Review of Split Second by Catherine Coulter

Publisher: Putnam Adult

Release Date: July 19, 2011

Series: #15 in FBI Thrillers

Buying Links:  Amazon     The Book Depository

Book Blurb (from goodreads):

A serial killer is on the loose, and it's up to FBI agents Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock to bring him down. They soon discover that the killer has blood ties to the infamous and now long-dead monster Ted Bundy. Savich and Sherlock are joined by agents Lucy Carlyle and Cooper McKnight, and the chase is on. 

At the same time, Agent Carlyle learns from her dying father that her grandfather didn't simply walk away from his family twenty-two years ago: he was, in fact, murdered by his wife, Lucy's grandmother. Determined to find the truth, Lucy moves into her grandmother's Chevy Chase mansion. What she finds, however, is a nightmare. Not only does she discover the truth of what happened all those years ago, but she faces a new mystery as well, a strange ring that holds powers beyond her ken. 

As the hunt for the serial killer escalates, Savich realizes he's become the killer's focus, and perhaps the next victim. It's up to Lucy to stop this madness before it's too late.
 
My Thoughts:

Ms. Coulter has a knack for drawing the reader in from the first page. You get invested in each character and don't want the story to end, or at least, that's my reaction. The beauty of a series is that the story continues, in some fashion, from book to book. Because I like this series so much, I was somewhat hesitant to read this one. I was a little disappointed with Coulter's last book, "Whiplash", and also with several of the books prior to it. They seemed a little stale, as if she was working on an assembly line. This one follows her formula but there's a life and vigor that have been missing from the last few books. It's her usual set up: the main mystery, which this time has Savich and Sherlock taking the lead, and three sub-plots; one involves the ubiquitous romance, this time involving agents Cooper McKnight and Lucy Carlyle; an investigation by Lucy into her grandfather's disappearance; and an unrelated attempted robbery that Savich foils then helps the local police investigate.

I was glad to see Savich and Sherlock back in action as the main leads both in the story and in the case. I think one reason I haven't liked some of the other FBI books as well (although "The Target" is my favorite one) is that while Savich and his team get called in, the focus is on whichever non-FBI character has the love story in that book. I like a change in location and perspective but I really, really like Savich and Sherlock. For me, they ARE the FBI books. 

Anyway, the main story here is a bit different for Coulter. I was surprised at first, then I liked it. She draws on real life and postulates that Ted Bundy, a real life serial killer, had a daughter, one no one knew about, including him, and now she's following in daddy's footsteps. I can't recall Coulter drawing on a real life person or incident before. Like I said, it surprised me at first and I wondered how believable she could make it. She did pretty well. Again, she follows pattern - the killer, Bundy's daughter Kirsten, has a male helper/romantic partner and they, or more accurately, she becomes obsessed with Savich. But Kirsten's crimes are partially inspired by and modeled after daddy dearest. The result was a blend of classic Coulter and mild true crime.

Kirsten becomes obsessed with both Savich and Sherlock after a failed attempt to capture her and this results in the entire family, including their five year old son Sean, being at risk. It seems inevitable, at least in Coulters world, that that would happen and Coulter pulls it off without being trite or playing to our emotions. I also liked that we got a different perspective on their working dynamics: on several occasions, when on the job, Savich has to remind Sherlock that he's her boss and she needs to follow orders. Sherlock takes it well but it's a good detail for Coulter to have. Later, there's a comment about the two other agents who get involved and Savich replies, (I'm paraphrasing here) that for him to object would be the pot calling the kettle black. I doubt if the real FBI allows married or involved agents in the same unit so it was nice to see Coulter have that little bit of authenticity.


