Rating: 
Summary: Fun For A Good Cause
Review: The scene is set in the exclusive Phoenix Spa in the mountains of Virginia. The guest list is a collection of odd, sinister, and quirky characters. Thirteen chapters and thirteen different authors. I was very impressed with the seamless transition from one chapter to the next. Some of these authors are old favorites of mine and I will definitely be looking for the books of the authors that were new to me. The diabolical twists and turns in the plot kept me reading far into the wee hours of the night. This is a fun romp and I don't feel a bit guilty for buying the hardcover edition because part of the proceeds from the sales goes to breast cancer research. Don't skip the introduction...it is as much fun as the rest of the book.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the worst
Review: This is definitely one of the worst books I have read recently. The plot develops into one of the silliest and least plausible storylines. Save yourself the time and money and watch an episode of Sally Jessy Raphael or one of the soaps - I'm sure you'll be more entertained.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT MYSTERY
Review: This was a very entertaining story. Until the end of the story, the reader does not really know who the good or bad guys are. There are many twists and you are kept guessing until the end. Hope these authors get together again soon.
Rating:
Summary: Not just a chick book!!
Review: Thoroughly enjoyed this spoof of life and death in an exclusive Virginia health spa. As a guy, I particularly identified with Vince Toscana, the long-suffering detective. Considering there were thirteen authors (fourteen, if you count the O'Shaughnessy sisters separately) it's amazing how well it hangs together as a novel. Well done, ladies!
Rating: 
Summary: All for a good cause
Review: To pay homage to the ensemble of sleuths including Agatha Christie whose combined efforts made mystery novel The Floating Admiral realized in the 1930s, editor Marcia Talley gamely rounds up twelve stellar female mystery novelists including Nervada Barr, J.A Jance, Lisa Scottoline et al to narrate a serialized murder drama with the aim of raising funds for breast-cancer patients. It revolves around erstwhile cello-ist Caroline Blessing who accompanies her mother Hilda to the exclusive Phoenix Spa at Virginia. When Claudia De Vries, owner of the spa dies brutally in a mud-bath, the shadows of paranoia emerges with suspicious characters lurking. King David - the famous rock star, Howard the director on a downslide, Ondine the waif-like model and her manager Lund with the psyhic Phyllis fill the list of possible suspects. Blackmailing, incest and subterfuges fuel the plot - and the consistent plot-line is such a hoot with the writers devilishly "back-stabbing" each other, leaving trails and clues for the next writer to continue in a logical path. The surprise ending is such a blast with Laurie King's sly wits and plot diversions. It gathers the patches of red herrings and sudden deaths into a logical puzzle. Fast, hilarious and melo-dramatic, Naked Came the Phoenix spreads infectious fun with the readers engaged in the twisty manoeuvres of the who-dun-it.
Rating:
Summary: Fun, fun, fun!!
Review: What a wonderful way to spend an afternoon -- with 13 of the best mystery writers in the business!!! Even those authors more noted for their serious sides managed to make me laugh out loud. My favorite scenes -- Caroline raiding the kitchen (Robb); Phyllis, the psychic's interview with the cop all the while thinking it's her pre-interview for the Today show (Scottoline); Caroline's husband, the Congressman, showing up at the spa via helicopter (Talley); death by nail polish (McDermid); and the denouement (King).
