A Fist Full Of Ashes
HumorousRomanticSuspense
Book 2 in the Tour Director Extraordinaire Series
My first mistake:
Agreeing to conduct a private tour of Italy. Fourteen Italian-Americans
from New Jersey? All family, for three weeks, with four teenagers? What
was I thinking?
Fate responds to my engraved invitation by placing one of the family
under surveillance as a suspect in an assassination plot, and who is
assigned to the case? None other than my favorite drop-dead-gorgeous
spy, Will Talbot.
My second mistake: Allowing Will to coax an invitation from the family matriarch to join the tour.
And that was just the beginning. The matriarch, searching for the
unknown location of her mother's grave, and her quirky family members
sweep through Italy leaving chaos, danger and destruction in their wake.
(90k)
ISBN #978-1-934657-24-9
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READ AN EXCERPT
“Did you actually meet Gianni Barbera?”
That cooled me off a bit. Oh, boy. How much should I tell him? “Yes, he sat next to me at dinner.”
“What’s your opinion?”
“It’s my opinion that we have plenty of time to talk about this later.”
“Harriet!”
Oo-kay, let’s see if I’ve learned anything about acting. “He was charming, polished, and polite but distant, which I took to mean he didn’t suspect any threat. And in my humble opinion, he’s the primary decision maker.”
Will hesitated a beat. “Okay, that fits with what I know. Now, what aren’t you telling me?”
“What makes you think I’m not telling you everything?”
He kissed me again and let his hands rove, getting me all heated up on purpose. He knew how to break down my defenses. God, he’s good.
My resistance dwindled. “Oh, well, all right. I didn’t score high marks with the fly-on-the-wall thing.” No big surprise there. I told him about my confrontation with the tablecloth.
He groaned, but didn’t say anything or criticize. Maybe I would get off easy.
“What else?”
Jeez. I needed to brush up on my fibbing skills. “There’s nothing else…hmm, except that I guess I flirted with him a little. But only to get information for you.”
“And?”
“And what?” Didn’t this guy ever give up? I added obnoxiously persistent to my mental list of his qualities.
“Out with it. You know you’re a rotten liar.” He didn’t sound angry, merely relentless in his pursuit of knowledge.
“We-ell…he sort of looked up my skirt.”
“Jesus, Harriet!”
That reaction made me all defensive. I rolled out of his arms and sat up. “It’s not like it sounds. It wasn’t in private or anything. It happened in front of everybody.”
A long heavy silence ensued. “Shit!”
I punched him lightly on the shoulder. “Will, stop it. It’s nothing like you’re implying. Everyone in the room looked up my skirt. I was trying to get off the dining table.”
He heaved a resigned sigh. “You’re way off base if you think that’s going to help. What were you doing on the table?”
“Standing, of course. And nobody could really see anything except my pantyhose and thong.”
He flopped on his back and flung his forearm over his eyes. “Lord, give me strength.”
“Do you want to hear the rest of this or not?”
“Am I going to hate it?”
“You shouldn’t. And talking about this now was your bright idea.”
I blew out an exasperated breath and told him about the argument over the burial of the ashes in the family tomb, and how I’d stopped it.
“Harriet Ruby, you are something else.” He didn’t take his arm away from his face. “I’m glad I wasn’t there. I can’t take the stress.”
“We learned a lot more this way. This spy thing is actually kind of fun.”
The
Pen and Muse
May 19, 2010 by Rebecca Lynn
The good thing is that Will, darling Will, is coming back for another round after this one is over (or at least that's what it appears will happen). And Harriet (his heroine) looks like she will be back, also. The suspense was interesting and exciting. Definitely not a plot I expected, when the book began. Full of surprises, and worth the read.
The adjectives "humorous" and "romantic" are intentionally adjectives, I think. The focus of the plot is definitely the suspense, and both the humor and the romance play supporting roles to that. Nothing wrong with it, just something I thought should be noted, given the fact that I mostly review romance. But this was a good book. I enjoyed it. And I liked Will so much that I'm considering reading the next book. Should be very exciting to see if Will and Harriet will finally get their happy ending... :-) You know me, I'm all about the happily ever after.
Examiner.com
05/03/2010 by Ginger Simpson
If you are looking for one book that delivers a satisfying dose of romance, humor, intrigue, danger, and sexual attraction so intense you feel it, then All for a Fist Full of Ashes by R. Ann Siracusa is just what the doctor ordered.
Harriet Ruby, a tour director with the Adventure Seekers Travel Agency, takes
you along when she guides a somewhat unique family through Italy as they search
for their roots. Their first meeting occurs during a fracus at the custom’s
desk, when one officer helps himself to a single Cuban cigar the Spinelli/Mazza
family carries with them. It seems in order to save money, they’ve rolled Uncle
Carmelo’s ashes inside the several boxes of stogies they’ve brought with the
intent of leaving them at his mother’s grave in Sicily.
Handsome William (Will) Talbot) is an agent for Europol. He and Harriet have
met formerly, and he seems to be extremely patient with her, despite all the
predicaments she finds herself in. They’ve agreed to a no-strings attached,
sexual relationship, but there’s no denying the feelings are far more than
casual.
The cane wielding grandmother, Vita, plays a hilarious role as the family
matriarch, but it seems everyone in the family has their own agenda when Granny
isn’t around. She likes Will and isn’t the least bit upset when he decides to
tag along on the trip. Something stinks, and it isn’t in Denmark. One of the
family members is the object of Will’s secret investigation.
Harriet has her hands full with this group--green hair, bad attitudes, an
escaping snake, and more to cause you to chuckle. I guarantee you’ll keep
turning pages and enjoying every moment. Kudos to Ms. Siracusa for this awesome
read.
Review by Coffee Time
Romance and More (Rating: 4 cups)
12/06/09 by Maura
Frankman
This story is outrageously funny and over the top in every way. I do not think that there is a more obnoxious family on the planet than the Spinella/Mazza clan. I loved Vita and her deadly accurate cane and the green-haired Eric, but the rest of the bunch has few redeeming qualities. The scene in the airport with the Italian officials smoking some of Uncle Carmelo’s remains is hilarious. Harriet and Will’s relationship is complicated, since he keeps everything about himself a secret, but their love scenes are pretty hot. Harriet manages to keep her head, if not her control, for most of the journey, and you will enjoy her efforts to keep the group from destroying the luxury hotels of Italy, to keep the teenagers out of jail, and to help Will keep someone from assassinating the Pope. All in a day’s work for a tour guide. Not!
Night Owl
Romance Reviews (Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5 - A Top Pick)
February 1, 2010 by
Vee
When Harriet Ruby, a tour director, is assigned to show Italy to the
Spinella family, fourteen Italian-Americans from New Jersey, little does she
know some of them have more than sightseeing on their minds.
Full of colorful characters and hilarious situations, All For A Fist Full Of Ashes is fun. The humor is slapstickish, but clever. Vita’s character, an elderly woman with a fast cane and a sharp mind is only one. There were many colordul characters in the story including a phython named Fluffy. The author did a good job of making them come alive.
My only criticism is the terrorist subplot and its resolution felt threadbare. I had a hard time believing Interpol would have so little information to go on and would have to rely on Harriet. Or course, that problem created more tension. If you like Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum novels, you’ll like this series by R. Ann Siracusa. It’s spunky and well-told. Definitely kept me entertained.
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