Showing posts with label Sibel Hodge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sibel Hodge. Show all posts

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Be Careful What You Wish For - Sibel Hodge, Author


Cranberry Cosmopolitans which feature in the book
As well as a Sible Hodge favorite

40ml Vodka
15ml Cointreau
15ml Fresh lime juice
30ml Cranberry juice

Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker and blend well. Add crushed ice and a slice of lime - perfect! 

Be Careful What You Wish For – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat and Think With Your Taste Buds – Desserts
 
“I arrived at the gym one morning to get some equipment sorted out for the boxers.  It was still really early so I assumed no one would be there, but when I went in, I could hear Vinnie and Levi arguing in the locker room.  I heard the word ‘contract’ mentioned a few times.”  Terry frowned.  “I think they were arguing about Levi’s contract with Vinnie.”
 
“Do you know the terms of the contract Vinnie and Levi agreed on?”
 
“No.  It was signed a long time ago when Levi was twenty, and he would never tell me.  Levi was always secretive about what was in it.”  Terry took a sip of coffee.  “Anyway, after I heard Levi mention the contract, curiosity got the better of me and I listened outside.  The thing is…”  Terry paused and bit his lip.  “The thing is…I’m pretty sure Vinnie told Levi to throw the fight.”  Terry gave me a sheepish look.
 
I let this sink in for a minute.  “What do you mean, ‘pretty sure’?  What did Vinnie say exactly?”
 
“Well I heard Vinnie say, ‘You’re still under contract with me – you do what I (*^!#) tell you.  You will take the hit.’  Terry gave me a knowing look.  “Later on, when Vinnie had left, I tried to ask Levi if Vinnie was ordering him to throw the fight, but Levi dismissed it.  Levi told me he was the world champ, why would he need to take a dive?”  Terry looked up at me with worried eyes.  “I tried again to get out of Levi what was going on, but Levi just said they were arguing about a personal matter.  I didn’t really believe him at the time, and now…with what happened last night, I think Levi really did throw the fight.”
 
Amber Fox, also known as “Foxy” has watched the video of the world heavyweight boxing champion Levi Carter where he lost the match in the 6th.  According to her boss and ex-fiancĂ© Brad, owner of Hi-Tec Insurance, Levi did something during the 6th that is unheard of.  He allowed himself to be distracted by bank CEO Carl Thomas as he yelled something to him from outside the ring causing a the referee to declare a ‘Technical Knockout.’  So, what is the problem?  Why would Levi throw the match and lose his title?  That’s what Amber has been given the task of finding out. 
 
One thing that really peeked Amber’s attention was the fact that Vinnie Dawson is Levi’s manager.  Amber has a history with Vinnie from back when she was on the police force.  She put his cousin Lee away for armed robbery and since Lee and Vinnie are close, she feels Vinnie still holds a grudge against her.  And this is all proven to be true when Amber starts receiving some very undesirable packages in the mail as well as a sudden infestation in her apartment of the one creature she fears...spiders. 
 
Making the investigation even harder comes with the murder of a couple of the suspects and then the disappearance of Levi.  Amber is sure Vinnie has some kind of hold over Levi and is probably blackmailing him but for what?  Hopefully she will find the answers before it gets not only Levi killed but herself too. 
 
I met Amber Fox when I read Sibel Hodge’s book The Fashion Police.  Her character is one of my favorite.  She is so real and so are her personal life problems.  Between trying to decide if she should continue a relationship with her ex-boyfriend Romeo or give in to her ex-fiancĂ© Brad’s proposal, Amber finds herself in total confusion.  Plus she must deal with her retired policeman Dad who has taken on the neighborhood watch program and spends a good bit of his time undercover either dressed as a woman or a stinky bum.  This book has it all…murder, love and humor.
 

