What kind of law firm is Bile and Bilge?
A tip-off of what’s ahead for a reader of the Outer Banks, NC trilogy is the name of the law firm that employs our hero in all three of the Peters’ Outer Banks novels I have read. How about Bile and Bilge? (Their accounting firm might be named “Dewey, Cheatem and Howe.”)
Most of the partners of Bile and Bilge are, in the words of the hero of these tales, “mostly stuffy and pedantic souls.” The senior partner would, again in our hero’s estimation, ” . . . line you up in front of him and look you straight in the eye as he drove the blade into your quivering gut.”
In this novel, Jonah has just made partner and the senior partner has offered him a few days off for vacation—instead of the blade in the “quivering gut.” His competition for this partner slot is a 6′-2′ toned and worked-out Amazon who has taken kick-boxing classes.
Loretta, the loser, is no lady, a tough broad
You know what’s coming, I’m sure. Loretta, unhinged by her loss of the partnership, makes a sneak attack on our hero, a slender, gentle man, who although he works out regularly and prides himself on some good moves, is not match for Loretta.
After the battle with Loretta, Jonah thinks that a vacation while his bruises and bumps heal is in order. He selects the Outer Banks of North Carolina’s eastern seaboard, since he has been there before and enjoyed it, in spite of some unusual and sometimes painful experiences that came his way.
A September Outer Banks vacation—less crowded, warm sea
It’s September, a great time for the Outer Banks vacation, since the area is less crowded after Labor Day, and the water is still warm. Jonah packs a bag, whistles up his dog, Muffy, and sets off in his battered 2004 green Cavalier and drives to the quaint village of Duck.
And who should he meet, just when he is getting relaxed and setting aside the annoyances of the workaday world, but Loretta, seated on his couch. He gathers his nerve, throws her out—in a manner of speaking—but decides against involving the local cops.
Life seems normal for a while, although Jonah is always aware that Loretta is gunning for him—so to speak—and he’d better watch his step. But it’s only a few days before his living room window is smashed by Loretta. And the game is on.
A spoiled vacation on the Outer Banks—almost
Combat takes up many pages of Peters’ novel, what with lots of mano a mano fighting interspersed with wrestling matches, attempts to strangle and other varieties of mayhem. First it’s Loretta, then it’s Jonah, then it’s—well, you get the point.
Eventually, Jonah winds up strapped to a chair with Loretta making dire threats and promises. Another battle ensues. Is all well in the end? Will Jonah go in the drink? Will he get back to Bile and Bilge?
Read the book, find out if Jonah’s Outer Banks vacation is indeed spoiled.
An amusing tale and a quick read
As I’ve said about the other two books in this series by T.J. Peters, this is a writer whom I suspect wrote this series with a twinkle in his eye and a chuckle not far from his throat. An Outer Banks Vacation is amusing, a quick read (101 pages in my Nook version) and a good diversion from everyday life.
Whether you read in a lounge chair in your backyard, your kitchen table, your deck, or on the beach, it is an entertaining way to pass a few hours of a midsummer’s eve (or afternoon).