Review: The End of Sunshine Street

Author: Johanna Constance Hunt
Genre: Chick-Lit Mystery Romance
Rating: 2 Stars out of 5
Blurb:
You probably haven't met a woman like Judy before - described as a female Ripley. A working-class woman living in Palm Beach with her millionaire husband, she's outwardly normal but copes - in her own unusual way - with a hurricane, an overcrowded house, a workplace accident, and an unfaithful husband. Readers will be intrigued as they try to figure out Judy's decision-making process.


I'd like to thank Johanna for sending me her book in return for an honest review.

So, when Johanna emailed me about needing reviewers for her book, the blurb was pretty enticing to me. I occasionally read chick lit and even dabble with mysteries so I thought this would be a unique book to add to my list and give you guys a little something different to check out.

I really wanted to love this book - I did. Unfortunately, I had to force myself to finish it. The story line was rather dry and even the climaxes were a minor blip on my climactic radar. The romance was seemingly non-existent...and so was the mystery.

Here is a summary of our plot. Judy is a forty-something who met her husband on a trip to Peru. She doesn't take chances, isn't overly flirtatious, actually...she's pretty average in every way. Although she marries self-made millionaire Sam, Judy still enjoyes working as a physical therapist at the local hospital. She is content with her simple life with Sam and her cat, Jack.

Average friends. Average dinner parties. Average life. I've read many books about average characters that I could connect to, but sadly, I couldn't find one in TEOSS.

I was waiting, waiting for something big to happen in this book. Throughout the hurricane I was quickly flipping pages hoping someone would be murdered or for Judy to go all Rambo - but nata.

What I ended up getting was a husband who expected nightly sex no matter the "excuse", a seemingly spineless wife, a plethora of coffee/dinner/drink making, ridiculously polite people hosting obscenely rude people, and a cool cat named Jack.

I wasn't even bothered by the big "she-did-what?!" scene. It didn't seem to matter to Judy, so it didn't really matter to me.

There were parts of the book that I enjoyed. I loved Johanna's ability to work a sentence. She is a great writer - very fluid and detailed. I liked the setting of Palm Beach and even the idea that Sam created genetically altered 4-inch cats! I just didn't connect with Judy, Sam, or their life. I suppose the point made was simply how an average person can create havoc by making average decisions - and that's just what Judy did.