Rating: 
Summary: An Amusingly Melodramatic Murder Mystery!
Review: "Naked Came the Phoenix" is a serial novel written by 13 top female mystery writers and it is a whole lot of fun! I was impressed at how well the chapters flowed together, and became totally absorbed in this soap opera-like mystery. "Naked Came the Phoenix" is not a serious murder mystery, and it's not supposed to be. What it is, is an immensely enjoyable tale filled with twists and turns and outlandish characters that was created for a very good cause.The story revolves around Caroline Blessing, a congressman's wife and cellist, who has taken a trip with her very difficult and newly widowed mother, Hilda Finch, to the exclusive Phoenix Spa in Virginia. Caroline hopes that their time at Phoenix Spa will give her mother and herself a chance to heal after her father's death, and maybe even a chance to bond. Unfortunately, Caroline's dreams of a relaxing and healing vacation go up in smoke when the spa's owner, Claudia De Vries, is found murdered in one of her own mud baths! Caroline realizes that everyone at the spa is a potential suspect and a potential victim. The spa's guests include a model-waif and her manager, an aging rock star, a short and stout grey-haired psychic, a dried-up Hollywood producer, and a beautiful and successful actress. They all have their own hidden connections to Claudia and secrets aplenty. Not to mention Claudia's own husband, the half-naked pool-boy, and the rest of the spa's staff. Everyone has something to hide, and these 13 talented authors take us along on a fast-paced and thrilling mystery filled with strange clues, red herrings, blackmail, and incest. And when more people start turning up dead, the very likable police detective, Vince Toscana, goes into overdrive trying to find the culprit. Not only is Caroline overwhelmed by what's going on around her, but she also must deal with some crushing news about her supposedly devoted husband Douglas. Caroline resolves to take her life back into her own hands and find out what's really going on, but there is nothing that can prepare her for the staggering truth behind the murders! "Naked Came the Phoenix" is an outrageous and exciting murder mystery that is sure to entertain. I found the first chapter, by Nevada Barr, a bit tough to wade through, but after that every other author was great. This book is just good clean fun, and if you read it with that in mind, I have no doubt that you will enjoy it enormously.
Rating:
Summary: An Amusingly Melodramatic Murder Mystery!
Review: "Naked Came the Phoenix" is a serial novel written by 13 top female mystery writers and it is a whole lot of fun! I was impressed at how well the chapters flowed together, and became totally absorbed in this soap opera-like mystery. "Naked Came the Phoenix" is not a serious murder mystery, and it's not supposed to be. What it is, is an immensely enjoyable tale filled with twists and turns and outlandish characters that was created for a very good cause. The story revolves around Caroline Blessing, a congressman's wife and cellist, who has taken a trip with her very difficult and newly widowed mother, Hilda Finch, to the exclusive Phoenix Spa in Virginia. Caroline hopes that their time at Phoenix Spa will give her mother and herself a chance to heal after her father's death, and maybe even a chance to bond. Unfortunately, Caroline's dreams of a relaxing and healing vacation go up in smoke when the spa's owner, Claudia De Vries, is found murdered in one of her own mud baths! Caroline realizes that everyone at the spa is a potential suspect and a potential victim. The spa's guests include a model-waif and her manager, an aging rock star, a short and stout grey-haired psychic, a dried-up Hollywood producer, and a beautiful and successful actress. They all have their own hidden connections to Claudia and secrets aplenty. Not to mention Claudia's own husband, the half-naked pool-boy, and the rest of the spa's staff. Everyone has something to hide, and these 13 talented authors take us along on a fast-paced and thrilling mystery filled with strange clues, red herrings, blackmail, and incest. And when more people start turning up dead, the very likable police detective, Vince Toscana, goes into overdrive trying to find the culprit. Not only is Caroline overwhelmed by what's going on around her, but she also must deal with some crushing news about her supposedly devoted husband Douglas. Caroline resolves to take her life back into her own hands and find out what's really going on, but there is nothing that can prepare her for the staggering truth behind the murders! "Naked Came the Phoenix" is an outrageous and exciting murder mystery that is sure to entertain. I found the first chapter, by Nevada Barr, a bit tough to wade through, but after that every other author was great. This book is just good clean fun, and if you read it with that in mind, I have no doubt that you will enjoy it enormously.
Rating:
Summary: Farfetched but fun and all for a good cause
Review: A senator's wife and her mother go to an exclusive spa to try to relax. They meet several celebrities, which include a model, a movie star and an aging rock star. The spa owner is found murdered in one of the center's mud baths grasping in her dead hands a white thong. Every body in the spa is a suspect and each one has a secret to hide. Nobody came to the spa to relax. They all came because the owner had summoned them and has also been blackmailing some of her clients. Everyone has a motive but it is now time to find out who the murderer (murderers?) are. I was attracted to this book by two selling points. One, all the proceeds from this book goes to help breast cancer charities; second, except for two of the authors, I had read previous works from the participants and have enjoyed every one. Each author contributes a chapter and then passes it to another author to continue the story. They all did a great job and made it interesting to see how they reacted to some outrageous plot threads put in the story. The story is definitely farfetched but it was fun. I applaud Laurie King for writing a decent final chapter to the mess provided by the other authors. All threads were tied and everybody could breath a sound of relief. I am not claiming this to be great literature but I thought the concept was a good idea and it all goes to a worthy cause.
