Another hilarious Davis Way book. This time the casino is hosting a slot machine contest & Davis has to impersonate Bianca, try & shake the sleaze Eddie, do more undercover work to find out who's bilking senior citizens, & work on her relationship with Bradley. It's all in a day's work. NOT! A fun & humorous ride into the Bellasimo adventures with Davis & the crew. ( )

It’s Davis Way’s first slot-tournament season. And it may be her last. Stephanie Plum, Davis Way can sure give you a run for your money!

In this second book of the Davis Way Crime Capers, the story is never dull. Davis is still working undercover for the Casino as well as standing in for Bianca Sanders for public appearances. The story starts off with a bang when they hears shots and when reaching the Sanders’ offices, they find Bianca shot and bleeding. From there the adventure ratchets up. Davis and Bradley are still together and they move into an upscale new condo. While he is out of town, ex-ex-husband Eddie shows up and is staying at the condo while her sister redecorates and she stays at the Casino with her granny. When Bradley arrives back home unexpectantly, he sees Eddie and storms out. That is when Davis starts fainting at just about anything and constantly feels sick. While Davis, Fantasy and No-Hair (Jeremy) are trying to solve the newest problem at the casino, Davis is running a slots tournament pretending to be Bianca, she is trying to salvage her relationship with Bradley, help him as he is dealing with lawsuits and deal with problems from home.

The adventure and laughs never quit. I love Davis, she seems to step into one problem after another. She has a nose for clues and finding solutions, although not always legally. Her sidekick, Fantasy, keeps her in line and they play off one another quite nicely. No-Hair, puts up with their escapades as long as they get the job done. Another great addition to the Davis Way series. On to the next book. I definitely recommend this one to anyone who enjoys a humorous cozy. ( )

When in doubt, blame David…er Davis. Davis Way is back and this time in DOUBLE DIP she might be in over her head. If you haven’t read the first book, DOUBLE WHAMMY, it’s not necessary to do so in order to enjoy DOUBLE DIP. Gretchen Archer does a good job describing past events and gives a clear picture as to who’s who in terms of reoccurring characters.

We have good character development and this important because it’s the second book in the series. Archer continues to develop her characters and we get to know them better. I’d like to say there’s more to Davis Way, but no she’s still the same. I love getting in her head with regards to nicknames and her reasoning for giving them. It just cracks me up! I’m more than happy to report that we get to know the mysterious Bradley Cole a little better and yes, he’s still super awesome! Seriously Archer, where can I get my own Bradley? We have several secondary characters that a play a vital role including Davis’ ex-husband, Eddie to his own grandmother. Though, the real scene stealer is the Bellissimo’s Master of Ceremonies, Matthew Thatcher. He just oozes charisma and you can easily imagine his legion of fans.

Narrative is first person via Davis and if I thought she was a bit unreliable as a narrator in DOUBLE WHAMMY, I can honestly say, she’s a bit more balanced in DOUBLE DIP. The fact we aren’t given a back story to Davis’ life like we had in WHAMMY, really helps. While I liked the back story scenes in WHAMMY, they did take a bit away from Davis and really getting to know her. She’s still quirky and a bit out there, but she’s just so much fun! I can count on Davis and her antics to put on a smile on my face. Overall, Archer gives us a more a polished story in terms of knowing what to focus on and what’s important, something I felt that was slightly lacking in WHAMMY.

As for the overall mystery, it was exhausting trying to figure it out. I really liked the double mystery and I feel as if I’m giving spoilers by saying there’s two cases to be solved. I won’t go into much detail, but Archer threw me off with regards to Bradley’s case. While I liked Davis’ involvement in Bradley’s case, I have to admit that her involvement felt a bit forced. It was almost as if Archer had to have her involved in his life somehow to make their relationship relevant. Despite this slight hiccup, I really did like how Archer brings it all together. In the end, it all will make sense!

Despite enjoying DOUBLE DIP, I do have some complaints. The first is on the use of Davis’ ex-husband Eddie. I won’t go into detail because a large part of his presence is connected to the plot and I don’t want to spoil things, but having Eddie show up threw me for a loop. In DOUBLE WHAMMY, Davis spent way too much time talking about him and I wished we had seen more of him. In hindsight, despite Davis wanting to move on, perhaps she isn’t quite over Eddie as we are led to believe? I was annoyed with Eddie’s appearance and even more so when Davis’ family doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with it. When we see Bradley’s reaction, I was devastated for Davis, but at the same time, I wanted to shake some sense into her and just leave Eddie on his own. The second complaint I have is regarding the timeline from when DOUBLE DIP takes place. I’m use to books in a series taking place shortly after one book ends or at least being notified of a time change and at no point does Archer inform us of the time change until she makes a slight note. It threw me off a few times especially since I expected to pick up right where left off in WHAMMY.

Overall, Gretchen Archer’s DOUBLE DIP is a light fun book. It does end on a slight cliffhanger, but not one that will have you throwing the book across the room. I personally can’t wait to see what’s in store for Davis in book three, DOUBLE STRIKE. ( )

Double Dip is the first book that I have read by Archer and despite being the second book in the series I was able to jump right in. I found myself caught right up in the action and the chaotic life of Davis from the beginning of the book, and Archer did a great job at keeping up the action, the humor, and the suspense till the very end of the book. Davis was a great leading character, however it was the band of secondary characters that I truly enjoyed and felt really added to the story. This series really reminded me of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series which is a favorite of mine, and I liked how Archer combines mystery, action, suspense, and especially the humor. I just love when books can make me laugh out loud during parts, and this book definitely does that. The book is full of enough twists and turns to keep the reader engaged, and I look forward to reading more adventures featuring Davis and her cohorts. I have already purchased book one in the series to catch up. Overall Double Dip is a great read.

Received a copy of Double Dip through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

This book is a great cozy mystery. It packs drama, laughter and more into a really fun read. I would recommend this books to mystery lovers, and will be buying the first one in this series as I wait for #3.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. ( )