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Reprise: A Memorious Tale of Things Present

By: Simon Plaster
Publisher: Mossik Press
Publication Date: October 2021
ISBN: 978-0-999-4185-8-1
Reviewed By: Amy Lignor
Review Date: November 3, 2021

Talk about early Christmas presents. On a personal level: I enjoy the heck out of music and the famous lines that were created by awesome songwriters; I would quite literally die without sarcasm (done well, not mean); and I am a huge fan of Simon Plaster and his wise, fun, and intelligent creations. For those who have not yet enjoyed some of his greatest tales (examples include, Greezers: A Tale of Establishment’s Decline and Fall, Hogback: A Tale of Inter-Generational Conflict and a Girl, Boo! A Chilling Tale of Too-Too #Metoo to name a few) than you have not yet lived an unforgettable literary journey.

Once an investigative reporter, now a Private Eye, this new tale brings us back into the world of Henrietta Hebert – a recurring character that fans are already in love with. And not only does she bear the name of her hometown, she’s about to journey back there...

Let us just say that business is not going incredibly well at the beginning of the book; Henrietta is looking at slow days in the P.I. game. But fate is about to intervene. A woman stands at her door with the name of Dr. Gloria Stern. She has an odd story, and basically tells Henrietta that she has been searching for someone very close to Henrietta – her mother, Wynona. The last time Dr. Stern saw Wynona was three years ago. When needing to “downsize” her own practice, Dr. Stern became more than a bit worried about Henrietta’s mother because this lady had been without her needed medications for way too long. In other words, Wynona is missing and the doctor followed the clues on her mother’s paperwork to unearth her next of kin and to find Henrietta and tell her what’s going on. But...there’s more than just Mommy’s disappearance and the fact that Stern is truly concerned about her health.

Dr. Stern is also worried about Wynona’s mental “instability” and has a sinking feeling that Henrietta’s mother killed Henrietta’s stepfather, a professor by the name of Alexander Lehough. It was reported that Wynona fired a shot from a gun into the floor of her house when Alexander was underneath the structure getting rid of insects that had taken up residence there. It may sound like a silly story, but because of the meds, the now missing woman, and the mental “issues,” it is actually quite possible that it is more fact than fiction. Another twist is that Wynona has not actually disappeared; in fact, she’s currently attempting to contact her daughter through Henrietta’s “eye-phone” at the same time this story is being relayed to her. Henrietta is on the hunt, lovin’ that old hometown as she walks down memory lane, while trying to figure this whole odd case out with her trusty P.I. badge in hand. Has Wynona been a bad girl? Read and find out! No spoilers are given here.

Plaster’s series starring Henrietta Hebert has been sheer perfection when looking for plots that are unique and haven’t been seen in other books. This latest creation is, yet again, a perfect mixture of humor and romance (real and imagined?), and the fact that the author still uses those perfect lines from memorable songs throughout the tale to keep it moving.

Quill says: Satire that beguiles, bewitches and happily bemuses; Simon Plaster hits it out of the proverbial park once again with Reprise.