Rating: 
Summary: Prepare to laugh and be amazed by the mystery's ingenuity
Review: As a mystery lover, I laughed and marveled at this serial mystery because I could never predict what would happen page to page or chapter to chapter. Each author takes a turn at one chapter, and it's clear they enjoyed the characters and their opportunity to twist and turn the plot in many directions. The climax is clever and unexpected, but the real payoff is the unique style each author brings to her chapter. Kudos to Marcia Talley for bringing this wonderful group of authors together in one novel!
Rating: 
Summary: A Thriller with Few Thrills.....
Review: Caroline Blessing thought that maybe a two week stay at the exclusive, Phoenix Spa, in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains, was just what she and her newly widowed mother, Hilda Finch, needed. A little luxury, gourmet food, an exercise regimen, and a lot of pampering, should help them begin to get past the death of her father and maybe close the distance that had grown between them. But almost immediately after their arrival, all her good plans began to fall apart when spa owner, Claudia de Vries, is found dead, submerged in one of her own mud baths. Now as the police and reporters descend on the spa, long held secrets of its famous and illustrious guests begin popping up all over, and Caroline realizes that everyone there is a suspect or potential victim..... Thirteen of today's most popular and talented female mystery writers have come together to write this serial novel, each picking up the storyline where the last author left off, and adding the next chapter. Unfortunately, instead of a seamless, compelling plot, full of suspense, twists, and red herrings, we get a silly, weak and contrived mystery that resembles a soap opera or Murder She Wrote episode. The inane characters are unoriginal (the aging movie star, the waif model, the drunken producer...) and nothing more than caricatures and stereotypes, with no depth and less motivation. And though the final chapter's author, Laurie King, tries to tie up all the loose ends into a neat, simple, and logical package, her explanation isn't plausible, or satisfying, and the ending just doesn't ring true. Part of the proceeds from book sales are being donated to breast cancer research, and that's the only good recommendation I can give for buying this book. There are a lot of good mysteries and thrillers out there. Unfortunately, Naked Came the Phoenix isn't one of them.
Rating: 
Summary: Definitely a disappointment
Review: Considering some of my favorite authors were involved in this collaboration I had high hopes of a fast paced, fun mystery. It was OK but the little things bothered me. The policeman who was described as a bear and a Columbo type and then described by another author as a hunk. Caroline, the main character, didn't seem to be consistent in her behavior or her characterization. And the ending seemed rushed and a little trite. I thought the explaination of the bikini bottom was silly and unclear. Although my husband also reads a number of these authors I couldn't even recommend the book to him. Just not worth the time.
Rating:
Summary: I quit in Chapter 4
Review: I borrowed the unabridged audiobook of Naked Came the Phoenix from my library. I managed to keep listening through the predictable and tedious tale, with its predictable and tedious characters, until somewhere in Chapter 4.
My stopping point came when the protagonist, Caroline Blessing, an honors graduate of Julliard, first chair cellist with a major philarmonic, and wife of very successful man, responds to the investigating detective at the scene where she has discovered the body of a murdered woman. The detective wants to interview her about it. She says words to the effect of "As the wife of a Congressman, I can't possibly talk to you until I've talked with my husband."
Maybe if I were reading I could have leapt over this jarring and incredibly stupid piece of dialogue from a supposedly bright and insightful character and waded deeper into the story, but after hearing it I reached over and ejected the tape. I have no idea what happened after that and no interest in knowing.
Rating:
Summary: Naked indeed!
Review: I enjoyed "Naked Came the Manatee" so much that I couldn't resist giving "Naked Came the Phoenix" a try. Unlike so many others, I was NOT disappointed. The story opens with Caroline Blessing and Hilda Finch going to the Phoenix Spa, which is owned and operated by Hilda's college roommate, and continues with each new character's purported reason for being at the spa. Caroline is privy to a number of clues along the way, although their meanings are obscure. This type of collaboration depends on each successive author adding to what has already been written without contradicting any previous author. The story was great fun and the final solution was ingenious (except for the polka-dot bikini). With all the murder, blackmail, and dark secrets involved, who could resist this story. My favorite character? Dante, of course.
Rating:
Summary: Great beach read!
Review: I had read one serial novel, Naked Came the Manatee, before and didn't think it was so hot, so I wasn't sure I should buy Naked Came the Phoenix, but since it was written by just about my all-time favorite mystery authors, I bought it this weekend and boy, am I glad I did!! It's so funny!!! I loved the way the quirky characters were introduced in chapter one and how each author picked up the threads in her chapter and added twists and turns that kept me guessing until the very end. It was fun to read the different writing styles and I was amazed how well each author picked up on the "vibes" of the previous author. Awesome!!!
Rating:
Summary: Not recommended
Review: I have enjoyed all of J.D. Robb's books and I was looking forward to sampling some of the other authors' writing. However, it was difficult to enjoy this book. There was little depth in character development and the plot was illogical and unconvincing. Perhaps this is typical of this type of serial novel, but this was a disappointing read.
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