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celtic_oracle's review against another edition
2.0
Disappointed in this as I found it hard to like many of the characters. I have one more Robin Hudson book to read - will see if the story in that one redeems the series for me.
bookish_wendy's review against another edition
4.0
Smart. Funny and Cute. A lite read with a little bit of brain in it.
karen62's review against another edition
5.0
This is the 2nd book in a series but it could also have been a stand alone. I had no problem following the story and characters. Aunt Mo turned out to be most excellent in the end. Already have the next book on hold.
bethdee's review against another edition
2.0
Fun, but I didn't like it as much as her first book. I didn't enjoy the mystery in this book as much as the one in the first and Robin trying to behave at work and not make sarcastic comments wasn't as fun for me. That was one of my favourite things about the first. I still want to read the third in the series, though!
mairispaceship's review against another edition
3.0
A friend gave me this book as a gift with the caveat "I'm not sure if it's your thing but it's a cool murder mystery". Well, that's about exactly how I want to describe it now I'm finished! Not completely my kind of book, but heck the mystery aspect was fun. I was roped in from start to finish and even tried to solve the case alongside the titular character, Robin.
Plus, it was a short read which I gobbled up in just a couple of days worth of reading before bed.
Plus, it was a short read which I gobbled up in just a couple of days worth of reading before bed.
carol26388's review
4.0
Cross posted from my blog: https://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2014/11/21/nice-girls-finish-last-by-sparkle-hayter/
“Curiosity, I remembered, always got me into trouble… Well, it wasn’t just curiosity. Vodka was also involved. But it was mostly curiosity.“
Robin is doing her best to turn over a new leaf: there’s a corporate shakeup coming at her job, the 24-hour news station ANN; her hyper-critical Aunt Mo is in town for a religious meeting; and her hopes for a happy love life left town with her post-divorce boyfriend, Eric. So she’s cultivating a Positive Mental Attitude through post-its and biting her lip. I remember the positive mental attitude exhortation: my high school friends and I dubbed ‘PMA’ when we were told to stop being so cynical, and proceeded to use it in place of ‘PMS.’
“I was starting to get very annoyed, but I talked myself down, figuring Fenn hadn’t been out of Betty Ford that long and he was sure to be crabby.”
Unfortunately, trouble has a way of finding Robin. Her gynecologist’s office cancels her evening appointment, and only hours later, the doctor is found dead, handcuffed to his chair and shot. This time she isn’t a suspect, but her Special Reports news boss, Jerry Spurdle, wants her and the team to investigate a possible connection to a local S&M club. Of course, it will mean going undercover.
“It’s just the nature of my life that I sleep better at night if I have a good alibi, since this wasn’t the first time I’d had an appointment with someone who later ended up dead. It’s like, my karma or something.“
Above all, Hayter makes me chuckle while presenting a murder whodunit with a smart female character. This one is a little more love-life centered than the last, but at least Robin is aware of the issues and balances it out with concerns about her professional opportunities and her friends. And its always bonus that Robin and I share a deep affection for her setting of NYC. The asides on ‘guerrilla art’ are a clever touch, showing a familiarity with the city.
Hayter does a nice job with running jokes, alleviating some of the tension that comes with a murder and job anxiety. Robin’s eccentricities mean that she is vigilant about obscure medical issues–usually discovered through random news reports–and bizarre murder cases, and those stories often provide comic relief. I couldn’t help but laugh:
“‘Take this with you,’ he said, handing me a clipping.
‘You are full of treats today.’
‘It’s about a guy in England who can’t turn his television off because it makes his monkey crazy. The monkey goes ballistic and starts tearing people’s hair out.’
‘I know people like that.‘
‘It makes my monkey crazy,’ I like that phrase,’ Louis said.
He yelled at an indolent PA who was leaning on a pod flirting with a writer. ‘Hey, don’t lean on the furniture,’ he said. ‘It makes my monkey crazy.’”
A recent re-release of the first book in e-edition, coupled with a cold, sent me on a Hayter re-read. It’s been a perfect way to divert myself when I don’t want something deeply introspective, full of metaphor and descriptive language (hello, Acceptance), but want something entertaining, without being stupid or full of tropes. I’m so pleased I could find a like-new book to add to my physical collection–it makes my monkey crazy when books go out of print and I can’t find them again.
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