They're at it again. The irrepressible mother/daughter writing team of Lisa Scottoline and Francesca Serritella has co-authored another tome chock full of stories and essays of their fears, foibles and funny takes on life.

Daughter Francesca is twentysomething, a bachelorette living in the Big Apple, a humor columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer, and toiling away on her first novel. Mother Lisa is fiftysomething, a prolific and popular mystery writer, who lives in rural eastern Pennsylvania with an entire menagerie of lovable, spoiled pets. Understandably, their take on life comes from two very diverging points of view. What is similar is that they each love to explain mishaps and mayhem in delicious detail with a frankness that is both fresh and funny.

"These are intrepid women who meet life head on and aren't afraid to tell their stories truthfully. While this book is a terrific beach read, I enjoyed it from the depths of my old recliner."

Francesca is an unwitting participant in the game of cat and mouse in her New York apartment. Now that she has both a dog and a cat, one wonders if she will end up with a mini menagerie at some point. She is newly single, after a long-term relationship ended, and back in the dating game once again. It is unclear how many toads she must kiss before she finds her prince, but she's willing to do the preparatory work at the gym once she can decipher all the obligations and restrictions of her gym membership, which is more complicated than it sounds. She helped select an engagement ring for a best friend and is proud of being able to keep that secret. It was very tough since she and her bestie do not keep secrets from each other.

Lisa loves her pets, chocolate cake, and working at home in her sweats as all her avid fans know. She also enjoys eating at the beach --- especially meatball or spaghetti sandwiches, hot or cold. It is not too likely that cold spaghetti on a roll will ever catch on, but just in case, here is her recipe: "Put a lot of spaghetti on a hoagie roll and smash the top down." And, yes, the cold spaghetti has lots of tomato sauce on it. The much-loved late Mother Mary made these sandwiches for the family, and they are a tradition. Lisa is finding that the newly furbished movie theater with its state-of-the-art reclining seats are the best part of going to the movies. That and the Raisinettes.

Lisa is absolutely stymied by the new bicycles that have a gazillion gears but no kickstand. Francesca attends a class reunion at Harvard and finally puts the mean girl in her place. Both ladies are adventurous. After all, Lisa is twice divorced, from Thing One and Thing Two. And Francesca went cliff diving twice in the same day.

These are intrepid women who meet life head on and aren't afraid to tell their stories truthfully. While this book is a terrific beach read, I enjoyed it from the depths of my old recliner. I loved it but will pass on the spaghetti sandwich. Thanks just the same.