What do readers think of The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise by Colleen Oakley? Write your own review.

While I did enjoy this book, the first 3/4 of the read did not endure me to Tanner and Louise. I enjoyed the plot and especially the slight twists at the end. It was an enjoyable read, just not outstanding.

If you are ready for a fun adventure in reading this book is a must read. You will be getting to know the two female characters and their back stories. Their adventures, the subtle and not so subtle mentoring going on, the miscommunications and the power of building confidence just shine in the dialog.

The outcomes are predictable and the plot is easy to figure out; nonetheless, it's a perfect read when you just want a good laugh and a well-told story!

As with all good stories, it even has a moral or two to share! Enjoy.

The story of Tanner and Mrs. Louise Wilt was written in one of my least favorite styles - what I can only refer to as 'slapsticky'. Too cute, too witty, too…lots of things, Tanner rubbed me the wrong way. She had so many epiphanies during her adventures with Mrs. Wilt, it just boggled the mind! All in all, it was an enjoyable, average read, in spite of my reaction to Tanner's character.

This book is not my usual genre; I found it fun but implausible. This is a cozy mystery involving a young woman, Tanner, who needs a job and an older lady, Louise Wilts, who needs some help. The repartee between these woman, who can barely tolerate each other, grows into a friendship as they make a road trip. There is clever dialogue bringing in pop culture that will make you chuckle; however; for me, it didn't have depth. If you enjoy feel-good stories that debunk preconceived notions, how words can build or destroy a person, this light mystery may be for you.

This book was what I would consider "light" reading, which genre may have a place in one's library but is not very demanding of the reader. I like stories with strong female characters or ones who strengthen as the story advances, and this book had several such endearing ones. It was entertaining to see them play off against each other, but was almost undone by the somewhat offensive characterization of the very hot young man to whom very little other than his stunning sexiness was attributed. It was a simple mystery, a running from the law story, and certainly a tale of coming of age although at a later age than usual. I read it on a long plane ride and it kept me engaged and guessing all through the story. I liked that clues were planted inconspicuously and then became relevant and important to the conclusion. I may not be the target audience for books like this as I usually go for more atmospheric novels with deeper character development which evokes empathy and a tear or two. I therefore recommend this to people who want to escape into a fun story which will keep them guessing and leads to some laughs.

This story has humor, and some good writing, but for me the plot had too many highly improbable twists and turns, including some that were too far beyond misdirection for me to enjoy. I can't really explain without spoiling some plot points, but I went back and reread several times to see if I really had just missed, or misread, something, and no, it clearly said spoiler fact, not totally different spoiler fact. It's one thing to cleverly misdirect readers so that they make incorrect assumptions, but to clearly say A when it turns out to be B doesn't work for me, certainly not as often as it happened in this book. Maybe it is a new form of humor writing? Perhaps the ARC I read was released in too draft-y a form? Maybe, given the title, it's meant to be a huge joke on the reader? Regardless, it definitely did not work for me, and unless you can let go of that big issue, and are able to suspend disbelief about many things in the actual world (in which case you may enjoy an amusing few hours with this book), I recommend spending your valuable reading time on something else.

I found the subplot difficult to fathom. Much like a modified Thelma and Louise. I finally skipped to the end so I could post a review. Would have been easier read to with a book in hand.