Publisher: Harlequin (April 2007)

All About Evie is a humorous contemporary romance with a dynamic hero and heroine that grew on me as the romance progressed. The action is fast-paced and suspense abounds as the reader and the characters try to identify the con artists. The choice of first person narrative is a bold and daring chice in romance --- and the perfect choice for this comedy romance.

Evie Parish is a 40 year old singer, emcee, dance motivator and character actress. After several rejections due to lack of youth appeal, she finally loses it at an audition. She opens her shirt and bares herself in a last ditch act of defiance. Thinking her rashness has jeopardized her career, Evie seizes the next job opportunity that suddenly opens up, all without asking too many questions. She plays Sugar Dupont, ditzy former Vegas showgirl Sugar Dupont to Arch now known as Charles Dupont, aging writer and doting husband. Who is Charles Dupont underneath the disguise and will his mysterious past exposure her to danger of the deadly kind? Evie jumps for the job and signs up for eight days on a Caribbean Cruise and without knowing it, also signs up to play a role in sting to catch a grifter (con artist). One sexy leading star (at least underneath the make-up) might just lead to romance --- if she can only survive the unfolding disasters.

Imagine that television classic Scarecrow and Mrs. King (one of my favorites even in reruns) updated for today's audience with gutsy offbeat Miss King as a former character actress instead of a housewife. Imagine Scarecrow as a con artist turned good. Make it mildly hard-boiled, parboiled or just plain heated up and modernized with scandalus comic situations. There you have Beth Ciotta's All About Evie. The role of Sugar Dupont could not be more different than Evie but in playing it, Evie begins to risk it all and in doing so discovers herself. The Sugar Dupont/Evie Parish split magnifies the already humorous tone of the bold first person narrative. A wonderful zany contemporary romance riddled with light suspense!