Just Add Salt

Just Add Salt
Book 2: Hetta Coffey Series
Jinx Schwartz
WhooDoo Mysteries
Treble Heart Books
Sierra Vista, AZ
2006
ISBN: 1-932695-46-X
$ 12.45
294 pages

Some people seem to attract trouble like Hetta Coffey. It also might be that Hetta is the type of person who jumps into the water and then asks about its depth. Added to that, she can't swim.

Living on a yacht definitely requires a different lifestyle. Since she no longer has a land-based house, all of her life encompasses her boat. Being the she is an engineer who is contracted to work in various places, her boat or house, goes wherever she is needed. With her love, Jenks, currently in the Middle East, Hetta takes off for Mexico with her best friend, Jan, and a mysterious, but conveniently cheap captain to pilot the boat.

The more Hetta discovers about her new temporary job, the more she questions whether this job is legal or ethical. A particular Japanese company wants to buy land in Baja to develop into a desalinization plant which also seems to be involved with some poaching of whales. Hetta's job is to plan their supplies and needs to complete their project. Jan accompanies Hetta as a marine biologist who is really a companion and friend with no qualifications.

Just Add Salt is the second book in the Hetta Coffey series which now includes four novels. Just Add Water is the first book in this series which is wonderful with the character develop of Hetta and her friends. This second book in this series could be difficult to understand if someone does not have this background of the characters.

Just Add Salt truly succeeds with giving a sense of the setting. Understanding the area of Baja is quite unique with its varied populace and the Atlantic hurricane season as well as the US Coast Guard responsibilities along the southern California coastal region. The characters, especially Hetta, seem to long for adventure without thinking of the possible consequences. In that respect, it is a delightful journey in someone else's shoes that I personally would not want toinhabit.

Jinx Schwartz has written four books in this series featuring Hetta Coffey. Jinx lives in Arizona and Mexico most of the year. Jinx has also written a wonderful book, Land ofMountains, based on her own experiences growing up in Haiti.

Just Add Salt is a fun read. Hetta's misadventures resemble LucyRicardo from I Love Lucy, even with the red hair. The recommended audience is for women who love a mystery with a wicked sense of humor.