Dark humor, paranormal women’s fiction.
Mother Teresa’s Advice for Jilted Lovers is a hilarious, irreverent take on the darker side of spirituality. Every time Tara Holland thinks she’s getting close to finally having her white wedding, the man who should be on his knee, giving her roses, winds up on his back, pushing up daisies. Needless to say, Tara’s beginning to think she’s cursed when it … to think she’s cursed when it comes to men.
Her best friend, Betsy, who’s always there to put the pieces back together, convinces Tara she’s the cause of each of her boyfriend’s untimely exits to the other side. Could it be that Tara has that kind of psychic power? And is Betsy right that women all over the world would pay a pretty penny for it?
What follows is a wild and humorous trek down the path of Tara’s spiritual growth and ultimate awakening. But the road to enlightenment is no cakewalk. It’s fraught with stacks of ill-gotten cash, death threats, and orange jumpsuits.
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1st Place winner for best Mystery/Suspense in the Chanticleer Chatelaine Awards, recognizing emerging new talent and outstanding works in women’s fiction and romance novels.
Nominee for the Whistler Independent Book Award, fiction, recognizing excellence in Canadian independent publishing, 2016.
“Donna Barker’s dark humorous novel has a fresh, snarky voice that will leave readers laughing out loud and turning pages right until the end.” Eileen Cook, author of With Malice
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I absolutely LOVE this book. It’s not your usual romance… but it has romance, mystery, a touch of the supernatural and sooo many parts that made me laugh out loud. Also ignited my ra-ra-go-sisterhood kind of feelings. So yeah. NO way to describe it properly—just go read it yourself and then we can talk about it 🙂
A hilarious and heartwarming read. Best friends Tara and Betsy’s journey toward psychic enlightenment is a hilarious, terrifying and heartwarming roller-coaster ride. The power of positive and negative energy becomes crystal clear on the pages of Ms Baker’s unique debut novel. The locations of Vancouver and San Diego were painted with talented prose, but it is the landscape of the heart and soul that makes this story truly shine.
I highly recommend this unique and sharply witty genre-bending book by Donna Barker. Dark humour, paranormal murder mystery, feminist fiction (with a touch of romance) and a little new age spirituality for good measure. You’ll never read another book like it.
Donna Barker’s genre-defying book, Mother Teresa’s Advice for Jilted Lovers is a hidden treasure! It is a laugh-out-loud hilarious journey into the mind, especially the deliciously unique and highly creative mind of Ms. Barker. It is part murder mystery, part a thought-provoking spiritual journey into the conflict between good and evil, part heart-warming romance, part an exploration of friendship gone wrong, part a self-help spiritual healing advice book, and all infused with dark humor and brilliant and highly original and creative writing.
Tara and Betsy are life-long friends and were former roommates. Betsy has always been the alpha-female with Tara happy to play the subservient role. Tara’s love-life seems to be cursed. Her lovers seem to all experience very different accidental deaths. Tara has a chance encounter with a guy named Glen who she knew in high school and they soon become lovers and Tara thinks that she has finally found the perfect man for her. Then he ghosts her without explanation.
Betsy moves back in with Tara and convinces Tara that she has psychic powers and that she was responsible for the deaths of her former boyfriends. Since both are struggling financially, Betsy convinces Tara that she could use her psychic powers, with the help of her amethyst named Bob (given to her by one of her former dead lovers named Bob), to give relationship advice to other romantically troubled women who were having a conflict with a boyfriend or husband. After an early struggle, they change their business model and their business becomes wildly successful beyond their expectations.
Without providing any “spoilers”, the pace of the book really picks up with wild and hilarious and twisted tales of their Mother Teresa’s Advice adventures. Eventually, the business relationship and the friendship between Tara and Betsy soon goes off the rails. Glen reunites with Tara and provides some information that that makes Tara aware of some things that she had only vaguely suspected previously but which explains the accidental deaths of Tara’s other boyfriends. To this point in the book, the action had been set in Vancouver. Now, Tara and Glen go on a road trip to Sacramento, CA without informing Betsy.
While in Sacramento, Glen is injured in what appears to be an accident and they both come to a full revelation of psychic events that have been going on for years and which were far more extensive than initially realized. Thanks to Betsy “turning the tables” on Tara, Tara ends up being arrested and more adventures await during her incarceration.
I truly loved everything about this book. The main characters are quirky but well developed and vividly described. The plot is well paced, innovative, unique and, the psychic aspects aside, human and believable. The dialogue is witty and at times, belly-laugh funny. The writing is crisp and engaging. All in all, this is a fabulous book that I totally enjoyed reading and am pleased to give it my highest possible endorsement.
I received a copy of the book compliments of the author. My review is provided voluntarily.
3.5 stars.
I have had difficulty trying to put words together for a review. I struggled to get into the story. I enjoy dark humour but found very little to enjoy in this read. Tara was a bit weak willed and flaky for me. I did enjoy her friend Betsy the psychopath though.
The most endearing part of the story was the meditation in the prison holding cells. I enjoyed how they connected.