Rating:
Summary: Blending a Voice: Naked Came The Phoenix
Review: When I saw this awhile back at my local library, I was intrigued with the concept but very skeptical of the results. In this serial novel written to benefit Breast Cancer Research, Marcia Talley brought together thirteen female mystery authors together to create a serial novel. The thirteen authors are: Nevada Barr, Nora Roberts, Nancy Pickard, Lisa Scottoline, Perri O'Shaughnessy, J. A. Jance, Faye Kellerman, Mary Jane Clark, Anne Perry, Diana Gabaldon, Val McDermid, Laurie R. King and the editor herself, Marcia Talley, who also adds a chapter. With that much talent and totally different writing styles and perceptions involved, I expected a choppy, uneven novel. While that does happen in a couple of places, overall the merge is very good with plenty of surprising twists and turns to keep the reader guessing all the way to the end.The novel opens with quite a cast of characters that have brought to the very upscale Phoenix Spa in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Featured front and center is Caroline Blessing, the young wife of a recently elected congressman and her overpowering mother, Hilda Finch. Two weeks earlier, Caroline's father, Hamlin Finch died due to throat cancer no doubt because of all the angry words trapped in his throat to Caroline's thinking. Hilda is a real piece of work and always gets her way by any means possible. Hilda has strongly insisted that she come to the Spa with her and Caroline, full of resentment, has done as she asked. Hilda knows the owner, Claudia de Vries from their first year at Brown University and their relationship is clearly not the best. Soon after introducing a number of characters, the Spa owner is found dead in a mud bath and clearly a victim of strangulation. Detective Vince Toscana, far from his beloved home in Philadelphia, is called to investigate and soon finds the fellow guests are less than helpful. Almost all of them have secrets and as rich, important people simply can't be bothered with a little problem of murder in their midst. What follows is a Colombo style movie of the week literary version with homage to Agatha Christie as the bodies begin to fall and his investigation seems to go nowhere. Caroline is forced to help against her wishes and uncovers more about her life and her past than she ever wanted to know. Overall, this is a well-written novel and it flows from start to finish. There is the occasional glitch as one author or another takes a character off on a different tangent, but overall this book works surprisingly well. The glitches are very minor and if anything, seem to add to the work and to remind the reader that this was a serial novel in the tradition of Naked Came the Manatee and Naked Came The Stranger. If you are looking for a work that symbolizes each author's unique writing style then this novel is not for you. But if you are interested in seeing how thirteen literary voices could be blended into one style, you won't be disappointed. A bit melodramatic at times, this is still one very good read.
Rating:
Summary: Great novel-- especially the way it was written.
Review: When I saw this book on the bookshelf, I stopped to look at it because I'd read Naked Came the Manatee. In the same tradition as Manatee, this book is written by numerous authors; each author writes a chapter and passes it onto the next one. Since the authors don't know how the next one will develop the story, this book has many characters and plot twists. Just when the reader thinks they like a character, a new author gets a hold of the story and then you don't like that character anymore. Or a character you don't like suddenly has reasons for their behavior, so they aren't so bad. Since there isn't any foreshadowing, there are few clues or foreshadowing to events that occur, creating an story where the reader just wants to know what's going to happened next. Filled with blackmail, murder, deception and quirky characters, I recommend this book for a weekend read or a fun vacation book.
Rating:
Summary: A definite delight
Review: With the recent death of her father Hamlin Finch from throat cancer, Caroline Blessing decides to help her mother Hilda deal with her grief. Though she knows that reconciling their differences will be impossible because the only way to accomplish that is unconditional surrender. Still Caroline, a cellist and wife of less than one year to a first term Tennessee Congressman, takes her mother to the exclusive Phoenix Spa. At the spa, Caroline's mother remains her usual obnoxious manipulative self though perhaps acting a bit more bizarre than usual. The owner of the spa Claudia de Vries, her mother's college roommate, behaves even weirder than Hilda does. However, Claudia's behavior becomes moot, as someone murders her. The police and Caroline conduct separate inquiries even while other patrons die. NAKED CAME THE PHOENIX is an entertaining collaboration from thirteen of the leading female mystery writers on the market today. The story line is fun though the line up of superstars tend to void pronouncements from the previous chapters. Still, the plot seems fresh due to Caroline who is the one consistency throughout the who-done-it. For the most part the authors provided strong entries that help make NAKED CAME THE PHOENIX a likable story. What else would you expect from a who's who consisting of Nevada Barr, J.D. Robb, Nancy Pickard, Lisa Scottoline, Perri O'Shaugnessy, J.A. Jance, Faye Kellerman, Mary Jane Clark, Marcia Talley, Anne Perry, Diana Gabaldon, Val McDermid, and Laurie King. Harriet Klausner
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