Saturday, May 21, 2011

The Fasion Police - Sibel Hodge, Author



  • From The Fashion Police
  • Amber's Mum's recipe for
  • Marinara Pasta
  • (by author Sibel Hodge)
  •  
  • 2 tbs olive oil, plus extra to toss
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 cup (250ml) dry white wine
  • 3 tbs tomato paste
  • 2 x 410g cans crushed tomatoes
  • 500g spaghetti
  • 500g mixed seafood (squid, prawns, scallops)
  • 300g black mussels, washed, de-bearded
  • 2 tbs chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions
  1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, add onion and cook for 3-4 minutes or until softened.
  2. Add garlic and wine, and simmer 2 minutes. Add paste and crushed tomatoes, and simmer 15-20 minutes further, stirring occasionally until slightly thickened. Season well.
  3. Cook the pasta in boiling, salted water until al dente. Drain and toss in a little olive oil.
  4. Add marinara mix and mussels to tomato sauce, cover with lid and cook 3-4 minutes over medium-high heat, discarding any mussels that do not open.
  5. Stir in parsley, then toss the sauce through the pasta and serve 


The Fashion Police – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat

‘This was going to be a piece of cake.  I would just sneak around, posing as an inconspicuous shopper, and snap a few pictures of Clark stacking shelves.  Why had I been so worried about this job?  It was ridiculously easy.  I heaved through the horde of shoppers, scanned the crowd for signs of any shelf-stocking activity.  There was nothing going on in the fruit and veggies aisle, so I picked up a bag of bananas and wandered off in search of Clark.  The bakery section was quiet and boring, except for the yummy smell of freshly baked bread.  Ditto for the condiments aisle, the dairy isle, and the cereal aisle.  Maybe there was a special time of day when all the shelf-stockers were let out in a frenzy, and I’d missed it.  I stood in front of the toiletries with the idea that if I stood there long enough, Clark would come to me.  I could wait until closing time if need be, no problem.  As it turned out, I lasted about ten minutes.  I was reading the directions on a box of teeth-whitening strips when I heard a rustling sound coming from my bag of bananas.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the bananas begin to move.  Wait a sec, bananas don’t move.  I stared at the bag as my hands shook.  Nope, the bananas weren’t moving at all.  It was a ginormous tarantula inside the bag that was moving, tapping on the plastic with its hairy foot.  I froze, hardly daring to breath.  Omigod!  Spider!  In my mental world, I was screaming my head off, but in the real world, I think my mouth was just wide open with no sound coming out.  I threw the bag on the floor and rocketed out to the parking lot faster than the speed of light, probably warp factor ten at least…Paul Clark and Brad would just have to wait.

Amber Fox is a former Detective Sergeant who was given the choice by Detective Chief Inspector Janice Skipper to either resign or be “resigned.”  This all took place after Amber accidently shot Janice in the rear while both were on the firing range one day.  Janice said it was intentional, Amber said it was an accident.  Either way, Amber resigned and went to work for her former fiancĂ© Brad who was owner of Hi-Tec Insurance.  Brad hired Amber to do check out some of the insurance claims he had received by a few clients that weren’t exactly reputable.  One claim was by Paul Clark who insisted that he had hurt his back and could no longer work.  That’s when Amber discovered him working as a stocker at the local grocery store.  Through her surveillance she also discovered that she probably wouldn’t be buying bananas from this store in the future.  Added to her work load was the job of planting “bugs” hidden in pens throughout the offices of fashion designer Umberto Fandango.  This job turned out to be a bummer too when it was discovered that the pens weren’t working correctly.  And Amber’s decision to go back to the offices to replace the pens, she discovers that Fandango is missing and due to the amount of blood at the scene, he just might possibly be dead.

The Fashion Police is one of the funniest murder mysteries I’ve ever read.  Amber isn’t a klutz but she sure finds herself in some really dangerous but funny situations.  Amber finds her dad, recently retired from the police force, dressed in women’s clothes.  His former drug sniffing police dog has some really strange commands.  And when she runs into a couple of goons named Sally and Tracy, she inflicts problems on them that will have your laughing out loud.   But I didn’t tell you the best part.   Her former ex Brad and her policeman boyfriend Romeo are both in love with her and want her for themselves.  Amber has decided that she actually loves both and just in case one doesn’t work out she might better hang onto both.  Oh yeah, Janice has made it known that she will stop at nothing to wreak havoc on Amber’s life and see that she loses everything, especially Romeo in the process.

So, if you like a good laugh along with your murder, The Fashion Police is a book you don’t want to miss out on.


2009

 
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