Rating: 
Summary: Fast Women
Review: Even as I write this review I am still on the fence about 'FAST WOMEN'. On one hand I did really enjoy the book but on the other hand 'FAST WOMEN' wasn't exactly a romance nor was it exactly a mystery and not the best of either genre. But ultimately I decided to give the book four stars, which is probably more like three and a half which according to my personal ratings system (see more about me) puts 'FAST WOMEN' at slightly above average.'FAST WOMEN' is about a fairly newly divorced woman, Nell Dysart, who finds herself having to start over completely as with her marriage so went her career. So Nell is forced to accept a position (gotten for her by her ex-brother-in-law) as a badly needed office manager for the McKenna Detective Agency. Nell soon finds herself thrown in the center of a plot to blackmail the owners of the prestigious O&D law firm that just happens to be owned by the very same ex-brother-in-law that got her, her job who also happens to be her best friend Suze's husband, also beeing blackmailed is the father, & the O in O&D, of her other best friend Margie! But after people start turning up dead Nell and her bosses Gabe and Riley McKenna begin to suspect a cover up of something much deeper. While all of this is taking place Nell and Gabe, who first bump heads over everything from office furniture and business cards to a case about and emotionally abused dog by the name of SugarPie, begin to find themselves inexplicably attracted to one another. Forging a relationship, however, proves to be very difficult for Nell and Gabe with the case and their ex's (oh and did I mention that their kids have also started dating one another??) making it all the more difficult. But it is very interesting to find out how and if these two can get it together.
Rating:
Summary: What fun!
Review: This book is fun. Any caffeine addict with a weird family will relate immediately to the main characters of coffee drinkers Nell Dysart, recent divorcee and secretary extraordinaire; and Gabe McKenna, hardworking detective and dysfunctional family man. They're quirky, determined, and intriguing... typical Crusie traits. The story surrounds Nell and her efforts to recover from a devastating and unexpected divorce. She gets a job at Gabe's antiquated detective agency, replacing their ne'er do well former secretary who had spent the previous weeks, unbeknownst to her employers, embezzeling agency funds. Before she knows what hit her, Nell's landed herself a full time job. With characteristic quickness and despite their initial resistance, the main characters establish an inarguable chemistry that's apparent to everyone from Riley, Gabe's cousin, partner, and the resident hunk, to Chloe, Gabe's divorced-though-not-separated wife. However, the story centers around more than an embezzeling secretary... there's also dognapping (what's a Crusie novel without a dog?), a very sneaky ex husband, a suspiciously missing person, and some general bribery thrown in for a good measure. While at times the characters are hard to keep straight (in this one, everyone's married into the same family, so they all have the same LAST names by marriage as well as their OWN relatives, children, and friends to remember), it's truly fun to watch Nell's evolution to a functional "divorce survivor" from a blindsided victim... it's fun to watch Nell's son and Gabe's daughter slowly fall in love... it's fun to watch Suze, the beautiful sister-in-law and the Gabe's hunky cousin Riley.... This is a fun book. Read it!
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining
Review: Jennifer Cruise's "Fast Women" is a highly entertaining and funny book that revolves around three women who find themselves betrayed by their loved ones and seeked to start new lives. Nell, dominating, bossy, and smart woman found herself alone after her husband left her for a younger woman, resolves to forget the past and started working for a detective company. Her friends, Margie and Suze were also having problems with their marital lives and as they became involved in Nell's life, they soon find themselves involved in a web of intrigue, spying (for the detective company) and were even kidnapping a dog! The basis of the story is pretty typical - husband leaving wife for a younger woman, wife working hard all this time and suddenly, left alone to start again. However, this is different from other novels because there are humor, in the book, especially revolving the detective agency, whose boss, Nell fell in love with. It is also interesting how these three women coped with problems and relied on each other for support. I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to have a relaxing, and funny book. It is easy to read and at the same time, the plot is very interesting with lots of characters.
Rating:
Summary: FAST WOMEN
Review: GREAT BOOK!
HAS IT ALL....
HUMOR, WIT, SUSPENSE, ROMANCE, MURDER, BLACKMAIL....
DOESN'T GET MUCH BETTER THAN THIS!
Rating: 
Summary: a very long read
Review: it took a good week to finish this book. but here goes,
a woman gets a job in a detective agency (she was dumped by her husband) and falls for the guy who is in charge. her son hooks up with his daughter. his ex-wife thinks the woman is right for him due to astrological influences. a couple of long suffering friends, a one night stand, china that is priceless, diamonds found in a couch - i know! there was just too much going on
to be a) believable and b) enjoyable. i don't mind complicated as long as it makes sense. this book did not, it rambled through.
Rating:
Summary: Zany, and well-written, but not quite a 5.
