"Knock Off"

Rhonda Pollero is the USA Today bestselling author (writing as Kelsey Roberts) of more than 25 contemporary romances.

Her new novel is Knock Off, a mystery featuring Finley Anderson Tanner (F.A.T. to her enemies), "the most delicious sleuth ever to solve the crime, get the guy, and save a bundle on discount Gucci, all at the same time."

Pollero applied the "page 69 test" to Knock Off and reported the following:

Wow, this was quite an eye-opener for me! So much so that I called a friend who hadn’t read the book, read her the page, then asked her what kind of novel she thought it was. She guessed it was a romance.

Page 69 is a set-up to the introduction of Finley’s boyfriend. Her personal life is not the focus of the story. To this point, Finley is not quite committed to the idea that Marcus Evans’s death was a murder, nor is she even committed to the idea of doing the heavy lifting required to conduct a proper investigation. While I don’t think this single page captures the plot points, it does capture Finley’s main character flaw – lack of inspiration. So I suppose I could argue that it reveals character development and motivation – 2 major and necessary elements of fiction.

So, if this was an actual test, I failed miserably. This snippet is a snapshot of Finley at her worst, mired in indecision. Out of context, she reads a little shallow. Okay a lot shallow. I can only hope that potential readers will read on – or back, or ... take a different test!

Visit Rhonda Pellero's website and read an excerpt from Knock Off.

Check out the complete list of books in the Page 69 Test Series.

--Marshal Zeringue