Laurence Shames

One Strange Date Laurence Shames

Perfect romance. Perfect nightmare. Sometimes it’s a fine line. Meet Key West native Renita Daughtry--22, wide-eyed, gorgeous, and very much in love with love. In other words, an irresistible target for professional impostor and pathological liar Richie Pestucci, who plans to charm her into utter helplessness. But there’s just one problem. Renita’s seeming naivete masks a lot of savvy and a will of velvet-coated steel, and it isn’t long before Richie, now smitten with his intended victim, starts to wonder just who is gaming who. As his cynical poise dissolves and the lovers’ game of cat-and-mouse grows subtler and sexier, things start going dangerously and hilariously wrong. So wrong, in fact, that setting them right will require the combined efforts of a heroic twin brother, a fiercely loyal uncle who takes his pest control job very seriously, and a sharp-dressing retired mobster with a singing chihuahua. Seamlessly blending tender romance with raucous caper, One Strange Date massages the heart-strings even as it tickles the funny bone and explores the deep everyday mystery of how and why we choose to believe.