<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Shake hands and "come out" laughing
Review: Don't you hate when this happens? Your sister has been kidnapped by "Christian" terrorists who demand seven million dollars and that you publicly renounce your homosexuality through the Lord. This is the dilemma faced by Rico Brandywine, the 30-something openly-gay heir to the Brandywine Hotel empire, whose sister and confidant Valencia disappeared when flying to join him for a business-related charity event. While kidnapping is nothing new to the Brandywine children, whose family fortune made them a popular target throughout their childhoods, the fact that they are now adults, and the religious connotations to the terrorist's demands, make this seem very different. But Rico has his own problems, explored for years through a continuing cast of therapists. He is still smarting a bit from the end of a relationship with an egomaniac television reporter, finds he needs to bite his tongue to avoid spewing sexual obscenities at inopportune moments, is embarrassed that he frequently gets an erection when shaking hands with people he hardly knows, and wonders about a series of coincidences where people he has met later reveal that have "come out" from their previously latent homosexuality. His best friend, D'Vora Wasserman, joins him to lend emotional support, and the twosome end up traveling to Israel based on a clue Rico believes Valencia leaked in a phone call demanding ransom. Along the way, Rico learns he has a very special power, which both fortifies and terrifies him at the same time. A good beach read, Cooper's second novel (after "With You In Spirit") presents a witty but plausible mystery that will delight readers.
Rating:
Summary: Shake hands and "come out" laughing
Review: Don't you hate when this happens? Your sister has been kidnapped by "Christian" terrorists who demand seven million dollars and that you publicly renounce your homosexuality through the Lord. This is the dilemma faced by Rico Brandywine, the 30-something openly-gay heir to the Brandywine Hotel empire, whose sister and confidant Valencia disappeared when flying to join him for a business-related charity event. While kidnapping is nothing new to the Brandywine children, whose family fortune made them a popular target throughout their childhoods, the fact that they are now adults, and the religious connotations to the terrorist's demands, make this seem very different. But Rico has his own problems, explored for years through a continuing cast of therapists. He is still smarting a bit from the end of a relationship with an egomaniac television reporter, finds he needs to bite his tongue to avoid spewing sexual obscenities at inopportune moments, is embarrassed that he frequently gets an erection when shaking hands with people he hardly knows, and wonders about a series of coincidences where people he has met later reveal that have "come out" from their previously latent homosexuality. His best friend, D'Vora Wasserman, joins him to lend emotional support, and the twosome end up traveling to Israel based on a clue Rico believes Valencia leaked in a phone call demanding ransom. Along the way, Rico learns he has a very special power, which both fortifies and terrifies him at the same time. A good beach read, Cooper's second novel (after "With You In Spirit") presents a witty but plausible mystery that will delight readers.
Rating: 
Summary: saving this reader from boredom
Review: Steven Cooper did it again! His second book is extremely different from his first, with you in spirit, but it in no, NO way disappoints! Just like the first novel, I couldn't put it down... and literally finished it in one fell swoop! I can't even begin to describe the wonderful way in which this writer thinks... he looks at the world in such a delightful, witty, humorous, offbeat, eclectic way...you just want to climb into the author's head and find out what makes him tick! on the last page i found myself praising him out loud for not wasting my time or intelligence on blase' blase' storylines. He challenges the reader with his captivating mind... and i cannot wait for his 3rd book! if you are listening steven, hurry!!!!! i'm not content to read second rate novelists anymore! Give up journalism and write full-time, please, please, please! Signed, a desperate magna cum laude housewife!
Rating: 
Summary: Never judge a book by its cover
Review: The synopsis was intriguing and the cover was funny, so I expected this to be a funny, intriguing book. Unfortunately, it isn't.
The protagonist is annoying, the story is stupid and the humor is lame. For example: the protagonist, Rico, has a peculiar reaction when meeting some men. At the end of the book he is going to meet the American president and the minutes before the meeting are written down in 3 long, boring pages. And at the end: surprise, Rico also has this peculiar reaction when meeting the president. Ha ha ha, NOT.
<< 1 >>
| 
