Stay Another Night P.S. Meronek

Stay Another Night by P.S. Meronek
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Stay Another Night caught me by surprise. I thought it would be just another murder/mystery ...but it wasn't!  The Narrator is a woman, which I didn't realize at first.  Her name is Coco Stevens, and she tells the adventurous,dangerous,  and redeeming story of her

"Billy Cunninham was my curveball, and I never saw him coming until it was too late to do anything about it."

I wondered throughout her life who this character was, because his name did not come into the story till the end.  Coco narrates her present life, and catches the reader up with how she came to be in alternating chapters. In the present she is 25 years old and drop dead gorgeous at 5'8" and blond. Coco breaks down in Brittle, Nevada, on fumes in her '57 Chevy Bel Air. She meets Mark Zarillo, a lawyer, posing as a Highway Patrolman. Later in the story we find out why she was in Brittle and how this town eventually changes the course of Coco's life forever.

Coco ran away(at 16)after her Father was killed by a drug addicted murderer, and her Mother sunk into depression.  She hopped on a bus and landed in front of Dante's, a strip club.  There she met one of her best friends Jack Holiday, who was the manager.  The strip club got raided and found out that Coco was only 17, she got fired but that was the day she met Sam Spielman.

Hearts, stars, flutters....Bang... Explosion of love!!!

He waited till she turned 18 and graduated High School before they became an item. He was a mob boss but also became respected by legitimate means as well.  Coco goes on to college to graduate with a degree in Business and a minor in Geology.  Coco and Sam stay together and when on a trip to Africa, a famous photographer scouts Coco.  He takes her pictures and she becomes famous.  She battles inside about the two different sides of Sam because she doesn't want to be involved in the gangster lifestyle but Sam can't always keep both lives separate. She has a falling out with Sam due to some wrong information and goes to Brittle for revenge, but instead she finds her heart and the truth of her past as well as Sam.  All because of chasing down Billy Cunningham or BC...

I liked Coco's character because she was beautiful, smart, independent, and took care of herself.  She is very passionate with a love for animals and people. No matter what situation is thrown at her she always makes the right and heartfelt decision.  She can forgive things I would hold hard in my own heart forever. I really admired her. She stuck it out with Sam and re-united with her Mom.  All things in my own life I haven't been able to do.  She definitely had a lucky streak but I think she deserved it because she worked hard.

I gave this book 3 stars because it was confusing switching from past to present and I felt that the end of the story just stopped.  I don't really get the character of Sam. Some things just didn't seem plausible in the plot and certain situations popped up without warning, taking the story in a strange direction for example...::Who put the hit out on Sam?? We never see the Gangster part of his life.(Meyer Lansky is even mentioned!)  I was left with too many questions unanswered.  Otherwise I really enjoyed reading about Coco's life and I am happy that her life ended in rainbows. I think too because the Title and the book just didn't jive with each other, was another reason I gave it 3 stars.  I liked it but I didn't love it.  It is still an interesting read with all the twists, turns and surprises.  I honestly don't know what genre to shelve it as.. romance, mystery ,thriller, fiction??  It didn't really seem like a mystery or a thriller...maybe more like a fictional biography?

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.


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