Review: Heroine: underweight, then average Nell Dysart is in search of a new job. Why? Because her last boss divorced and replaced her with a little something in a size two. So much for investing 22 years in building a marriage, family, and award-winning insurance agency! The depressed mother of one is egged on by her ultra-supportive-though-equally-off-kilter ex-sisters-in-law to get a job. Nell heeds their advice and, feeling washed up and washed out, heads for the McKenna investigative firm to apply for a temporary position as a secretary. Over the course of her interview she becomes a nervous wreck and inadvertently destroys half the office. Despite the disaster she wreaks upon her surroundings, Nell is a shoo-in; especially given that the agency's owner is desperate and Nell just happens to be an ex-in-law of one of his biggest clients. P. I. Gabe McKenna is living his life stuck in a rut. And he likes it that way. His office looks the same as it did when it was first established by his father: from the peeling paint on the walls, to the swaybacked furnishings, right down to the picture frames sporting the exact same photographs covered with the exact same dust mites. He's still driving the same car, a late seventies model Porsche (which was also his father's). And he's still clinging to a relationship with next-door-neighbor Chloe, his ex-wife of ten years. From the moment Gabe offers the pale, slight woman the job, he knows he is going to regret it. Doing a 180, Nell becomes a model of efficient competency and starts making big plans for the place. New decor, new business cards, new lettering on the windows . . and a new partner: herself! Gabe, who dislikes even the most minor breezes in his life, won't tolerate the human tornado that is Nell. He vows to replace the interfering nuisance as quickly as possible. But somewhere along the way through murder investigations, family skeletons that won't stay in the closet, a kidnapped dog, and the daily butting of heads, Gabe and Nell manage to ignite a spark of passion between them. They can make steamy love together, but can they ever learn to work together? What worked for me: I picked this story up because other Stephanie Plum fans recommended it as a sassy, funny read. I wasn't disappointed. Technically this book is billed as a romantic suspense, but what actually held my interest the most was the relationship between the three highly dysfunctional women (not one of whom was under 30). I was really rooting for them to all get their lives back on track! There were some fun references and parallels to old black and white classic films, complete with star look-a-likes: Gabe is William Powell sans moustache and Nell is Myrna Loy with newly "retouched" red hair. Size-wise, Nell began the story excruciatingly underweight after eighteen months of not eating, thanks to her husband of twenty-two years up and leaving her with nothing but repressed anger. Over the course of the book she regains some of the weight until she's a healthier size. (Though apparently she was a bit heavier before her divorce and opted not to gain all of the weight back.) What didn't work for me:
I don't usually care for bed-hopping in my books, but since the hopping happened before the relationship started I can overlook it. No Maddie Hayes and David Addison here. (If you never caught the show "Moonlighting", you've missed out!) The main characters in "Fast Women" were perhaps a bit too ornery for my tastes. I like 'em feisty, but Nell and Gabe were control freaks to the extreme. I won't divulge the specifics here, but the mystery left me with a nagging question or two. However, I read the book late into the night and may not have absorbed or assimilated a crucial fact here and there due to sleep-deprivation.
Overall: A funny, sexy, quick read full of quirky characters, snappy dialogue, and a puzzling mystery. Be sure to toss it in your bag if you have a long flight this summer.
Thanks to this book, I've bumped Jennifer Crusie to the top of my "must find more titles by this author" list during the current Stephanie Plum drought. (There is coarse language and some talk of lesbianism in this book, just to warn those of you who aren't into that sort of thing.) If you liked "Fast Women", you might also enjoy The "Stephanie Plum" mystery series, "Plum Girl", "Carried Away", "Lola Carlyle Reveals All", "Walking After Midnight", and "Looking for Laura".
Rating: 
Summary: More Like 3.5 Stars
Review: I can honestly say that Fast Women was entertaining and humorous but I have read much better by this author. Still reeling from a sudden divorce, Nell Dystart gets a job with a detective agency and immediately clashes with the boss, Gabe. Nell has dreams of reorganizing the business, and Gabe wants everything just like it is. Throw in an old murder to solve, and two friends trying to get away from controlling partners and it makes for an interesting read. My biggest problem with Fast Women was that I didn't like Gabe or Nell and liking the two main characters is the most important thing when reading a story. I thought Gabe was very one-dimensional, and I thought Nell was a bitter, controlling, manipulative woman. She gets a job as Gabe's secretary, and gets angry when he doesn't want her changing his business around. This is a very large problem with these two that gets worse and worse, but never really gets resolved. When I finished this story, my big feeling was that when the good sex started to fizzle they would be in trouble. My other problem was with the secondary characters. I think they took up way too much of the story, and there was really no point for them being that big a part of the plot. But all in all, it is not a bad read. But Crusie has written much better. Manhunting and Welcome To Temptation are much better.
Rating:
Summary: Crazy about Crusie...
Review: I have yet to be disappointed with any of Crusie's novels and have come to the point where I will pick one up sight unseen. FAST WOMEN was a fantastic mixture of comedy, romance, mystery and great sex. All I have come to expect from a Crusie novel. When I was not laughing at the antics of the characters in this book, I was feeling for them. Crusie has done it again where she engages us in a story rich in color, character, and realism...adding a splash of the absurd for spice. Excellent book.
Rating:
Summary: And fast laughs
Review: Jennie Crusie is, quite simply, hilarious. The relationships between all of the characters in this one are so realistic--they make you laugh, they make you annoyed, they make you sad. I don't think you can ask much more of a book.
Rating:
Summary: This Crusie worth reading
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book, though I don't know what the title has to do with it. I tried reading Tell Me Lies afterward, but was disappointed. The middle of Tell Me Lies is so depressing, I almost stopped reading it. However, Fast Women is so much fun all the way through, that I couldn't put it down. I'll miss those characters!
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