Meanwhile, Lucy is dealing with a nightmare that no one should have to deal with: Her father's death bed confession that her grandfather was murdered by her own grandmother. The story had always been that he went "walkabout" and never came back. She becomes obsessed with finding out the truth and in the process lies to her boss, on multiple occasions, and becomes romantically involved with her partner, Cooper. Lucy is hesitant at first to ask her friends or coworkers for help, needing to do it on her own. Later, she has no choice but to rely on Coop and call in the FBI and the police. Coulter introduces more woo-woo to the story with this sub-plot and I didn't completely buy it. In my opinion, it didn't fit with the series as a whole. Savich's possible ESP? I'm good with that, I can believe in it and she's carefully established it over the series. This was a cross between mysticism and sci fi and it didn't work for me. The  In another series, and with more backstory, I might have been okay with it; it just didn't work in the context of this series. The romance between Coop and Lucy is gradual at first then picks up steam. It's sweet but lacks Sherlock's and Savich's chemistry. 


The last sub-plot, unrelated to anything else happening in the book, involves an acquaintance of Savich's. Mr. Patil, the owner of a convenience store where Savich shops, has been robbed twice in a short period of time and ends up in the hospital after the second attempt. Savich foils the first attempt and gets suspicious when there is a second attempt and Patil is shot. He works with the local police to figure it out and keep Patil alive. Honestly, it added nothing and could easily have been left out.

There's a lot going on and Coulter succeeds in .moving between story lines and perspectives without confusing the reader, or worse, losing their interest.


It's definitely worth picking up and reading. If you are new to the FBI series, you will be able to read it fairly easily.


I borrowed this book from my local library.

One Year Old! It's My Birthday

Well, more specifically, it's the blog's birthday. I realized, as I was working on the blog yesterday, that its anniversary or birthday was coming up soon. So I looked it up and it's today. I had thought about it a while back. I thought about doing some big bash but decided against it. I was already working on plans for Banned Book Week and wanted to keep my focus on that. It's coming up in a few weeks, Saturday September 24 to Saturday October 1. I have guest posts, reviews of banned books and giveaways. It's my first big event here on the blog and honestly, it matters more to me than the blog's birthday. I got so busy that I forgot about it until now. Although, that doesn't mean I'm not happy that the blog has made it this long.

It's been a crazy year, with ups and downs, mistakes, and lots of challenges: no Internet access at home (some day I will), my laptop died and it was several months before I could buy a new one, learning how to write reviews (that's an ongoing challenge, getting it just right), health issues, working up the nerve to approach authors, publicists and publishers, learning how to use Blogger and take advantage of it's extras, etc.

It's been a good year too. I added my friend Jax as a part-time reviewer, made friends and acquaintances and  connected with bloggers, reviewers, editors, authors, etc., I've read many books that I might not have otherwise, even got a part-time job as a result of my reviewing (that still blows my mind). I think the best part, maybe even better than all of the books I've read, is all of the people I've met. Whether I met them on here, on another blog, or on Twitter, I've met some awesome people as the result of this blog.

So thank you to all of you - the blog readers, the followers, the people who have taken the time to comment, the people who have done guest posts and guest reviews, all of the authors, publishers, and publicists who have asked Jax and I to review or said yes when we asked to review a book, the people who have stood by me when I have screwed up, the people who have generously shared their time and expertise, and the people who have replied on twitter when I've given a panicked shout for help (some days I want to throw Blogger off of a really high cliff).

Thank You to all of you. I hope this coming year will be as good as or even better than the first.

"Ain't No Bull" Blog Tour with Danica Avet - Excerpt!

Today I'm pleased to have Paranormal Romance author Danica Avet here with us. She's on a seven day blog tour to promote her newest release, "Ain't No Bull", book 4 in the Veil series. It was released July 13th from Siren Publishing. A little background on Danica:

Danica Avet was born and raised in the wilds of South Louisiana (that would be somewhere around Houma) where mosquitoes are big enough to carry off small children and there are only two seasons: hot and hotter. With a BA in History, she figured there were enough fry cooks in the world and decided to try her hand at writing. For eight years she played at writing, but in 2008, she decided to get serious and began down the rocky road to publication.

Unmarried with no children, Danica is the lucky pet of a compulsively needy dog and two cats. The pitter-patter of little feet has been known to make her break out into a cold sweat.

Writing is how she gives the voices in her head a way out. They speak to her constantly wanting their stories told and she does her best to accommodate them. She writes paranormal romance and may eventually branch out to contemporaries. When she isn’t writing, working, or contemplating the complexities of the universe, she spends time gathering inspiration from her insane family, reads far more than any sane person would want to, and watches hot burly men chase an oblong ball all over a field.

