Review of Dee Dee Darkly: Spontaneous Traveler and Erstwhile Sleutg

Hhannahh · Post by **Hhannahh** » 20 Jul 2021, 13:43

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Dee Dee Darkly: Spontaneous Traveler and Erstwhile Sleutg" by Susan E Bisco.]

3 out of 4 stars

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Dee Dee Darkly—American, middle-aged, female, and writer of children's literature—wanted more from life than visiting children's libraries and reading out her latest tot-book to them. One day, amidst a toddler's rebellion, she decides to become a travel writer. "Spontaneous traveling means never having a plan. Bring only the essential clothes and an active credit card. No maps, no travel guides, no advance reservations." And that's exactly what Dee Dee does; she heads off to England without a plan. You'll have to read this book to know if Dee Dee succeeds as a travel writer.

Dee Dee's tour was narrated from her unique perspective, and the diction of the narrative was a blend of informal and complex, a seemingly unlikely combination. This book was comprised of three not-so-short stories set in different countries: England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. Each story revolved around Dee Dee and whatever inn she was staying at and whatever new people she met. This book featured the themes of adventure and people, "with a splash of death...and whiskey." Yes, death and whiskey. Dee Dee drank everything that came her way, and there was at least one murder in every town she stayed in.

Dee Dee Darkly: Spontaneous Traveler and Erstwhile Sleuth by Susan E. Bisco was a unique and interesting read, and I sure enjoyed this book. The highlight of this book was Dee Dee. She was one intense character: a wild thinker, crazy laugher, mystery seeker, and trouble magnet—from broken ribs to discovering hidden graves and bodies to being the subject of investigations. (I guess that's where the "sleuth" bit comes in.) Regardless of her clumsy nature, Dee Dee was likable. I liked her, and so did almost all the other characters in the novel. If you've seen the 2020 fantasy comedy, Godmothered, the main character, Eleanor Bloomingbottom, acted by Jillian Bell, should give you a good picture of what Dee Dee was like. I also liked the splash of romance in Dee Dee's life, which interestingly managed to happen amid all the investigations and traveling.

Briefly moving away from Dee Dee, I was impressed by how well the author captured the accent of the indigenes in each country Dee Dee visited. Still on its pros, this book had a good deal of suspense that kept me flipping till the end, and the element of surprise was never far away. Also, discovering Dee Dee's next destination was always exciting because it was done by a closing of the eyes and pointing of a finger on the map. I look forward to the second volume of Dee Dee's spontaneous travels.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but I wouldn't say it was perfect. I initially found it tedious to flow with the story because of its complex sentences, and I noticed quite a number of errors and punctuation inconsistencies. On a lighter note, there was little information on Dee Dee's personal life, like about her family or her life in America. There should have been a backstory on this erratic character. Finally, the three stories in this book had the same climatic event: murder, and that amounted to a kind of pattern, which took some thrill and surprise from this book. Considering its many pros and few cons, I'll give this book 3 out of 4 stars and a high recommendation.

Susan Bisco loves to travel, and I believe she wrote this book from her experience. With all the handy and interesting tips in this book, would-be spontaneous travelers will find it helpful. Besides the frequent jabs and stereotypical comments made by the other characters about Americans, which Dee Dee often managed to shrug off or sometimes debunk (but which another American may not tolerate), I don't see anything that would deter any class of reader from enjoying this book.

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Dee Dee Darkly: Spontaneous Traveler and Erstwhile Sleutg
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k_madhu_jha · Post by **k_madhu_jha** » 22 Jul 2021, 07:11

Seems like a great story. Will soon give this book a chance. Thanks for this detailed review.

Amy Luman · Post by **Amy Luman** » 22 Jul 2021, 10:34

Kind of makes you not want to be where she stays. The odds don’t seem in your favor. Sounds like a good book, though.

Mayur Arjune · Post by **Mayur Arjune** » 25 Jul 2021, 01:41

The rebellion story of a boy, wanting to read more, just like us. The review has mentioned it correctly how we readers are eager to read new novels.

Chigo Nwagboso · Post by **Chigo Nwagboso** » 27 Jul 2021, 03:29

I'm glad that you enjoyed reading the book. Thanks for your well-detailed review and recommendations.

Chalce · Post by **Chalce** » 10 Nov 2021, 22:12

Dee Dee sounds like quite an interesting character. I like the idea of spontaneous traveling, but I'll most likely make so much plans before traveling that it's no longer spontaneous.