Mystery Crime Books

Not the greatest piece of comic book writing, but Geof Darrow's art is unbelievable. If you have read many comics before, the story is just good, better than mid-grade. If you have not, this will get you sucked into the medium.

It is like you are reading a great 1980s scifi movie. Overcoat hero that kills religiously turns out to have a dark secret about himself.

I love Miller's work and this is no expection. This comic is to graphic novels what short stories are to novels. You're thrown right in the middle of a story, given no backplot, and then the story ends still somewhat in the middle.

Nothing wrong with that, just leaves you wanting more!

In addition to a great comic, the book is just great art in general. If I had my way, I would press a limited wordless edition, in the same fashion as House. Sadly, I'm not the publisher.

Buy it, its a fun quick read.

Frank Miller's Hard Boiled is lots of fun. It's a really short story, but it's a very good one at that. Hard Boiled takes place in a bizarre future, very bizarre. The art is breathtaking, it makes what to scan over each page to make sure you're not missing a little joke. Fulled with hardcore violence that makes you laugh in wonder, Hard Boiled is a weird graphic novel but it's surely another awesome story by Frank Miller. I hope you enjoy this book!

Haven't bought a comic in a while. Hollywood, having finally admited to running out of ideas has turned to the great and ultra-cool comics (Hellboy, Sin City, V for Vendetta, etc) in order to make some dough, has once again sparked my interest in graphic novels. I bought this one based soley on the art and was not dissapointed.

The ultra-violence can get a bit tedious (If you like tons of bloody naked people getting mauled by flaming vehicles....then prepare for your boat to float), but overall its not a bad read.

The story is ok. Not amazing but interesting never-the-less.

The cool thing about this book is the illustration. Which, is a virtual "Where's Waldo" of advertising icons, naked people, drug parephanilia, blood, and robots. Folks who say you can reread this a few times just to look at the amazing detail are telling it to you straight.

The artwork alone will blow you away.

Loosely based on the same story that inspired "Blade Runner," this book is an irreverant thrill-ride from start to finish. Every page is a masterwork of illustration, and the detail is beyond belief.

It's classic Miller, with over-the-top violence, coupled with a disenfranchized cynicism that writers often imitate but can't duplicate. In this book, he masters the use of understatement, recognizing exactly when to step aside and let the art speak for itself.

You won't be disappointed.

Ahh! What a delightful read! Travis sure does get himself in deep doo-doo from time to time, but typically, rises above the goop to salvage the broken lady. Good work, Trav!

Travis McGee is at it again in John D. MacDonald's 7th book in the McGee series, Darker Than Amber. McGee and his sidekick, Meyer, are minding their own business when a case is pretty much dropped in their laps. As the two men are fishing while tied up to a bridge, a woman is thrown off the bridge and sinks right in front of them like a stone. McGee dives overboard and is able to rescue the woman-despite the fact that her feet are wired to a cement block. The woman, Vangie, turns out to be a high-priced prostitute who was involved in a scam gone bad. It takes sometime, but McGee and Meyer are finally able to get the gist of Vangie's story, and they of course decide to help.

MacDonald does his usual job of providing a great tale of mystery, murder and intrigue. But one of the things I most enjoyed about Darker than Amber is that after having several cameo appearances in earlier books, we finally get to meet a fleshed-out Meyer. McGee and Meyer perform a good Dr. Watson/Sherlock Holmes routine, and their camaraderie rivals many of the other detective-sidekick combinations including Spenser and Hawk, and Poirot and Captain Hastings.

I am now 1/3 of the way through this 21 book series, and I have not been disappointed in a one. In fact, MacDonald just gets stronger and stronger with each subsequent book. It won't be long until I finish the entire series.

The Travis McGee series is a very extensive (21 books) series by John D. MacDonald; the main character is a delightful personality, something of a cross between a standard hero and a con man antihero, and the books are all well-written and enjoyable, something of a cross between action-adventure and detective-mystery. There are certain similarities between the plots of the books, but there are generally enough differences to keep them from being truly formulaic.

The books are all capable of standing on their own; a new reader can start with any one of them without feeling that he is missing anything, and this book is a perfectly good place to start, although it is the seventh written. The stories were set in the contemporary world, and are thus a bit dated now as they were written in the sixties and seventies, but this book is less jarringly so than some of the others.