You can find her on facebook, twitter, her website, and her blog. 

Next (and final) Tour Stop: September 6 -Book and Movie Dimension

Today, Danica is talking about her love of laughter and sharing an excerpt with us. So, get comfy, grab some chocolate, and enjoy!

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Enjoy the Laugh

Hi y’all! I’d like to thank Bea and Jax for having me over today. No, we’re not having a slumber party, but I have chocolate if anyone wants to make s’mores?

No? Okay then, I’ll just eat it all by myself.

I’m Danica Avet and I write erotic paranormal romance. Um, don’t leave yet! I swear it isn’t all about the sex. Well, not all about it at least. There are some other things going on in my books. Honest!


There’s adventure and danger! Minotaurs, Amazons, and bears, oh my! There’s a lot of laughter and sexual tension. Those two don’t seem like they go together, huh? But they can. What’s life without a little laughter to smooth over the bad times?

People always ask me where I get my ideas from. Well, I can’t tell them that because then I’d have to kill them! Seriously, I would. So instead, I blame my family. They’re sick people. Seriously. I’m sure if a psychiatrist spent any time with us, they’d wonder what kind of drugs we were taking, or say we were so dysfunctional it was amazing we could make it through the day.

Yes. We laugh at each other. A lot. Old embarrassing stories are brought up for each family get together and rehashed over and over. It doesn’t end there either. Pranks are another way we torment each other. Oh, and did I mention pain? Yes, we laugh at each other’s pain. You fell down the steps? You didn’t break anything? Bwahahaha!

We’re sick. 


And that’s where my love of laughter comes from. I’m sure my humor isn’t for everyone, but I try to put as much humor in my stories as I possibly can. If one person reads my book and chuckles most of the way through it, then I’ve done my job.

How about you? Do you like books with humor?

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EXCERPT:

If she had been paying attention, she might’ve been able to control her expression. As it turned out, her gaze was level with the bulge in the front of his jeans that seemed to grow right before her eyes. Her body was flooded with liquid heat. Mm, mm, she thought, licking her lips. His mama might be a bitch, but she made one helluva stud.

“…going to my dad’s ranch, do you want to come?”


“Come? Oh yeah…” she moaned, biting her bottom lip. 


Grant’s body went completely still, though she could hear his breathing speed up. Her own heartbeat increased until they were both panting. Sweat gathered along her hairline as she watched that denim covered cock move towards her. Oh yes, come to Izzy.


He stopped several feet away from her with a surprised laugh. The laughter yanked Izzy out of her absorption with his tackle and she raised her eyes. Grant’s gaze was still hungry, though there was an underlying thread of amusement in his baby blues. “Did you just say ‘Come to Izzy?’”


Gods, it was really hot all of a sudden. Oh, no, it wasn’t hot, she was fucking blushing like a schoolgirl! “No, I said ‘she’d have a hissy,’” Izzy said easily. Sometimes it was a good thing to be a bullshitter, except apparently when dealing with bulls because Grant laughed harder.


“Dude, seriously, go to your mama and leave me in peace,” she insisted. 


“When I get back, you and I are going to have a serious talk,” Grant warned, his gaze holding hers as he traversed the room to the hook in the wall his keys dangled from.


“I hate talking,” Izzy mumbled, not really lying. She hated talking when it actually meant anything. Senseless, meaningless conversation? She was so there, but when things were important, she was more of a doer. Which was probably one of the reasons she had control problems, she thought ironically.

 “Then I’ll do the talking and you do the listening, but we’re going to work some things out,” he insisted as he shrugged into a light jacket. Keeping his eyes on hers, he adjusted his cock in his jeans, sending the flames in her body even higher. “You won’t be disappointed, I promise.”

With that cocky comment and a devastating smile, he was gone before she could reply. Izzy heard his truck start and snow crunch as he pulled away from the house. Sitting on the sofa in the quiet, she peered around. He was a security expert. She knew he had cameras in the house, and she wanted to find them before she looked for relief because she wouldn’t put it past the bull to spy on her while she played.


