Rating: 
Summary: FAST WOMEN; fast read.
Review: A fairly common complaint is that FAST WOMEN is not WELCOME TO TEMPTATION. Personally, I think that's a good thing. True....TEMPTATION is an excellent book. So is WOMEN. They're very dissimilar, thank heavens. Frankly, I get tired of the "cookie cutter" characters when an author finds a format that's selling and refuses to stray from it. Crusie gets edgy and isn't afraid to break away from the pack and FAST WOMEN reflects that break.Nell Dysart has been dumped by her husband of 22 years and with the help of her two sister-in-laws, is groping for a new life. Due to a few twist and laughable turns she finds herself working for a couple of detectives in their antiquated office that she immediately decides to update,(the office, not the detectives) but not before she has innocently managed to create even more damage. By the time she has made changes in the office she has also dug through the tough shield that the #1 detective, Gabe McKenna has shrouded himself in. Crusie developed a novel that is pure feel-good entertainment and serves up plenty of opportunities to laugh out loud. As an added bonus the reader gets to try and figure out the mystery that is brewing throughout the book. It's not heavy reading, but who wants that on lazy hot summer days? If I want to dig into WAR AND PEACE again, I'll save that for those long, dreary winter months. Until then, I'll grab every Crusie book as fast as she can turn them out.
Rating:
Summary: A laugh-out-loud, great, big joyride of a book
Review: Things you can count on from Jennifer Crusie: one-liners no one else in the world would think of, let alone say ... characters that make you just wring your hands for them ... inventive plots that in themselves set you up for laughter ... all with a worldly view of life that makes you come away from her books feeling a little wiser somehow than when you started. The extras in FAST WOMEN: the most complex, interesting love relationship Crusie has ever put on paper ... hilarious one-liners that fit so neatly into the story you almost miss them, then do a double-take, go back for them, and enjoy them twice as much (or just simply burst out laughing because you can't believe he/she SAID that)... a crazy, funny murder mystery with more cold bodies--ice-hard cold bodies!--than you'd find in the Clondike ... laughter somehow eeked out of the toughest stuff of life, starting with the pain for divorce. Oh, and I should mention she writes some darn fine love scenes--a surprising combination of sexy and funny, both. Crusie knows life. She milks it for its joy and doesn't pass on the sorrow--she knows how to make you laugh at all of it. Buy this one, her best yet! Read it first before all the other books sitting on your nightstand! This one will entertain you into the wee hours.
Rating: 
Summary: What am I missing?
Review: This book is trite as all get-out, with a gaggle of silly women to-boot. How can the owner of a detective agency not realize he's been embezzled by one of his employees? I made it to page 30 or so, and that was a chore. Maybe I should have given it more of a chance, but there are so many smarter books out there, so why bother? Sorry if you are truly a Crusie fan. I can usually find something good to say about a book, but not this one.
Rating: 
Summary: What a steamy read!
Review: Since I have been laid up on bedrest due to my pregnancy ~~ I was glad that I had already bought Jennifer's newest paperback last spring ~~ she really helped me escape the doldrums with this fun, fast-paced and steamy, ... novel! I admit that I am a Jennifer Crusie fan (it helps that she is from Ohio!) and reading this book reminds me why I enjoy reading her stuff so much!! Nell Dysart was floundering from a bitter divorce and struggling with a loss of appetite as well when she stumbles into a job interview at a shabby detective agency in German Village. She never knew that this job was just perfect for her ~~ as well as the owner of the agency was going to be her soulmate ~~ Gabe McKenna isn't your typical suave guy ~~ nope, he's rough around the edges hiding a sensitive heart. And this is their story as they both work on a murder case that had happened years ago, involving Nell's ex-inlaws and Gabe's father. It is full of twists and turns, snappy comments and fun characters ~~ all that makes a good afternoon reading worthwhile! If you're looking for a perfect read to take to the pool or the beach ~~ this book would be just the pick for you! It's light, funny and steamy! Jennifer Crusie has yet to disappoint me!! ...
Rating:
Summary: Laugh-aloud funny
Review: I was reading FAST WOMEN at the beach--yes! it's a beach book--and I was laughing so hard that other women, total strangers, kept stopping by to see what I was reading with such enjoyment. I've read all of Crusie's novels. While all of them were good (obviously, or I wouldn't have bothered to keep buying them), FAST WOMEN is in a class by itself. Either Crusie has matured as an author, or her editors finally are allowing her to tell her tales as she sees fit. FAST WOMEN also could have been named SMART WOMEN. For a change, the heroine and her friends are middle-aged, and sort of battle-scarred by life--exactly as most real people are, too. This is a fast-moving story, with mystery...ex-husbands... retribution...true love...and great sex. The novel is compelling and all's well that ends well. In the process of getting to that end, yes, you'll have some good laughs.
Rating:
Summary: I loved it!!