"In that light the color of her eyes surprised me. Light shrunk the pupils small. The irises were not as dark as I had imagined. They were a strange yellow-brown, a curious shade, just a little darker than amber...She looked across at me and accepted the appraisal with the same professional disinterest with which the model looks into the camera lens while they are taking light readings."
- McGee sizing up Vangie, a very professional new acquaintance

I began reading the Travis McGee series at the wrong point - THE DREADFUL LEMON SKY - so it's a bit difficult for me to quite grasp the notion that Meyer, McGee's closest friend and a neighbour in the Bahia Mar marina, wasn't built into the series from the beginning. DARKER THAN AMBER introduces Meyer to the series as an already long-time friend, obscuring the fact that he's a new character, participating for the first time in one of McGee's cases from the moment a joint fishing jaunt turns into the rescue of a very tough pretty girl dumped off a bridge with a concrete block wired to her feet.

"I'm in the logic business, McGee. I deduce possibilities and probabilities from what I can observe. My God, man, compared to the mists and smokes of economic theory and practice, the world of actual events seems almost oversimplified. A corporate financial statement is the most nonspecific thing there is. If a man can't read the lines between the lines between the lines, he might as well stuff his money into a hollow tree."

Neither Meyer (whose preferred dealings with women are described here and seldom referred to again) nor McGee (who's just finished a short fling with a woman fleeing a bad marriage) are interested in a relationship with Vangie, but having saved her life and being impressed by her calm endurance, they'd like to help her if they could. A sometime call girl who turns out mysteriously to take frequent jaunts on cruise ships, she's been used as bait in a very complicated and profitable scheme a few too many times, and was being disposed of before her vestigial conscience could inconvenience, let alone threaten, some slick operators. Unfortunately (though perfectly in character), Vangie doesn't open up to Meyer and McGee, and McGee only begins uncovering the truth in the wake of a supposed hit-and-run, frustrated at the waste of someone he rather liked and wished well. "You feel good to do a thing like that. And then when they take what you saved and see how high they can splash it against a stone building, you get annoyed."

The first third of the book sketches in McGee's immediate past and introduces Meyer, then details their first successful rescue attempt, including a lot of analysis in passing about what type of situation Vangie must be mixed up in for such a murder attempt to occur, McGee's odd streak of prudery about women, and Meyer's coexisting cold-blooded analytic turn of mind and his ability to make friends with nearly anyone, anywhere. Investigating Vangie's place and her acquaintances turns up the only story elements that really fix it in time at 1966: a member of the housekeeping staff who's an undercover civil rights activist.

McGee's self-image as a knight in somewhat tarnished tomato-can armor fits well with this story, as the damsel in distress has been involved in the seamy side of the entertainment industry most of her life and the scam that brought about her death is *very* sleazy indeed.

Notable story elements:
- Florida's cruise ship industry is featured quite a bit, since it's integral to the scam Vangie was involved in.
- Oddly enough, Vangie's short stay on the Busted Flush isn't the point at which MacDonald brings in one of his standard sex scenes; that's done earlier in flashback as McGee reviews his recent first-aid fling with a newly separated woman.
- Interesting contrast between Noreen Walker, maid by day and civil rights activist by night, and various characters of color in THE GIRL IN THE PLAIN BROWN WRAPPER, a few books on.
- Some very clever bits of detective work, from Meyer and McGee's joint analysis of Vangie's character to McGee's location of Vangie's financial stash to the solving of the main puzzle.

"Time for one game?"
"If you promise if you get white not to open with that infuriating queen's gambit."
- McGee and Meyer

While I still find "Flash of Green" to be my favorite MacDonald book, there's something so appealing about the Travis McGee series that keeps me coming back to them. And "Darker than Amber" has such a quick pace, that you cannot put this mystery down. And Travis, well, he's just Travis--you gotta love this guy! I just hope that MacDonald continues to gain in popularity, as I feel he is horribly overlooked.

This is my 2nd Tony Valentine book. Like the other, this one is loads of fun and sucks you in and keeps you turning the pages. Not going to stimulate any new neuron growth, but will keep you happily distracted and entertained for a few hours.

Story starts out from a pretty simple premise, but new layers/complications keep getting added until you've got yourself a full-blown terrorist threat. The events are a bit of a reach, but close enough that it doesn't lose you.

Naturally, Tony saves the day with an ending that's a bit over the top. But the rest of the story is pretty grounded and plausible. And the characters are vividly sketched, with many of them, including Tony, being quite likeable and empathetic.

