I have to say, Kevin Tipple is certainly honest with his book reviews. I enjoyed his review of J.A. Jance’s novella, “Girls’ Night Out” more than Kevin enjoyed the story. He can have a wicked sense of humor. Thank you, Kevin, for your honest opinion.

Girl’s Night Out 3 Stars

Despite the billing, “Girl’s Night Out: A J.P. Beaumont Short Story” is not J.P.
Beaumont tale. He is referenced, but he never is actually in the tale. That fact was
annoying and very disappointing as that is why I purchased the read.

The novella revolves around Twinkle Winkleman who as last seen in Nothing to Lose
(also reviewed by Aubrey here).After considerable backstory regarding her life, we
eventually get to the fact that her daughter in law, Cindy, has gone missing after being
out for the evening with female friends. Cindy went out anyway, as she does every
weekend, even though her best friend, Leslie, wasn’t going to make it. This is shortly after
Cindy had told Twinkle some concerning news about Leslie’s current boyfriend.

James is abusive and controlling. He could be a problem, not just for Leslie, but anyone
around her. The fact that Cindy hasn’t come home by long after midnight, or answer her
phone, is a worry. Twinkle soon finds Cindy’s car at where she was supposed to be
though the club is dark and locked up tight. Cindy’s car is the only vehicle in the cold
and desolate parking lot. The vehicle is unlocked and Cindy’s purse is inside. Then she
finds Cindy’s cellphone under the car.

Clearly something bad is going on. With the Anchorage P.D. of no help, Twinkie goes on
her own to find Cindy before it’s too late.

While this heavily narrated tale with very little dialogue was somewhat interesting, once
it actually got going, the absence of J.P. Beaumont was disappointing. To me, I feel
misled by the publisher, Witness Impulse, as Beaumont is not in the read.

Based on the ratings and reviews I have seen many folks did not have that issue with
the read. If I was doing the stars/cups of coffee/flaming suns/whatever deal here, I
would go with three stars—at best. If I could have returned it for a refund, I would have,
and I never do that.

My recommendation would be either to read it for free via your local library, if they get it,
or wait for the free book sale when they do it through Amazon.

The final quarter of this eBook is publicity material and an excerpt from the next
Beaumont series, Den of Iniquity, currently scheduled to be released in September.
Based on the synopsis, it would appear that Beaumont is actually in that book.

My reading copy was a wasted purchase by way of funds in my Amazon Associate
account.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2024