A couple of years ago, I read Julie Cohen's book Spirit Willing, Flesh Weak, and loved it. Since then I've enjoyed her novels, which have mainly been Little Black Dress titles (including Girl From Mars, Honey Trap, Nina Jones and the Temple of Gloom), so was excited to receive a copy of her latest book, Getting Away With It. The paperback is due for release in March 2011.This latest book focuses on Elizabeth (Liza) Haven, a stunt woman who loves her single, action-packed lifestyle; the life she dreamed of as a youngster when she was still stuck in the tiny village of Stoneguard with her stern mother and identical twin sister, Lee. When Liza escaped Stoneguard, Lee, the seemingly 'perfect' sister, was working for her mother's ice cream company, leading the life of the good girl she always was. Liza had other ideas.
But when Liza is involved in a terrible car accident on one of her stunts (not to mention the wrecked Ferrari), work in LA begins to dry up. So she heads to London in order to try and find employment, and whilst there, decides to meet up with Lee.
Reluctantly, Liza agrees to attend Lee's charity dance back in Stoneguard. She plans on staying for no more than she's needed, borrowing some of her sister's clothes for the event. But when Lee is nowhere to be found, Liza suddenly finds herself pretending to be Lee...even if it's just for a short while.
But when Lee doesn't return, Liza finds herself filling in for her sister a little while longer...
Meanwhile, Lee is escaping her own problems. Unbeknownst to the rest of the close-knit community of Stoneguard, the prim and perfect Lee has been going off the rails; stealing. At first, it was shoplifting cosmetics, but it's about to get a lot bigger.
As Liza fnds herself taking the place of her sister, she's forced to realise the problems that she left behind when she left Stoneguard in favour of her reckless LA lifestyle. Lee is working hard for Ice Cream Heaven, their mother's company, now that their mother is unfit to run it due to the Alzheimer's disease that has become worse over the years since Liza's departure. Lee's life may sound peachy, but she has more to deal with than anyone realises, which is what Liza's about to find out.
Somehow, swapping lives seemed like the easy way out for Liza. But if she thinks that having to date her sister's rich boyfriend Will Naughton and remembering the names of Lee's friends may be hard enough, it's going to get more difficult. One little white lie is about to get her into more trouble than she bargained for...
I really enjoyed this book. It's mainly told in first-person through Liza, but every so often, there is a chapter written in third-person so that the reader knows what other sister Lee is up to. The tale of twins who play pretend at each other's identities may not seem original at first, but once the story truly begins, the life swap takes on a whole new meaning. Liza's witty voice shines through, in contrast to Liza's overt generosity. In addition, I feel that Julie Cohen wrote about Alzheimer's very well, thus altering us to the disease and how people have to deal with it every day - and of course, the impact it can have on a family.
Getting Away With It is an original, interesting tale which surprised me a little, and I enjoyed every page. Here's hoping that Julie has more to offer us in the coming months!
Rating: 5/5
