Anne Flett-Giordano

This kind of book is usually exactly my type; I enjoy a fun and witty murder mystery. Sharp heroines with a little self-deprecation are my jam. Yet after just one page with this heroine (page 14 by the way as dead person came first), I was done with this girl-woman. I think it was the personal affront to both me and my mother in equating Chico’s and death; back in the day I would have ignored and kept on chugging (reading), but I have too many more books to read than to spend more time with a heroine who pisses me off.… (mais)

Anne Flett-Giordano serves up a romp through Santa Barbara’s glitterati with enough plot turns to keep the reader’s head on a swivel. A fun and imperfect protagonist, Nora MacIntire, with her long-suffering but witty sidekick, Tony, try to sort out a sudden spate of seemingly unconnected murders. The writing’s sharp, and the action races ahead, however improbably. Flett-Giordano’s chops as a TV screenwriter are obvious, as she keeps the action moving and chapters brief.

My only real complaint was the number of Hollywood insider references. While they were clever, the device seemed overused. A reader who’s a bit pop-culture-challenged is left feeling like the awkward kid at the party who’s pretending to think all the popular kid’s jokes are funny.

That aside, the book was fun and witty, and never boring. Serious literature it’s not, but it may well be the best beach read I came across this year.… (mais)