We Love to Entertain by Sarah Strohmeyer
Sarah Strohmeyer does it again! She is among the few authors who can successfully spin a convincing yet laugh out loud, fast-paced, who-dun-it thriller. We Love to Entertain (Harper) spoofs the round-the-clock HGTV reality television programs devoted to all aspects of real estate, interior design, home renovation, landscaping and Do-It-Yourself (DIY) projects.
The most successful of these have elevated its photogenic hosts into recognizable stars influencing tastes, preferences and purchases for their avid viewers. Audiences are riveted by the combination of dazzling good looks, cheerful banter and upscale renovation projects, particularly those purporting to be ecologically sound and environmentally friendly.
There is a program for every viewer whether they are interested in the fast buck “fix and flip” scenarios, real estate investment strategies, obtaining ideas for their own home improvement projects or simply enjoying looking at houses and properties.
Tiny, picturesque Snowden, Vermont doesn’t know what is about to hit them when real estate investors Robert “Robber” Barron and Holly Simmons arrive in town complete with a small entourage and camera crew. This ultra-attractive, charming, recently engaged couple scooped up a rustic cabin on 80 prime scenic hillside acres for the bargain price of less than $9000 in a somewhat shady tax sale. They are among the three finalists in a fiercely competitive contest run by To the Manor Build (TMB), the most popular home renovation online app where the winner will be determined by followers, culminating in a lavish televised reveal.
The stakes are high: every expense of the renovation and reconstruction project from design consultations through completion, including furnishings, accessories and landscaping will be covered 100% by TMB for the winner. The two runners-up receive publicity, zero compensation and, most significantly, are personally responsible for all costs incurred by their renovation projects.
Holly Simmons, or as her passport reveals, Haylee Dawn Beauregard, in reality may not be a formerly homeless teen from a broken home although this is the persona she has cultivated. Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim’s catchy tune “You Gotta Have a Gimmick” from the 1959 Broadway musical Gypsy could serve as her theme song.
Chameleon Holly has an explanation for everything and glibly glosses over any unpleasantry. She is an adorable charmer; petite, fashion forward, perfectly groomed and styled. In reality, she is a natural born ever camera ready publicity hound with superior self-promotional skills. She fully understands and appreciates the potential millions in product endorsements to be realized from online followers whom she entrances with frequent posts. She envisions winning this contest as the steppingstone to become one of the top reality program stars.
Already with Dom Perignon tastes and with stardom beckoning, Holly and Robert have spent close to $800,000 on transforming a simple family log cabin into a millionaire’s paradise. Robert Barron, who enjoys his ruthless negotiator sobriquet “Robber,” always engineers deals to his own advantage. He has parleyed his “Robert Redford in his prime” good looks coupled with his shrewd business acumen into a reputation for a man who has achieved great financial success.
His camouflage thinly conceals a man who is now closer to 40 whose supposed empire is actually a house of cards propped up by a generous cash flow from his father who incidentally is about to shut off the faucet. It is imperative they win the TMB contest! Days before the final touches are put on their dream home; the Barrons host their own wedding then immediately and mysteriously vanish.
The protagonist of We Love to Entertain is the Snowden’s own Erika Turnbull; the vivacious, dedicated personal assistant who handles the details of the Barrons daily lives and manages the construction project. Erika has been charmed by the seductively flirtatious Robert and immediately falls under suspicion when the couple vanishes.
She deftly co-narrates the novel along with her mother Kim, the Town Clerk. Kim knows there were irregularities in the tax sale and is certain the contestants would be ineligible if the television producers realized they didn’t have clear title.
The plot has unforeseen twists and turns that hold a reader’s attention aided and abetted by sufficient quirky or nefarious characters to alternate laughter and suspense. I won’t spoil it for you by revealing the details.
Best-selling author Sarah Strohmeyer is a former newspaper reporter and the Town Clerk of Middlesex, Vermont. Her first novel Bubbles Unbound, published in 2001, won two major awards: the Agatha and the Romantic Times Award for Best First Mystery. There are seven books in the delightful Bubbles Yablonsky series about a Pennsylvania hairdresser and aspiring cub reporter turned sleuth.
We Love to Entertain is equally original and amusing. If you have not yet discovered Sarah Strohmeyer, it’s time you did! Readers who follow Janet Evanovich, Carolyn Haines or the late Joan Hess among many others will become avid fans.
Sarah Strohmeyer is a bestselling and award-winning novelist whose books include The Secrets of Lily Graves, How Zoe Made Her Dreams (Mostly) Come True, Smart Girls Get What They Want, The Cinderella Pact (which became the Lifetime Original Movie Lying to Be Perfect), The Sleeping Beauty Proposal, The Secret Lives of Fortunate Wives, Sweet Love and the Bubbles mystery series. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications, including the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Boston Globe. She lives with her family outside Montpelier, Vermont.
Publish Date: April 25, 2023
Genre: Thrillers
Author: Sarah Strohmeyer
Page Count: 368 pages
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
ISBN: 9780063224384