Book Review and Giveaway: Pringle Prawn by Michael Scott Clifton

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Ben Hastings, bless his heart. He’s a history professor at UT Tyler, and his girlfriend, Cara, is way above his pay grade. She’s the quintessential girl with a silver spoon in her mouth. Her dad is a rich, high-powered lawyer, she wants for nothing, and Ben is trying to impress his (hopefully?) future father-in-law. So when he comes upon a rather shabby Gothic mansion for sale at a heck of a deal, he sees the potential to live up to Cara’s high expectations and snags it.

When he goes hunting for, and finds, a key to open the mysterious grandfather clock that came with the house, he goes on an adventure he never expected! He lands in this new locale and quickly has to run from some kind of creature that’s coming after him with malice aforethought. He’s rescued from his predicament by Pringle, a forest prawn. No, not a really big shrimp. A prawn, in Pringle’s world, is a creature akin to a fairy. You know, adorable, tiny, has wings and flies. She helps Ben navigate his new circumstances and find his way home. But Ben doesn’t return home alone. Pringle comes along, too. She does not remain tiny. Shenanigans ensue.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed other books by Michael Scott Clifton, and Pringle Prawn ramps it up to a whole other level. This book hits on the very real-world topic of human trafficking and weaves it deftly into the fantasy storyline. But it also gives us gems like Archie Jones, billionaire bookseller and Ben’s new best friend; Hank, the shop owner who gives Ben the key to his mysterious clock and who seems to be more than just a shop owner; and Pringle herself. Pringle has to adjust to Ben’s world, and her interactions with it are sometimes touching, sometimes laugh-out-loud-while-you’re-reading-in-public funny.

Pringle brings fairy dust with her, and Clifton really cuts up with that effect! The fairy dust gives us treats like large, sentient bees and concrete lions come to life. There’s also a talking door with attitude, and these are just the things that happen at Ben’s house. And then there is my favorite: Maude, the HOA president who lives next door to Ben. She literally stalks Ben, and her efforts to find some way, any way to bring him down and get him out of her neighborhood are painfully funny. She reminds me of Gladys Kravitz on steroids. (Did I date myself with that?)

Really, this book has everything. We get an enchanting fantasy and a heroine in Pringle that you can’t help but love. We get action and thrills with the traffickers. We get romance and family drama with Ben and Cara and Pringle. We get a little bit of the buddy motif with Archie and Ben. And I really, really, really want to know more about Hank! What’s his deal? Next time I’m in East Texas, I’m going to go drive around Mount Pleasant looking for his shop. Michael Scott Clifton, please say you’ll be writing more books in this world!

If you enjoy a book that lets you suspend your disbelief and just roll along on a wave of pure enjoyment, a book that offers a little bit of all your favorite genres, you need to read Pringle Prawn. It’s a perfect little tidbit of unadulterated escapist reading, and I adored it. Five generous sprinkles of fairy dust from me!

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