Original Sin: A Sally Sin Adventure

Original Sin: A Sally Sin Adventure by Beth McMullen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads:  On the surface, Lucy Hamilton looks just like all the other stay-at-home San Francisco moms. She takes her three-year-old son, Theo, to the beach, to the playground and to the zoo. She feeds him organic applesauce and free-range chicken. She folds laundry and plays on the floor with Matchbox cars until her knees ache. What no one knows about Lucy, not even her adoring husband, is that for nine years Lucy was Sally Sin, a spy for the United States Agency for Weapons of Mass Destruction. And that's just the way she wants to keep it - a secret. But when Lucy's nemesis Ian Blackford, a notorious illegal arms dealer, hits the USAWMD's radar, the Agency calls Sally Sin back to action to lure Blackford out into the open. Racing against time, Lucy must fight to save herself, her loving family - and, oh right - the world. Hilarious and resonant, ORIGINAL SIN is the story of one woman’s quest to find that most elusive work-life balance in the face of danger, intrigue, and proper recycling habits.

My take: This book is hilarious. Through Lucy/Sally/Elizabeth or whoever she really is, I have developed a girl crush on Beth McMullen. She completely encapsulates the idea of sarcastic sense of humor. Although in ARC form, I will provide a quote that had me laughing out loud. 

"The bridge is old and wooden. It sways precariously in the wind. There is enough space between the railing slates for a small child to slip through. Probably not a great destination for Theo, I think, although he'd think it was cool. I give myself a mental slap on the face. Focus." 

That is the kind of humor the book is riddled with. She knows how to deadpan, too. It was hilarious and I loved it. I can't wait for the next books with Lucy or Sally as the protagonist. The book description does not do this story justice. Told in first person, Sally Sin/Lucy could be your BFF if she were to ever get that close to you. But she's just playing it cool.  She is not a spy. She is not an assassin. She is Lucy Hamilton, suburban housewife with no past, no family, no career. She does not speak a bajillion languages with ease and without accent. She's never killed anybody and she has never been kidnapped. Plain Jane.

Except that there are a few people who haven't kept their end of the bargain, had there really been one. Let Lucy be a normal person and she'll never ever bother you. They've been keeping tabs on her and know how to use her weaknesses to get her to do work.  All she wants to do is play matchbox cars and bring out a portapotty if Theo needs to go poo. She likes cleaning up applesauce and discussing inane topics at the playground. She is not being paranoid by sitting at the coffee shop with her eyes glued to her son's school entrance the entire three hours, nosirree.  Perfectly normal and average. 

Unless someone tips the balance. Then they will pay for disturbing her suburbia.

Loved it.