And, of course, there are any number of subplots going on all the while - Tony's son, new baby, solving various cheating schemes (usually in, like, 5 seconds which streches credibility a bit - especially the one where his assistant figures out a cheating scheme over the phone by reading a textbook). But anyway, the subplots all tie in somehow and help to keep things moving quickly without getting too convoluted.

So, very solid effort and I recommend this as a perfect beach read, long flight, etc.

Retired cop turned casino consultant Tony Valentine is back in Vegas on a job, and searching for his screw-up son Gerry, when he spies a woman bearing a strong resemblance to his deceased wife getting ready to jump off her balcony. Tony races away from a meeting with three high-buck casino bosses and to the aid of Lucy Price, who's feeling suicidal after her $25,000 winnings are stolen. Of course, this is all just part of a bigger scam happening at the Acropolis Casino next door, an old-style Vegas joint complete with statues of its owner's ex-wives out front. Nick Nicocropolis and Valentine go back, so Valentine readily agrees to help catch the scammers, who are led once again by the legendary Frank Fontaine, who Valentine has tangled with before.

Much more is at stake, however, when Gerry Valentine teams up with a couple guys from card counting school who are up to no good. Ripping off casinos is only a part of the evil schemes his new companions are up to, and soon Gerry is in so deep he has no one but the old man to turn to.

While not as much fun as Swain's last effort, and relying a bit heavily on a cast of warmed-over characters from his first novel, this is nonetheless another entertaining tale in the Tony Valentine saga. We get a few more peeks into the characters, but I could have used a tad more, since Valentine's last novel was so good.

This entry in James Swain's Tony Valentine series is stuffed with character, action, plot, a subplot, Oedipal conflicts, and as an extra added bonus, tips on gambling scams.

Valentine, the retired Atlantic City cop turned gambling consultant to casinos, is one of the great new heroes in the thriller genre.

The dialog's crispy, you'll care for the characters, you'll forget lunch, you'll forget dinner.

One click it now!

Loaded Dice was very entertaining. During the five days that Tony Valentine(the protagonist)spends in Las Vegas, he discovers a scheme that cheats a casino, is accused of murder, has a short romance with an addicted gambler, saves his son, and gets involved with terrorists. Tony did all the work and I relaxed. This is a very easy read and there is lots of interesting information about methods of cheating at games. I recommend this book.

I read Sucker Bet by James Swain as well and I must say he brings good stuff that can be great. However, ending is such a "Hollywood" formula that I cannot give 4 or 5 stars.

As with other book by James Swain, he starts off great so he will suck you in but at the end, it fizzles.... and disappoints.

If you have nothing else on your reading list, pick it up and read it but don't expect an original ending.

If you generally have a suspicious outlook, you may early on get an inkling of who might have done it. Though you may be close, I doubt you will zero in precisely. Forgive yourself, however, for the ending is exciting and perfect, both for the author and for Rutledge himself. The characters are well-developed, the psychological insights excellent.

"A Test of Wills" is the first novel by Charles Todd in the series with Inspector Ian Rutledge of Scotland Yard. My review of "A Fearsome Doubt," or googling Charles Todd, or reading a back cover paragraph will show that Charles Todd is the mother-son American writing team from the middle eastern coast of the U.S.

They portray Ian Rutledge as not being -- or not believing -- he is his old self. Five years of World War One in the muddy, death-stinking trenches facing the Boche in France, have left him shell-shocked and unsure of himself. Can he do the job anymore? Are his skills and insights gone? He is also haunted by reminders of his wife Jean, who found him so much changed that she was frankly afraid of him and left him for another man.

Adding to Rutledge's mental state was his duty to have a noncommissioned officer, Corporal Hamish MacLeod, executed by firing squad for refusing to advance the men against suicidally heavy fire on the front line. Hamish lives on as a real character throughout the novel, as a voice within Rutledge's own mind, relentlessly chiding, challenging, and, as often as not, contributing sound advice.

In June 1919, Inspector Rutledge's first month back on the job, he is handed an out-of-town assignment by Superintendent Bowles, a man envious of Rutledge's upper-class origins, university success, and cultivated voice and manner, and who would like nothing better than to see Rutledge fail, wishing even that Rutledge had not survived the war.

The local police of an outlying county have requested New Scotland Yard, London's metropolitan police service, to help in a sensitive investigation of a well-respected landowner's murder, perhaps by a national War Hero who is a favorite of the Royal Family. The Yard fears potential political repurcussions.

