Barbara Marr has her hands full of life as mother of three girls in Take the Monkeys and Run by Karen Cantwell. Then one night she hears noises at the House of Many Bones, a house in their local community in Rustic Woods, VA, that has been unoccupied for 30 years. After initially investigating the screams and shouts of “No toes!” Barbara goes back inside and back to bed, knowing she isn’t the action hero of her favorite movies. She gets stuck sleeping alone, since her husband, Howard, walked out on her inexplicably a few days earlier. Then the next morning, the youngest of her three daughters excitedly chatters about monkeys. Sure enough, there are four, no, five monkeys hanging in the trees outside their home! The 911 dispatcher almost hangs up on Barbara, but she manages to convince the woman to send someone to her house.
More wild events occur, with Barbara’s continually running into “Officer Brad,” so called that privately because of his resemblance to Brad Pitt. And Barbara’s mother keeps popping up, creating unusual situations, especially because she doesn’t know Howard has left. And all the situations, especially in the last third of the book, show fun and creativity. And we never cease to see Barbara’s love of action movies playing out through the course of the book.
Initially, I was unsure about Take the Monkeys and Run, and I thought the book seemed to be contrived. However, because the book came highly recommended from people who love the same types of books as I love, I stuck with the book, and I’m glad I did. What seemed like silly additions that actually fit well into the plot’s details. I found myself surprised by several details as they transpired. The plot became so exciting that I found it hard to put the book down.
The characters in the book are truly delightful. Barbara’s inner life of action movies adds a fun flavor to the book. Her two best friends, Roz and Peggy, help to add energy. Barbara’s mother, who, despite being busy training for a marathon and earning her black belt in taikwondo, never is too busy to poke her nose into Barbara’s business. The names used for the bad guys add humor as well. We have Elvis, No Toes, and Pug Mug, among others.
The audio edition of this book is narrated by Nan McNamara, who does a good job of making this book believable under conditions that could be otherwise ridiculous. She does a great job of using strong inflections and timing. I really appreciated the job she does in her performance.
Take the Monkeys and Run turned out to be a fun book that I really enjoyed. It has some fun lines, such as this one: “Don’t get fresh with me. I’m menopausal. And I’ve got a gun.” It has great characters, and the second half of the book was a lot of fun. I liked the book enough that I already bought the second book in the series. I give this book five stars.
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