I loved reading this book

The Contest by Nora Katzir

I Couldn’t Put This Book Down!

Reading this book caused me a huge problem – I couldn’t put it down. Once I pened the book I was hooked and couldn’t wait to get to the end to find out ‘whodunit.’ I devoured it in one sitting, a whole day spent curled up on the sofa, engrossed in a fabulous plot while the Irish wind and rain battered against the house.

The Contest is by Nora Katzir two friends who wrote it together. I always have the greatest admiration for book writing teams, it must be hard to agree on a plot and also maintaining the same voice throughout the book. Yet The Contest does just that the finished product is an incredible achievement. While this is the first book from Nora Katzir, it feels very slick and professional, from the first sentence I felt I was with an author who knew their stuff, how to carry a story, paint memorable characters and also keep the reader guessing right to the end.

The action centres around four LA horsewomen, Rachel, Jessica, Amy and Lauri. When Rachel’s husband, John cheats on her, yet again the friends come up with an imaginary contest to see who could think of the best way of killing him. Pretty soon though the joke becomes increasingly less funny when John really dies.

I loved being involved in the world of the four friends, the support, love and humour between the masterfully well drawn characters is so well portrayed I felt I could walk into the barn and would know each of them. I longed to ride the trails in the Hollywood hills with them and go for coffee and put the world to rights. The women are sexy and sassy and their friendship is well written.  I loved how the women were so real, chasing business and work success, trying to make a living juggling the demands of a busy life, with maintaining a home and still trying to find time for hobbies and friends. Each of the characters feels complete, these are real women with strong characters. 

The Contest has some wonderful snippets of life, business, marriage advice as well as some handy ideas for killing an inconvenient spouse or lover!