Viciously murdered was relatively young, retired Colonel Charles Harris, owner of a large estate in the county. While the Colonel was on his morning ride, a point-blank shotgun blast literally blew his head off, and the horse bolted back to the stables. The chief suspect is Captain Mark Wilton, an ace airman who had won the Victoria Cross. Wilton was engaged to the Colonel's attractive young ward, Lettice Wood. The evening before the murder, Harris and Wilton were witnessed heatedly arguing. What about?

Who can help Rutledge uncover why a highly regarded member of the community with no known enemies was so hated by someone? What secrets lay behind Colonel Harris? Why did he go out riding alone that morning? Why did his ward Lettice not accompany him? That same morning Wilton had gone out for a walk.

Did some veteran seek out Harris to avenge a personal grudge during war service? Did Harris's estate manager Laurence Royston have reason to annihilate him? Royston and all the large staff, including Johnston the butler and Mary Satterthwaite the maid, need to be questioned.
Rutledge has many persons to seek out for what they know.

Before the war, Captain Wilton had courted Catherine Tarrant, a local artist with showings in London. Reverend Carfield has had his eye on Lettice Wood since coming to the local church. The Sommers sisters, one outgoing, the other shy and a virtual recluse, live near the meadow where the Colonel's body was found. Did they see anything?

A little girl's doll was dropped in a hedge near where the body was found. Who was the little girl? What did she see? Mavers, a local rabble-rouser and communist sympathizer, constantly rails in public against all persons in authority, and had been a suspect in fires, livestock deaths, and a dog poisoning on the Colonel's estate.

Can Rutledge, the "man from London" get a straight story from Daniel Hickam, a shell-shocked veteran and town drunk, usually roaming the streets? Or from anyone?

Captain Wilton was staying with his cousin, Sally Davenant, a young, attractive widow, fond of both him and the Colonel. She says she could not imagine who would have wanted to kill Charles Harris, "a thoroughly nice man." Sergeant Davies of the local police agrees: "A very nice man. Not at all the sort you'd expect to end up murdered."

Charles Todd tells an intriguing tale of life -- and death -- in the village. Who among them is guilty?

All I need to get me thru airports and business travel is a comfortable paperback, preferably a mystery. This one did the trick! It was not the heavy tome of a P. D. James or Elizabeth George, all of whom I have read, but it did elicit the English dynamic as does Deborah Crombie. Two American writers who give us a fairly short procedural to figure out.

I must admit the solution to this mystery came out of the blue; perhaps I am critical because I just never figured out who it would be - in other words I didnt have a clue!!!! :D

Hamish as a sidekick (conscience) is a different ploy. But I liked Inspector Ian Rutledge and I hope he grows as I continue to read this series. Picked up Charles Todd on these review boards - am so glad I did.
I never even suspected the killer; a plus for me even tho it was a bruise to my ego!!!!

WWI, demons still haunting, and then a typical unremarkable English mystery. I did not unfortunately find this to be the outstanding mystery the reviewers did. I'm afraid I can't quite fathom how it was named one of this century's 100 favorite mysteries. Well-written, but overall not too compelling, and the revelation of the murderer at the end was lackluster and lacked any excitement imho.

By the time the killer was revealed in "A Test of Wills," Charles Todd's debut mystery with shell-shocked Inspector Ian Rutledge in charge, I had pretty much stopped caring "whodunit." The identity is indeed a suprise, and a good one at that, but I found getting there an extremely hard slog. Perhaps it's the polite Edwardian sensibility of the characters, perhaps Todd just isn't that skilled a writer; but the pace is glacial, and the presence of Hamish MacLeod, the ghost in Rutledge's head, while initially a unique plot device, for me quickly became a tiresome intrusion. And Todd doesn't quite, psychologically speaking, blow the lid off of British repression as much as he and his publicity machine would have us believe. More people than not have flipped over this mystery series, however, so you might give it a shot. But it's far from the taut, crackling good yarns of a Ruth Rendell or a P.D. James. I'd even reread an old Agatha Christie before continuing with the Rutledge mysteries.

I have always relied heavily on the recommendations of other readers here at amazon.com, but this book shows me that I must be more careful in the future. Apparently I expect considerably more from mysteries than other reviewers here.

I had high hopes at the outset but very soon the book devolved into a messy muddle with far too many loose ends that were never tied up. I expect that if a question is introduced, it will at some time be answered; either answers were never given or the answers were so implausible, I lost faith in the author and had lost interest in the outcome of the story. Rutledge should be a compelling and fascinating character but instead falls flat for me. Hamish is nothing more than a substitute for a sidekick with a quaint accent. Most of the characters are cardboard cut-outs and all the female characters are indistinguishable and interchangeable. Contrary to what the other reviewers report, I found the background info about the war and the time period to be superficial at best.