Review: I love Jennifer Crusie books! However when I read the reviews for this book I was hesistant to read it. The main character sleeps with someone other than the hero? I wasn't sure I wanted to read the book and be disappointed! I put it on my bookshelf to be read later, after about 3 months I decided what the heck! I'll give it a try! I'm sure glad I did. Nell's husband suddenly leaves her on Christmas day. She's stunned! Not only was he her husband of 20 years but he was also her boss. So, she not only lost her husband but she also lost her job! Finally she's trying to put her life back together and she gets a job at McKenna's detective agency. Gabe McKenna is the hero of this book and his best friend Riley is his partner in the agency. Before Nell and Gabe get together she has a one night stand with Riley. Strangly enough I could totally understand this! Riley is gorgeous! He's years younger than Nell. Nell's husband left her for a younger woman, she's feeling really lousy about herself and here is this gorgeous younger man who wants to sleep with her. Gabe and Nell weren't involved yet and it certainly made for very a humorous situation in when they all met up with Nell's ex-husband. As to Gabe's relationship with his ex-wife. That ends very quickly in the beginning of the book and Nell has been working for the agency for a day or so when Gabe and Chloe are over. All in all I laughed myself silly numerous times and the issues that some of the other reviews found undesirable I found made perfect sense in the context of the book. I'm glad I took it off my shelf to give it a chance!
Rating:
Summary: Ha cha cha cha...
Review: 'Fast Women' is not as tightly edited as some of Crusie's previous works. That said, even with loose editing Crusie can keep me up all night reading from cover to cover. The primary couple are mighty appealing: Nell, a hilariously disaster-prone dynamo who reminds me of Kate from 'Manhunting'; and Gabe, who is more macho than any of her heroes I've read to date but most definitely not in a bad way ;-). The secondary couple are fun to read too: Suze, who manages to be both drop dead gorgeous and likable without stealing Nell's thunder; and Riley, who - well, there's a hot little surprise I won't give away. I haven't seen Crusie use this plot element before, but I hope she does it again :-D. The plot begins when Suze and Margie help Nell, their former sister-in-law who's still shell-shocked from the divorce, get a job with Gabe's detective agency. Nell proves to be so efficient at her job that she uncovers a twenty-odd year-old mystery that might involve Gabe's father and her ex-inlaws. Gabe starts investigating. Nell gets in touch with her anger. Margie loses touch with reality. Suze starts to wonder about her own marriage, not knowing Riley's been carrying a torch for her because of interesting circumstances. It's all genuine Jennifer Crusie, complicated, hilarious and real as only she could make it.
Rating:
Summary: This is Storytelling at its Best...
Review: Nell Dysart is numb. After a divorce some eighteen months earlier, her life has been on autopilot. Her friend pulls some strings to get her a temporary job with a run-down detective agency stuck in the fifties. Gabe McKenna is the tall, dark, and broad-shouldered owner of McKenna Investigations. His life is not going so well either. He's wasting time talking to clients about blackmail, his cousin and partner, Riley, is fed up with watching cheating spouses, and his ex-wife of ten years has dumped him again. Nell is efficient and wants to clean the place up, which might require a bulldozer. Gabe wants everything to remain the same. When Nell calls the cleaning service to find out why they haven't done their job for the last few months, she ultimately discovers the secretary she's filling in for had embezzled several thousand dollars from the agency. Seems simple enough, but this discovery leads to lies, blackmail, murder, frozen corpses and the loss of some really nice china. Nell and Gabe disagree on most things. The business cards, new office furniture, and dognapping, but eventually they do agree they can't keep their hands off each other, even though it does break business rule number three. There is a lot going on in this story. Several secondary characters have quite a bit of page time, more than usually seen in a romance novel. Suze, who is Nell's sister-in-law and best friend, plus Riley, are in the story almost as much as Nell and Gabe. The twists and turns of the plot are numerous, because this is about much more than romance. Oddly enough, it works, and even though the plot is convoluted, I had no difficulty keeping track. It does take about half the book for the attraction between Nell and Gabe to become evident, but I was so entertained it didn't really matter. Plus, this gave a more realistic time frame for them to fall in love, especially since Nell was still reeling from her divorce. A very unique, humor-filled romance novel with three-dimensional characters that kept me quite engrossed until the very end. Ms. Crusie is an amazing storyteller who hooked me with, "Welcome to Temptation", which still remains my favorite of hers thus far. But this is a worthy contender, and I have no qualms in recommending it.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome!
Review: This was my first book by Crusie, but I'm off to buy more immediately! Her humor, wit, and insight are unmatched. I didn't want to put this down for a minute. I'd say it's a "must have" for anyone who enjoys a light mystery, suspense, and humor all wrapped up in one. The characters are very likable and the whole thing is cleverly written.
Rating:
Summary: A fast paced, hilarious delight
Review: This was my first Crusie and was the best book I have read in a long time. It has it all, suspense, great characters, witty dialogue, wild sex and best of all, makes you laugh out loud! I read it in hours and ran down to the local library to check out every Crusie they had in stock! If you want a great read that is well above your typical romantic suspense novel, this is it. I can hardly wait to read her next one. Nora Roberts fans will most likely approve. I would also recommend "Welcome to Temptation". My husband has no idea why I kept jumping his bones that week, but I am sure if he knew, he would thank Ms. Crusie.
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