This Is How It Happened

Any woman scorned will relate well to Madeline Piatro's plight. For Maddy has broken up with her boyfriend and she wants revenge. And not just the slash his tires type of revenge. Oh, no. That would be way too easy. Maddy wants her ex-fiancé, Carlton Connors, dead. And she is the one who is going to deliver the blow, though not directly, of course. As a marketing executive, Maddy is much too smart for that. So she begins devising different ways to get rid of Carlton, the first of which includes a batch of poisoned brownies and proceeds to other plots from their onward.

Jo Barrett writes a hilariously funny, quick-witted story in THIS IS HOW IT HAPPENED (NOT A LOVE STORY). The book is set between the past and the present as Maddy tells the story of her doomed relationship with Carlton, from their first meeting while trying to survive her broken heart in the present. At first, this reviewer was a bit confused by the back and forth but quickly got used to the time swaps and actually found it a great way to tell the story. Along with Maddy and Carlton, we are introduced to a myriad of background players which include Maddy's ex-drug addict brother Ronnie, her best friend Heather, and Heather's lawyer husband, Michael. These characters add a lot of warmth, and reality (which Maddy desperately needs) to the story as they try to help her through this difficult time in her life. Later, we are introduced to Dick, who helps Maddy to exact her revenge, as well as Nick, a possible love interest that shares in Maddy's passion for tennis...or at least that's how it seems at first.

This reviewer is not one for chick-lit novels, but found she really enjoyed THIS IS HOW IT HAPPENED (NOT A LOVE STORY). The book was very easy to read and went by so fast, the reviewer was sad as the last page was turned and realization came that the book was over. The reviewer could really relate to Maddy and her plight as the events of her relationship were revealed and it was shown the toll her breakup with Carlton took on her emotional and mental state of mind. Maddy placed all her chips in the Carlton basket, including her successful idea for a new business, and he made quick work of breaking her of all the hopes and dreams she had invested into both. Maddy is serious about killing Carlton, or at least hurting him much in the same manner he has hurt her, and that speaks to just how much the end of their relationship takes her over the edge of sanity into a dark place. In the end, will Maddy be able to exact her revenge without a body count? That journey, from utter depression to being okay again, was as important as the story of the relationship, and to this reviewer, was the real meat, and bones of the novel.

Readers who enjoy good chick lit novels will not want to miss out on Barrett's THIS IS NOW IT HAPPENED (NOT A LOVE STORY) as it is both smart and funny; a story that will endear itself to readers and have them thinking about it long after the last page has been turned.

March 2008