My advice? Read Pat Barker for a masterful handling of the period, situations, and people. Read Agatha Christie for airtight plotting and Dorothy Sayers for delightful writing.

I find the fact that so many readers and reviewers rave about Charles Todd's books disturbing. I suspect the publisher's marketing jockey decided this book fit the right profile for some target audience and painted it with such praise as to fool us into mistaking it for good writing. I won't be fooled again.

The canary caper is a good book Itlls about two boys and one girl who are looking for a lost bird they also found out other animals were being stolen around town you shound read this book to see what happens.

My son hads me read the A to Z mysteries to him, and this one we read in two nights. Great book!!

My name is Arden Feldman. I think that the book was very good. I liked how they solved the mystery. I really liked the part when the kids came out of the bushes and they looked like ninjas. I could not stop reading the book because it was so good.

What I like about the book is that the book has a lot pages to read and is interesting about A canary.
The canary is lost and there are three kids, Dink Josh and Ruth that found the canary.
The book is a good book for kids who like mysteries.
I like to read too much.

My 5 year old son loves this series -- we read them as quickly as they come out. In this one, pets are disappearing -- but why? These are not exactly mysteries -- unlike, say, the Clue Jr. books there's no way for the reader to solve the crimes before the crooks are caught -- but they are interesting and fun to discuss, chapter by chapter, as the plot thickens!

Loved this story of Peter & Harriet at the beginning of their married life. Will never forget the solution, it's imprinted in my mind.

A mystery, a love story, a classic work of literature.

After many years, Peter and Harriet marry. Those who have loved them are overjoyed (a feeling readers of earlier Sayers novels share). But murder follows the detective and his author bride-- a body is found on their honeymoon.

I love this book because of what Dorothy Sayers has to say about love between friends and equals. You will care about every character in this wonderful book and appreciate her portrait of life in pre-World War II England.

Others have covered the ground of the story itself pretty well so I'll try to add something new.
I liked "The Unpleasantness at the Belonna Club" and "Whose Body?" somewhat better than this title.... BUT this one is really still just a SUPER classic English murder mystery. The inclusion of Harriet Vane (mystery-writing wife of Lord Peter Wimsey), into the Wimsey series was, in my opinion, a big plus. She really gives Wimsey someone to play off of, in addition to the ever-present and loyal Bunter, Wimsey's astute right-hand man.
This work precedes "Thrones, Dominations," which was an incomplete manuscript by Sayers at the time of her death and was finished by Jill Paton Walsh, who did a superb job of tying up this worthwhile project. (I recommend that you read the two works sequentially!)
So, I highly recommend this fine mystery to all fans of the genre -- it's at least equivalent in pleasure value to Christie's "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd."

This entry in the Lord Peter Whimsey/Harriet Vane series is a little unusual because it has more humor than usual. You get to see a more light hearted Lord Peter, at least until the murder. Agatha Christi concentrates a little more on the relations between Lord Peter and Harriet, starting just after thier engagement and continuing through the honeymoon. You will have to sit through a lot of letter and journal reading in the beginning, but it is worth wading through for the background. A delightful story.

Lord Peter and Harriet Vane are married. In a series of letters we learn the details of the wedding and honeymoon. Due to the malicious meddling of Lord Peter's sister-in-law and the hounding of the press, the bride and groom decide at the last minute to be married in a small chapel in Oxford. Harriet has asked Lord Peter to buy her a beautiful and ancient farmhouse in the country where they decide to go for their honeymoon.

The adjustment to marring someone with money is a hurdle for Harriet. She buys him an expensive wedding gift that is just right, and with the last of her money she buys a gold designer wedding dress from Worth which suits her dark beauty perfectly. Lord Peter has made her independently wealthy but she has difficulty understanding the details. All that matters is that she has completely given her heart to Peter.

However, the honeymoon is not the quiet country idyll the Wimseys were longing for. The discovery of a body in the basement of their new home causes Lord Peter and Harriet to be swept up in a murder investigation and the press are once again at their door. While distracting, the investigation does not keep them from sharing many deep passionate moments. It does, however, cause them to confront difficulties in their personalities and temperaments.

