Carla Sarett's Blog: April Foolishness, Tabitha Ormiston-Smith Reviews

Humorist and grammarian Tabitha Ormiston-Smith has two reviews of funny books in honor of April's Foolishness. I am happy to see that there are new authors to me, which is always fun-- and women, to boot. Both books are available as Kindle editions on Amazon.

A word to the wise: Tabitha's Grammar Without Tears is a very funny and useful little book-- and at the bottom of the page, you can find more about her.

Sex, Lies and Corned Beef Pies! By Georgina Ramsey

It is not often that I discover a writer who does the kind of writing that I do myself. There's Tom Sharpe, there's Terry Pratchett, there was Kingsley Amis, but on the whole the comic novel is a rare animal. So it was with great, great pleasure that I turned, with increasing speed, the opening pages of Sex, Lies and Corned Beef Pies! The bumbling protagonist, her seriously disturbed neighbors, a sweet old man and a lovable curmudgeon of a cat, all entwined in a tale of love, betrayal, self-discovery and cooking, combine to make this a novel that anyone whose sense of humor hasn't been surgically removed is bound to love.

Sorority Girls With Guns, by Cat Caruthers

A classically constructed comedy, this first novel by a new author sparkles like diamonds on a rich person's poodle. I laughed out loud many times reading it, and could hardly put it down. The characters are beautifully drawn and the action moves inexorably to a beautifully satisfying conclusion worthy of William Gilbert, with much drama and many surprises along the way. The writing is so smooth that I can hardly believe it's the author's first work. The dialogue is realistic, and every word is made to count in this wonderful story. The work is polished, with a very few typos to detract from its perfection. One is left to hope only that Caruthers will prove as prolific as she is talented, and that more books by this gifted writer will follow.

Learn more about Tabitha:

Tabitha Ormiston-Smith