Review of “Cans of Cola Just Don't Cry” by Carolyn Summer Quinn

Score: 92+/100 (9.2+ out of 10)

Are you passionate about saving and protecting animals?
Does thwarting animal traffickers and poachers sound exciting to you?
Are you up for some monkey shenanigans?

Well, then, Cans of Cola Just Don't Cry may be the book for you!

Cans of Cola Just Don't Cry is a cozy mystery and crime fiction novel by Carolyn Summer Quinn. Quinn is a previous Outstanding Creator Awards winner for her WWII-era book, Until the Stars Align.

Cans of Cola Just Don't Cry follows 63-year-old Nola Carmody, a retired editor living in South Haven Key, Florida who dreams of writing and publishing her first book involving a bank robbery based on a traumatic event from her teenage years. However, like many authors and those who've been through trauma, she finds herself writer's blocked and stuck—apprehensive and unable to move forward with the story. It's not that she lacks the inspiration or even the talent; rather, she's struck by a combination of imposter syndrome, self-doubt, lingering fear from the traumatic event, and distractions like her handsome neighborhood handyman/crush, Shamus Wilder. As you might expect, Shamus becomes a major supporting character and a kind of love-interest.

Anyway, if all that weren't enough, Nola's life takes a surprising turn when she hears the squeaking and cries of a little animal trapped in a cola crate on her dock: a baby chimpanzee!

She names the baby chimp “Lollapalooza” which she tells us means “someone spectacular.”

If you aren't oohing and awing by now, you have no pulse.

This book is incredibly charming with the cuteness and adorableness of Lollapalooza and the monkey shenanigans. Lolla wears a diaper, drinks from a bottle, cries, and tries to grab/hold your hands and fingers like a human baby or child would!

The author does an excellent job at putting forth Lolla's cuteness through writing.
He is described as a “scared little baby” and having “chocolate eyes.”
All of these descriptions evoke strong feelings of protectiveness, warmth, and comfort in the reader.

He's so cute that even some of the villains gain a soft spot for him and wonder if they can feed him bananas and such.

Lollapalooza has an infectious charm on the characters and on the readers.

Speaking of villains, this book does center around the criminal trafficking of rare, unique, and endangered animals like chimpanzees. Like many great things, this is inspired by real events. The author says that this story is based on a documentary about the illegal trafficking and poaching of bonobos, all the way down to how the young bonobos are kidnapped and transferred to the highest bidder while their parents are brutally and needlessly killed off.

Thankfully, this book maintains a mostly-light tone while briefly touching on darker things like this in a tactful way.

The villains of this book include people like Esposito Krumpler, a wealthy and corrupt businessman akin to a crime lord who masterminds the smuggling operation that involves the chimp.

He is supported by his henchmen, Bubba and Cletus, who mostly act like the two henchmen from 101 Dalmatians: bumbling idiots who may be way above their heads. They provide some comedic relief despite their villainous roles.

Cletus is somewhat humanized in that he lives with a very annoying and badly tempered girlfriend named Tiffy Taplinger, an exotic dancer from Miami, who discovers he has brought a chimpanzee into their trailer, raising hell about it. It is actually quite humorous despite this bordering on domestic abuse and a toxic relationship. You'd think that if anyone deserved it, it would be Cletus.

However, it also points out the motivation behind these criminals doing these terrible acts: poverty, desperation, and a need to move up in society to appease highfalutin people like Tiffy and Esposito Krumpler.

They're never so sympathetic that we root for them or want to see them succeed, but we still understand them and what drives them, which makes them better characters.

There's another set of characters speckled in here who seem somewhat superfluous and unnecessary, but still add some flare from time to time. For example, there's Doc MacHale, the attractive local veterinarian who helps to look after and care for Lolla. His son, Liam, is twelve-years-old. One of the key scenes in the book involves Liam being tied up when the crooks come to recapture Lolla. Now, this would be tense and interesting if it weren't run into the ground. The characters talk about this event CONSTANTLY. They can't shut up about it, as if it's the only thing of note that has happened to them.

The reader doesn't need to be constantly reminded about information they already know. It becomes annoying and tiresome after a while when the narrative keeps trying to remind us that the bad guys did a bad thing to a good guy. Ok, we get it. We got it the first time.

There's also Violet Culpepper, the girl who has a crush on Liam—creating some kind of romantic subplot involving the two which we're assuming is supposed to cute and funny (because Liam isn't having any of it). However, it did come across as more unnecessary fluff.

All in all, though, this is a really fun, enjoyable, and entertaining read, especially for all the animal lovers out there.

Check it out on Amazon!