Book Review: Bingo by Rita Mae Brown

Rita Mae Brown is a very talented and prolific writer.  I found her through her series of books centered on the Hunsenmeir sisters, two hilarious southern charmers.  The first of these books that I found was The Sand Castle, a short but sweet taste of the sisters.  I lent the book to my mother and discovered that she already was acquainted with Miss Brown’s work, as Miss Brown has also written tons of mystery novels involving a cat.  (My Mom really goes for those lol.)  How fun that we found an author we can both enjoy!

Bingo is a great example of Miss Brown’s talents.  The characters are unforgettable, the humor sincere (I literally laughed out loud most pages!) and the plot keeps you reading.  Now, when I read a book that I am thinking of sharing with my Mom, I look for things that she wouldn’t like (and that I don’t personally go for either) such as cursing, explicit s*x, etc.  Well, Bingo does have some cursing that I could have done without, and some of the subject matter is iffy (affairs,  “alternative” lifestyles) but I could easily overlook these offenses and enjoy the book anyway.

Oh, Juts and Louise, the over 80yo sisters, are such wonderful characters!  Both full of southern charm but never too stereotypical.  Believe me, these two are quite unique lol.  Jut’s adopted daughter Nickel narrates the novel, and it’s her character that gets a bit iffy, but her story telling is compelling.  I am eagerly looking forward to picking up the follow-up to Bingo, Loose Lips.  If you want to start at the beginning of the “series” revolving around the sisters, pick up Six of One first.  However, I will note that Brown does an excellent job and each of the books stand very well on their own.