After reading so many books about aliens, monsters and horror, I thought I'd read something different, and boy was I pleasantly surprised. The geographical area where the story takes place is quite familiar to me, so as I read the book, it was easy for my minds eye to imagine exactly how things looked, and the people in the story also remind me of people I know or knew growing up. I was a logger in the Sierras east of Modesto, and now live in the Bay Area, which caused me to pass through the area on a regular basis, and I can still remember the crop dusters flying along the road right alongside me and spraying the crops, they seemed to be quite talented, and I don't know why but the familiarity of the place and background of the story made the book even better. As for Lalla Bains, she is awesome, way down to earth, and comes across as someone even I might know, and so are the other characters in the book. The book was easy to read, easy to root for the good people, entertaining from the first page to the last, and that's how books are supposed to be. Although she is a fictitious character, I kind of had a crush on Lalla Bains by the end of the book, as she seems to be a never-a-dull-moment kind of girl, but loyal to a fault, and very loving as well, and after a couple of wives and a bunch of girlfriends, she seems to be what dreams and good books are made of , too perfect to be real. Now I can't wait to read the rest of her adventures, but slowly like fine wine.
