Summer reading for and about wild women

Horrendous bosses, scheming adulteresses, cranky heroines and women who love not wisely but perhaps too often: This summer's beach books are full of girls behaving badly. And, of course, there is nothing more fun than reading about the sins, errors and often hilarious miscalculations of others, while one is ensconced in a cozy chaise with one eye on the shoreline, and one hand reaching for that glass of iced tea.

Enjoy — or, as they say in the first of the novels below, "Bon appétit ."

"Left Bank" by Kate Muir (Plume, $14).

Standing head, shoulders and décolletage above the pack is this deliciously witty and ironic look at the French intelligentsia as exemplified in Olivier and Madison Malin, the "perfect couple." Self-centered and obsessed with appearances, the Malins are increasingly miserable with each other (she's an actress; he's a philandering philosopher), and their lives are shaken up when their little daughter Sabine disappears at an amusement park (a thinly disguised version of EuroDisney). Muir, author of "The Insider's Guide to Paris," knows this milieu and skewers it adroitly.

"Agnes and the Hitman" by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer (St. Martin's Press, $24.95).

Co-authors of "Don't Look Down," the writing team of romance novelist Jennifer Crusie and action-adventure novelist Bob Mayer has produced a second slightly schizophrenic but wildly entertaining new book about a cranky chef who tends to lose her temper and whack people with her heavyweight frying pan. We won't even try to describe the plot, except that it involves the hunky hitman Shane, lots of lust and gunfire, and a cast of characters for whom "colorful" is far too pale a description.

"Life's a Beach" by Claire Cook (Voice, $23.95).

The author of "Must Love Dogs" has produced a new novel about a pair of unlikely sisters who are driving each other crazy. There's 41-year-old Ginger, who's still living above her parents' garage and dallying with a dance-away lover, and super-organized married older sister Geri, who is pushing 50 and also pushing Ginger around much of the time. When Ginger baby-sits Geri's young son, who is chosen to be in a movie filmed on Cape Cod, a series of events is set into motion, and it's time for Ginger to reassess where she's going.

"No! I Don't Want to Join a Book Club: Diary of a 60th Year" by Virginia Ironside (Viking, $24.95).

It's "Bridget Jones' Diary," for the long list of baby boomers — everyone from Hillary Clinton to Gerard Schwarz — who are on the cusp of turning 60. British author Virginia Ironside, a popular advice columnist, has produced a novel that is the diary of one Marie Sharp (technically speaking, it's the diary of her 61st year, since Marie turns 60 early in the book). Marie testily informs friends that she's not interested in Botox or a makeover; she does not want to learn Italian, take academic courses, or acquire a lover. Instead, her diary entries provide funny, sometimes trenchant commentary on dealing with life, loss and a new grandchild.

"Barefoot" by Elin Hilderbrand (Little, Brown; $24.99).

Three women descending from a commuter plane on Nantucket catch the eye of young college student Josh Flynn, who soon discovers why they all look so grumpy. Brenda has just lost her job, and her academic future, by having an affair with a grad student; her sister Vicki, the mother of two young children, has been diagnosed with lung cancer; and Vicki's friend Melanie has discovered she's finally pregnant after years of trying — but her husband has just confessed his involvement with another woman. All three women (and the two children) are spending what proves to be an eventful summer in the family house on Nantucket. Lots of improbabilities, but engrossing all the same.

"Cover Girl Confidential" by Beverly Bartlett (5 Spot, $13.99) .

Turkish-born protagonist and morning talk-show host Addison McGhee narrates this story from jail, where she is facing deportation for felonious assault (she has hurled exercise equipment at an errant male on the air). Addison also is in deep trouble because the President of the United States has made a public pass at her, and the first lady isn't going to rest until she gets revenge on the blameless Addison. This one, very funny and utterly unlikely, is definitely for readers who follow the celebrity action in which each star is familiar by one name only (Brad, Angelina, George, Nicole, et al.).

"The Immaculate Complexion" by Edie Bloom (Dorchester Publishing, $6.99) .

Top marks for the witty title. The book itself is a "Devil Wears Prada" look-alike, set in the insanely shallow and competitive world of a major (fictional) cosmetics company in which Marnie, an overqualified temp, gets stuck trying to paint homing pigeons white in a bizarre product launch delivering product samples to prominent magazine editors. Marnie's commitment-shy boyfriend is so callow in his treatment of her that you may lose all sympathy, and a final crisis (in which a murder victim is discovered with a blush brush impaling his eye) feels just too contrived. But it's all pretty funny, though it may well put you off overpriced wrinkle creams for good. (The real authors, Michelle Meyers and Robin Strober, worked for years in PR at Estée Lauder, which helps give this book the ring of authenticity.)

"Weapons of Mass Seduction" by Lori Bryant-Woolridge (Harlem Moon, $12.95) .

Another terrific title, for this novel about African-American music-video exec Pia Jamison, whose love life is a big zero until her assistant fools her into attending a flirting workshop called "Weapons of Mass Seduction." There she bonds with two other sisters, a queen-size Texan named Florence who'd like to get her middle-aged husband to notice her again, and young Rebecca Vossel, who is dissatisfied with her own self-image. The unmarried Pia just wants to have a baby, but her path to motherhood takes her in some surprising directions.

Melinda Bargreen: mbargreen@seattletimes.com