Seeing nothing obvious, she came to her feet to wander around the house not so aimlessly. She found five cameras in the living room alone, two in the kitchen, one in the small hallway leading to the bathroom, and several hidden under the eaves of the veranda that wrapped around the house. But she wasn’t too worried about those. Oh no, she wanted to make sure she had privacy in her room.


Sauntering back inside, she savored the warmth of the house and entered her room. She studied every nook and cranny, all the bric-abrac that she suspected might hold a camera, but found nothing. 


Standing next to her duffle bag, she slapped her hands on her hips. She could just bypass the little pleasure session, but she needed relief. Grant had her so revved up she suspected just imagining what it would be like to have him inside her would set her off.

A smile of anticipation curved her lips as she opened her bag. BOB was probably going to need new batteries after she was finished with it.


Izzy frowned a bit. It wasn’t where she normally packed it. It had to have rolled to the bottom of the bag while in transit. She threw the duffle bag on the bed and upended it. Clothes, weapons, toiletries, and shoes poured out of the bag. But no BOB.


Her heart seized for a short moment. “No,” she mumbled as she sorted through her clothes and shoes. “It has to be here.” But no matter how much she tore her bag apart, there was no BOB.

Body shaking with impending rage and hopeless sexual frustration, Izzy dropped to her knees in the middle of her bedroom.

“No!” she howled at the ceiling. 

Review of A Nose for Justice by Rita Mae Brown

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Release Date: September 28, 2010

More Info: Amazon  The Book Depository

Book Blurb:
Explosive sabotage and the startling unearthing of a hundred-year-old skeleton on a Nevada ranch thrillingly start off this debut novel in a tail-wagging new series from New York Times bestselling author Rita Mae Brown.

With the ruins of her high-powered Wall Street job now far in the rearview mirror of her rented silver Camaro, thirty-two-year-old Mags Rogers arrives at her great-aunt Jeep’s sprawling Wings Ranch to reassemble her life. In the passenger seat, with his suspicious nose to a cracked window, is Mags’s beloved wirehaired dachshund, the urbane Baxter.  

 Mags was named for her great-aunt, Magdalena—though everyone calls the spry octogenarian rancher Jeep. From piloting planes in World War II to discovering one of America’s largest gold deposits, Jeep has enjoyed a lifetime jam-packed with love and adventure, and she’s not done yet. At her side—to Baxter’s low-down distress—is Jeep’s loyal German Shepherd mix, King. The growlings are mutual: King sniffs that Baxter is a “fuzzy sausage.”

Meanwhile, someone pipe-bombs Red Rock Valley’s pumping station, endangering the water supply near and far. Deputy Pete Meadows links the sabotage to a string of local murders, but he doesn’t yet know if it’s a corporate plot or twisted eco-terrorism. He’s also called out to Wings Ranch when human bones are dug up in Jeep’s barn; the dead man’s ring identifies him as an elite Russian military officer from the late 1800s, apparently knifed to death. In her search to find out whodunit, Mags uncovers fascinating history about Jeep’s ranch, including an intriguing connection to Buffalo Bill.

Mags and Pete have mysteries to solve, among them why they are so drawn to each other. Baxter and King team up when it comes time to protect their humans. And all the while, Jeep Reed, the sassiest wit in the West, has a bold plan for Red Rock Valley in which they all will play a part.

My Thoughts:

Over the years, I've read most of Brown's Mrs Murphy mystery series. I'm a cat lover and I enjoy mysteries so the series seemed a natural plus it's set in Virginia. I went to college in Virginia and I have family there so it's familiar and I have a connection to it. I enjoy the series, though it's very formulaic, but it's strictly a library one. I don't like them well enough to spend my own money on them.

So, with all of that in mind, when I saw this book at the library, I picked it up. I assumed it was also a Mrs Murphy book until I read the synopsis on the book flap. It's set in Nevada, and features dogs. I took it home and read it. I kept track of my reading on goodreads and posted this at one point:

"So far enjoyable but it's her Cat series with dogs, set in Nevada instead of Virginia. There's nothing new or different yet."

