When You Kant Let Go

Book excerpt: Celeste Garowski-Hill is a divorced philosophy professor at a small time college. When her elderly neighbor is murdered, she is entangled in a mystery and romance that leads to many adventures and changes in her life. At one point, her life is endangered. Celeste is an unconventional woman trying to cope with her conventional surroundings. She is both a sympathetic and repulsive character, alternately vulnerable and strong. Her nature puts her at the forefront of many slapstick situations which she somehow emerges from with the use of sarcasm and sheer will. She has little tolerance for people she perceives as not smart, which proves to be her downfall. Ultimately she survives with the help of her friends and her detective boyfriend. Readers will find this book both entertaining and insightful. Everyday situations are used as metaphors for the deeper meaning of life. Symbols of modern society's pros and cons are embedded throughout the book.