Sayers writes with her usual wonderful characterizations and evocative style. The reader is transported to 1930's England, a simpler more elegant time. The intricacies of a grisly murder investigation throw into relief the charm of the simple life. Yet somehow this story has a more somber tone than the other Lord Peter mysteries, perhaps because it is the last book of the series. At any rate, once again Sayers delivers prime entertainment and an enchanting detective mystery, only this time Lord Peter is finally in a settled relationship with his beloved.

I tend to really like this type of fiction. They are usually easy, entertaining reads. I got this out of the library with another one of Damsgaard's books (which I will be returning without reading).

This was very predictable drivel. Ophelia could have been a great character. Seriously, going to the parent of the bully and actually expecting it to do good? Who actually does that?

I'm not a fan of motorcycles, I think they are death traps but how stereotypical to assume a motorcycle gang is into murder, rape, etc.

This feels like a hundred other stories put into one with no original ideas.

I started this series with the first book and actually liked it. The stories center around Ophelia, an introvert who can see the future, who has a knack for getting into trouble and finding dead bodies. The stories start out charming, but slowly book to book you find Ophelia becoming a broken record. She doesn't allow people in, she's hard to get along with, she doesn't want her gift, blah blah blah. Once she does embrace her gift, she still can't see what is happening right in front of her face. If you can see the future, shouldn't you be a little more intelligent about what's happening around you?!? If I can figure out the plot and "who done it" within the first few chapters, and it takes the psycic till the last chapter, something is wrong there. I can't bring myself to read anymore of the series, which is sad because it had a lot of promise.

I absolutley love these books!! I had not read a book in 5 years and read the entire series in two weeks!

this one was not as well rounded as the others. Too much griping about old boyfriends and such ....
the good guys/bad guys are predicatable and i wish ophelia would just give it up and get comfortable with her gift.

Ophelia Jenson, smalltown librarian, is doing her best to settle into her new life as a surrogate mom to Tink (Tatiana) the 11 year old girl she and her grandmother rescued.

Unfortunately, just a mile from her home, The Vipers Nest has opened. The bar caters to motorcycle riders--and not the rich urban biker types. Everywhere she looks, she's seeing leather clad bikers and she, like the local newspaper editor, suspects trouble.

Trouble comes in the form of Becca, cousin to Ophelia's employee and friend, Darci and a failed California actress wannabe. On her first night in town, Becca takes up with Adder, one of the cyclists and ends up drugged and sleeping with his corpse. Everyone believes Becca committed the murder but Ophelia and Darci. The situation gets dangerous, because there are people with a vested interest in keeping things quiet.

Overall, the Ophelia and Abby series are great tea cosies. The characters are interesting and engaging and have become very real throughout the books. The small town seems like a lot of the little places you could go through, too. This particular novel is the fastest paced of the series so far. Some of the fans who like cosies may object to kicking up the danger a bit, but I found the book to be enjoyable and a good can't-put-down read.

One serious character gaffe in this novel is Ophelia musing after a breakin destroys photos that the printed pic which was destroyed had been on the memory stick of her digital camera and now was lost to her. Hello! That photo had to be processed through a PC, where she should have kept a backup. I'm a librarian and most others I know are quite careful to make sure they have backups of important documents, photos, etc.

This book made me put off reading for awhile...until I could come back to it and try and finish it later. The book was so horrible I had to skim through the remaining chapters to try and figure out what happened in the end. After reading this novel I am hesitate on trusting the author with any of her newer books. This book is nothing like Carol's mother's books. Yesterday I read "I Heard That Song Before" in one day, and not once did I get tired of reading. I am going to check the reviews of Carol's books before I read another one of them. All book stores should pull this one off the shelf.

Carol Higgins Clark writes like a child who hates writing, but loves the applause at the end. I imagine her writing for indulgent parents who have low expectations of her but who cheer after reading the book. The writing is shallow, the characters are cliche and the mystery is pretty much non existent. Don't bother with these books.

This was a mediocre book. It is not one that screams for a second reading.

Since I can't think of a polite way to express it, I'll just say that this book is terrible.

You pick the category - characters, writing style, word choices, plot, voice, etc. - it is bad, bad, bad.

Don't waste your time if you're over 8 years old. Even if you're 7 or younger, there are far, far better books to read.

This story is definitely intended to be a light-hearted mystery, and the author does a good job of protraying annoying characters.

However, the paperback edition I picked up was filled with typos, which constantly jangled my nerves. Also, Chappy's shouts were always IN CAPSLOCKS! It drove me nuts! Like others have stated, it didn't give a good feel of the music industry (and don't get me started on the extremely dull interview the radio personalities gave...ugh. No wonder their station was doing badly).