Sadly, by the time I was done, I didn't feel any differently. There are some differences: Nevada is a very different state from Virginia and it's environment, history and politics are a huge part of the story, almost another character; we don't see any cats :( ; and there's much more politics than I can recall being in her Mrs Murphy books. Brown can never resist the temptation to moralize and preach in her books, and this one was no exception. Honestly, it was that combined with her formulaic stories that caused me slow down on reading her books and wait to to check them out instead instead of requesting them as soon as they were announced.

The mystery in here is good; actually there are two mysteries - a present day one and an historical one. Both are interesting, especially Mags' research in to Cossacks in America and Buffalo Bill. I confess, I didn't figure out who the guilty party was in the present day mystery. I considered him and then rejected him. I was wrong. The two mysteries intersect briefly, but critically, at the end. The end, by the way, felt very abrupt to me. It could have used some detail and some more build up.

The characters are likable though they remind me strongly of the ones in the Mrs Murphy series.The formula is here too - quirky small town characters, emphasis on rural life, rural life is best, a mix of conservative and liberal values, the strong elderly female and the relatives and friends who rely on her, the anthropomorphising of animals, etc. The animal mix is different though. The dogs in the story play a smaller role (though they do find several crucial clues and are vital to the apprehension of the killer) in the overall story. The horses, cows, sheep, coyotes, etc are just your basic background, filler animals, unlike her other books.

So, overall, not bad but nothing special. If you like the Mrs Murphy books, then you will probably like this. Although her website doesn't confirm it, the book flap says it's the beginning of a new series.

I borrowed this book from my public library.

Giveaway Winner for The Bad Always Die Twice by Cheryl Crane

The winner of this book, first in a fun new mystery series, is Aurora M. Congratulations! I hope you enjoy it.

Review of The Last Dragon Graphic Novel by Jane Yolen and Rebecca Guay

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

Release Date: September 27, 2011

More Info: Amazon   The Book Depository

Book Blurb (from Goodreads):

Master storyteller Jane Yolen ("Owl Moon" and "Sword of the Rightful King") and celebrated fantasy artist Rebecca Guay ("Swamp Thing" and "Magic: The Gathering") weave a textured and lyrical tale of adventure, homelands, and heroism the hard way. Two hundred years ago, humans drove the dragons from the islands of May. Now, the last of the dragons rises to wreak havoc anew - with only a healer's daughter and a kite-flying would-be hero standing in its way.

My Thoughts:

The illustrations in this graphic novel are amazing, perhaps my favorite part of the whole novel: Lush yet with a beautiful, delicate simplicity, imaginative, captivating; the images bring the story to life. There is a vaguely Japanese feel to the illustrations, reminiscent of Japanese paintings and scrolls with the spare, clean, evocative lines and the gentle shades of color. Despite the Japanese influence, it was never clear what background the people had - some looked Oriental, some Caucasian, while the names of people and places were clearly of British derivation. The dragon too blended characteristics of both Oriental and European dragons. 

Like the artwork, the story is a mishmash of myths, fairy tales, and folk tales, blended into an all new story that has the look and feel of a classical myth. The setting appears to be Europe in the Middle Ages, but again, the details are vague. At times, the landscape resembles Japan. The dialogue too is a mix of contemporary American and a cleaned up, modern version of Middle English.

The story is fairly simple, and utilizes classical tropes, it's a modern take on a classic hero's quest. But the "hero" is a coward and a liar; he's more interested in taking the reward and leaving before he has to actually face the dragon. Still, he works with Tansy, the daughter of the town's healer, who was also a victim of the dragon. Tansy is both smart and clever and in conjunction with Lancot, (reminiscent of Lancelot from the Camelot myths) come up with a plan that relies on cunning and reflexes more than strength. Tansy and her sisters are a female version of the traditional three brothers leave home and set out to find their fortunes. In this story, though, it's daughters and they don't leave home to find their fortunes or happy endings but find them in their village. There were a few nice little twists and turns and yes, there's a happy ending, unlike most myths.

The text was sparse yet evocative:

"dragons slept by the ocean's edge, in the green shade of trees that wept their leaves into the water.";

"At sunset the low tide scrapes the beach, pulling cold fingers the sand and rock." 

