feature in both stories contained within this cheery pink little volume. Its odd how my to-read pile works in such a thematically serendipitous 'manner, but no complaints here.

I should note, though, that Jack Russell lovers will be saddened to note that despite the promise of the cover there are no plump little terriers trundling about these pages. Incidentally, nor is there much sunshine or weather generous enough to warrant the light sundress of the lass on the cover. But there is plenty of drama.

In'Nikki and the Lone Wolf, high-flying engineer Nikki Morrissey has fled to the tiny coastal hamlet of Banksia Bay in order to put some distance between herself and her sleazy ex, a chap who also happens to be her boss, and to take some time to consider her future career path. Taking things a day at a time and on her own terms are what she needs, but her plans are derailed when she finds herself caring for a stray pupwith the help of her gruff but spunky landlord Gabe. Like Nikki, Gabe is struggling with the demons of his past, including the death of his mother, a difficult relationship with his father, a failed marriage, and to top it off, the recent death of his dog, and hes not entirely receptive to having Nikki around. Especially when Nikki turns her attention to rebuilding the stone wall that Gabes mother was working on before her death.

I found this the weaker of the two stories, with a few elements that detracted from the strength of the story overall. Although I enjoyed Nikkis character and appreciated that she was both a forthright and successful individual, I found the situation with her ex a bit cliched and melodramatic. Likewise I was a little dubious about Gabes'response to his dogs death, an I will never love again! attitude that just didnt quite feel believable to me, as well as the way in which his anger over Nikkis interest in stone wall building was described. I couldnt help but feel that these various layers of tragedy and hurt were being applied in order to hide the fact that there was something missing in the characterisation at a deeper level.

The prose is also extremely stuttery and abrupt, something that appears to be fairly common in category romance, but which doesnt work for me as a reader. Im a strong believer in conjunctions and semi-colons and determiners, and all these single word sentences and single sentence paragraphs leave me feeling a touch concussed. (Meanwhile, these authors are probably weeping at my unrepentantly run-on sentences and parenthetical asides. Like this one.)

I found the writing less stop-start in'Mardie and the City Surgeon, although theres'a surprising repetition of certain wordsdiffident; dispassionate; speech described as an explosionthat suggests that this one might have benefited from another pass through during the editing stage.

Still, this and its absolutely hilarious title aside, this companion story is quite a solid and enjoyable read.

Hobby farmer and artist Mardie Rainey is at home waiting out a storm (yes, Mardies surname is very apt indeed) when the sound of a car accident sends her rushing out to help. The chap at the wheel turns out to be none other than her childhood friend and teenage beau Blake, who she hasnt seen in some fifteen years. Blake is fortunately unharmed, and appears to have made a friend throughout his ordeal: the blind border collie he swerved to avoid.

Its not the most fortuitous of reunions, and things only get worse when Blake manages with impressive tenacity to put his foot in his mouth over and over with his suggestions that while hes been off studying medicine and working with the needy in Africa Mardie has been basically sitting about chewing on a blade of grass. Blake attempts to redeem himself by offering to pay for the blind pups cataract surgery, but this only results in giving him more opportunities to get Mardie off-side. Oh, Blake. For someone with such good bedside manner youre not so good with the girls, are you?

Though this story echoes the former in some waysthe rescued dog motif, the similar opening, the stormy weather, and the small-town settingLennox packs a good deal of richness into'Mardie and the City Surgeon, and I enjoyed the way that the story played out. Lennox is coy in unveiling information about her characters, and the extent of Mardies success as an artist, as well as the true nature of Blakes medical career is only revealed late in the book. This works quite nicely, and allows us to view each character in the same way that theyre being viewed by the hero or heroine, and revising our opinions accordingly. I wasnt quite sold on a slightly mawkish moment that occurs with the blind dogs former owner towards the end of the book, and I found Blakes final decision about his career a bit of a leap, but in all this was an enjoyable visit to a bucolic wonderland.'

Though I have my reservations about the writing style and the more-is-more approach to the characters dark and tortured pasts, overall I enjoyed this double-volume outing, and Im pleased to have discovered another local author to keep an eye out for in future.

Rating: (not bad)