Review: Phone Kitten by Marika Christian

Shy, slightly overweight Emily would die if she had to talk dirty face-to-face—especially to her hot cop boy friend. She sure didn’t set out to do phone sex—she wanted to be a writer. But when her BFF framed her for plagiarism, she got in a tiny financial hole and saw this ad for “phone actresses”… Hey, it’s not nearly as bad as it sounds. No pantyhose or pantsuits, no regular hours, you’re your own boss, and lots of people to talk to. Guys, that is. But here’s the odd thing—lots of them want to talk about more than Emily’s imagined attributes; they start to think of her as the best friend they’ll never have to meet. Next thing you know, one of her customers gets killed and Emily knows a lot more about it than she should. But she can’t tell the nearest cop, who’s also her own true love, because then he’ll find out about her secret life. What’s a phone kitten to do? Solve the murder herself, of course—because wouldn’t it be a great story for the newspaper that wrongly fired her? It’s her ticket back to her real life—if it doesn’t get her killed.

Marika Christian's debut novel was one of the most fun reads I have had this year. Sweet Emily taking a job as a "phone actress" has to be one of the funniest things ever. And after chatting with Marika and knowing these phone calls were real, amused me all the more. Emily's circle of friends and allies were all as lovable as her and the shady characters were perfectly despicable. (And there is a hot cop, Rick, that is just yummy!)Emily's investigation into her client, Jim's, murder is full of one zany misadventure after another with a long list of suspects. Along the way, Emily finds that her life is more interesting than she thought it was. It kept me guessing all the way until the end as to who was going to be the killer, I guessed wrong the entire way. Witty dialogue, charming characters, and a suspenseful who-dun-it makes this a fabulous read and one that comes highly recommended!