It worked well with the artwork, not overwhelming it, but adding to it. Both Yolen and Guay had a good feel for when to let the artwork speak and when to add text. They makes full use of the graphic novel format and it works beautifully. The art is crucial to telling the story. The story itself could have used a bit more fleshing out; Tansy and her sisters sometimes felt like cardboard figures, with not much to distinguish them. The story is aimed at younger readers, approximately Middle Grade, or 8 to 13 years. There's enough meat to the story to hold the attention of the younger readers, maybe not the older ones. It will likely encourage some readers to seek out some of the older versions of fairy tales, or classical Greek and Roman mythology or look up Chinese and Japanese fairy tales, and that's an awesome thing as far as I'm concerned.

Whatever your age, this is well worth your time, if only for the illustrations.

I received this eARC from NetGalley.

I Have A New Job! Squeeeeee!!!!

No, I'm not giving up teaching. Or blogging, though really that's volunteer work. No, I have a new part-time job. For almost 18 years I taught full-time and worked in retail part-time. Then the store I worked in closed and I was laid off. I found that I didn't really miss it all that much, though my bank account did. I did notice that my health problems improved and so did my doctors (and my co-workers at school), so I held off actively looking for a new part-time job.

Not working 50-60 hours a week gave me time to start the blog and start reviewing. As regular readers know, one of my pet peeves in books is the quality of the proof reading and copy editing. A few errors are to be expected; no matter how many eyes look it over, something is bound to slip through. But more than a few and I start getting cranky - the wrong word used (don't even get me started on the recent trend in using "imaged" for "imagined" Grrrrr), a word left out, typos, misspellings, lack of punctuation, etc. The more of that junk there is, the more it takes me out of the story. I note in my reviews when the typos, etc go over my tolerance threshold. There have been several books that were so badly done that I swore they had been edited by a blind, drunk monkey.

Recently, I received an email from the publisher of one of those blind, drunk monkey books. She apologized for the quality of the book, commented on my detailing of the errors, and offered me a job as a copy editor. I thought about it, made a few inquiries, and said if she had an opening for a part-timer, I was interested. She was agreeable and sent out a contract. The contract has been signed and returned, and I am now a freelance part-time copy editor. Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

I am excited and nervous and annoyingly hyper. Several of my tweeps and my co-workers at school were very supportive and encouraging as I contemplated this new venture and I am very appreciative. I <3 you guys.

So, now I'm just waiting for my first assignment, and hoping that I'm as good at this as I think I am. :)

(Dear deity, how many errors in my post did I fail to catch despite proofing it four times? Do I even want to know? :P) (ETA: Ha! I found one and fixed it. :D)

Giveaway & Review of "The Bad Always Die Twice" by Cheryl Crane

Publisher: Kensington

Release Date: August 30th, 2011

Series: #1 in Nikki Harper series

More Info: Amazon     The Book Depository

Book Blurb (from Amazon):

Set in Hollywood, The Bad Always Die Twice is the first of a wildly entertaining series set amidst the bright lights, big egos, and Botoxed brows of Hollywood. It is partly the glitz and glamour of Jackie Collins novels and partly the LA streets of hard-boiled James Ellroy.

Who better to tell this tale than Cheryl Crane, daughter of Hollywood legend Lana Turner and actor-restaurateur Joseph Stephen Crane? Cheryl was involved in the Johnny Stompanato scandal of the same period. She allegedly killed the hoodlum because he threatened to kill her mother.

This mystery features Nicki Harper, the daughter of a screen goddess, who is raised in a completely dysfunctional home populated by a cast of crazies but who did not follow in her mother's footsteps. Instead, Nikki is a real estate agent who wants a quiet, comfortable life with a little love and happiness thrown in.

Up until now, Nicki always thought that dead meant dead. But then, film icon Rex March turns up freshly murdered in the bed of Nicki's best friend after being reported dead six months ago. A little distrustful of law enforcement, Nicki feels compelled to solve the murder on her own. Her acquaintances range from the pinnacle of Hollywood royalty to the bottom of Tinseltown's barrel, including a not-so-grieving widow, a conniving younger lover, a best friend with secrets, a jilted mistress, a ''closeted'' confidante, a wacky neighbor, and a scheming business partner. Rex has a gaping hole where his eye used to be, and Nicki knows a lot of people with motives for the murder. The killer is getting ready for a repeat performance, so Nicki must act fast before her own screen fades to black. 

My Thoughts:

I admit, I was curious to see what Ms Crane would come up with. She has a heck of a back story of her own and there are certain similarities between the main character and Ms Crane. There's a saying for writers, "Write what you know" and Ms Crane took that to heart. She sets the story in Hollywood, the lead is a daughter of blond bombshell movie star and there are vague references to her father being murdered and hints that she may have been involved. That said, Ms Crane used those familiar events and places to write a story all her own.

The blurb describes the story as "partly the glitz and glamour of Jackie Collins novels and partly the LA streets of hard-boiled James Ellroy." I'm not a fan of hard boiled detective mysteries so I had some qualms about how well I'd enjoy this; to be honest, I didn't find it to be a hard boiled mystery at all but more Joan Collins writes a cozy mystery set in Hollywood. That's an odd sounding blend, I grant you, but it works.

It has all the earmarks of a cozy, except that it's set in the big city of Hollywood: a female lead who is not a law and order professional, likable characters, eccentric or slightly unusual secondary characters, somewhat fast paced with twists and turns (there were a number of red herrings throughout the story), a good friend with access to police reports (I really hope that we'll see more of Marshall and Rob in future books. I loved them!) and no graphic violence, no profanity (there was one crude, but very funny and quite descriptive sentence, but overall, a "clean" book), and no explicit sex.

Nikki, despite her background and her comfortable lifestyle, really seems like she could easily be your next door neighbor or the woman you say hi to each morning at the coffee shop. She has a level head and is very loyal. It's that loyalty that sets her investigation in motion. She's worried about her friend and co-worker Jessica being charged with murder and she doesn't trust the police so she conducts her own investigation. Crane hints at the reasons for Nikki's distrust but keeps it vague; I found that frustrating at times as that distrust is key to Nikki's investigation. I am hoping that she will address it more directly in the next book.

Nikki quickly realizes that conducting a murder investigation is hard work and she doesn't know what she's doing. Fortunately, she's open to advice and willing to ask for help. Her mother, semi-retired movie star Victoria Bordeaux, is against Nikki's involvment, as it would be scandalous, but that doesn't stop her from helping. Indeed at one point, she nearly takes over. Nikki doesn't hesitate to make use of her fame, her mother's fame, or her mother's connections to clear her friend's name.

Victoria borders at times on being stereotypical but then Crane will flesh her out with little details; my favorite was the telephone conversation between her and the 80 year old grandmother of one of Nikki's informants. Victoria manages to be gracious and down to earth at the same time, trading recipes even as she admits that she's never made potato salad and will have her housekeeper do it.

Crane has a light, easy writing style and manages to drop the occasional brand name or celebrity name while still keeping the story from feeling trendy or dated. That could be a problem with a series set in Hollywood but she avoided it.

The story dragged a little at times, mostly in the middle and the ending was a let down. The final confrontations are very staged and suffer from deux a machina. During the course of the story I kept changing my mind about who the murderer was but I kept going back to one name and it turned out that I was right. Crane takes a circuitous route, with twists and turns and red herrings and just when you think you've figured it out, WHAM! another surprise.

This was a pleasant, engrossing, enjoyable book and I'm looking forward to more in this series.

I received this ARC from the publisher for review. 

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Giveaway!

Thanks to Judy at Meryl L Moss Media Relations, I have one print copy of this book for a lucky commenter. 

 Entry is simple. You don't need to be a follower, though I won't complain if you are or choose to be.  :P

Entry is only open to US & Canadian residents only. 

Leave a comment and a way to contact you. You can use the contact form for your contact info if you would rather not put it in public but you NEED to leave a comment or you you won't be entered.

The giveaway closes this Saturday, September 3rd, at 11:59pm EST. I'll use random.org to choose the winner.

Don't forget to read my Giveaway Policy. 

That's it! Good luck :)