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Rating: 
Summary: Engaging Unique Characters
Review: Auto mechanic and sometime limo driver, Munch Mancini is back. She is still clean and sober after years of hard living. She gets a phone call from her adopted daughter's aunt. Lisa Slokum has taken off from the witness relocation program with her daughters, Charlotte and Jill. Lisa calls Munch desperate for help; Charlotte has gone missing. No one knows if she has run away or if something more evil has happened to her. Munch decides to help her daughter's dysfunctional family. As she starts to investigate Charlotte's life, she comes upon a stash of stolen goods in her room. Her search for Charlotte leads Munch into trouble, but due to her early life on the street, it is not anything she can't handle. Munch is not quite as edgy as she was in earlier novels. Being a mother to Asia has softened her considerably not to speak of being "in love". Even a not-so-edgy Munch makes for a nice change from the run-of-the-mill type heroines in most detective novels. She is a very likable and admirable character. Barabara Seranella's books are so character driven that the strength or weaknesses of any given plot seems secondary. I enjoyed reading UNWILLING ACCOMPLICE and look forward to the next in the series.
Rating: 
Summary: Munch's Past Rears its Ugly Head (Again)
Review: In Munch Mancini's seventh outing readers are introduced to a more settled, confident woman. She has worked had to build a sober and stable life for herself and her daughter Asia. This has happened through the trials and tribulations of the last six books, and the seventh is no different regarding her past life of bikers, prostitues, drugs and druggies returning to haunt her. Asia's aunt reappears in L.A. out of the blue, wanting Asia to meet her children: Charlotte, a very disturbed teen, and Jill, a cheerful girl determined that life will be fine. Very quickly Charlotte goes missing, her mother is arrested, and Munch has an extra child to care for, a job to hold down, thefts to investigate, and her niece to find. At the same time she tries to maintain some sense of normalcy for her daughter. This novel doesn't have the same grit and violence of the previous books, but it does have a more grown up Munch. What has changed is her more confident response to the problems, her circle of friends (including Lou her boss, Mace St. John a cop, and some ex-boyfriends), and her willingness to seek help. I like the more stable Munch who has learned from her past, but seems ready to leave it behind instead of run away from it. I would, however, encourage people to read the earlier books first, to get a better sense of where Munch came from. This is not my favorite of the series, but it is still a good read.
Rating:
Summary: Munch's Past Rears its Ugly Head (Again)
Review: In Munch Mancini's seventh outing readers are introduced to a more settled, confident woman. She has worked had to build a sober and stable life for herself and her daughter Asia. This has happened through the trials and tribulations of the last six books, and the seventh is no different regarding her past life of bikers, prostitues, drugs and druggies returning to haunt her. Asia's aunt reappears in L.A. out of the blue, wanting Asia to meet her children: Charlotte, a very disturbed teen, and Jill, a cheerful girl determined that life will be fine. Very quickly Charlotte goes missing, her mother is arrested, and Munch has an extra child to care for, a job to hold down, thefts to investigate, and her niece to find. At the same time she tries to maintain some sense of normalcy for her daughter. This novel doesn't have the same grit and violence of the previous books, but it does have a more grown up Munch. What has changed is her more confident response to the problems, her circle of friends (including Lou her boss, Mace St. John a cop, and some ex-boyfriends), and her willingness to seek help. I like the more stable Munch who has learned from her past, but seems ready to leave it behind instead of run away from it. I would, however, encourage people to read the earlier books first, to get a better sense of where Munch came from. This is not my favorite of the series, but it is still a good read.
Rating:
Summary: An Intriguing, Original Character Looks Out for Her Family
Review: Most female fictional detectives are bigger than life characters unlike anyone you've met in real life. They are the fictional equivalents of the comic book characters, Wonder Woman and Supergirl.
In Unwilling Accomplice, you meet an unusual Mom . . . but one who resonates with an unexpected amount of reality. She has a job. She has to be sure her daughter gets to and from school and does her homework. Meals have to be made ready. Even the details of her work resonate as she describes the typical mechanical problems that cars had in the 1980s.
But at the same time, Munch Mancini, Ms. Seranella's detective, is also an idealized version of what a modern woman can be. She has beaten drugs, alcohol and harmful relationships with men. Her past has scarred her, but left her stronger for it. She can still be vulnerable and can give love a chance.
Unlike most books about crime, you should primarily read this one for the character development. It's not that the crime story is a bad one; it's that the crime story is secondary to the interesting and inspirational characters.
The crime story is also unusual though in that it involves teenagers, those who actually do more crime than any other age group. You see it from the perspectives of being both a Mom and an Aunt.
The book opens with a troubling scene in which Munch's daughter Asia learns that there's a reason to stick close to your chaperones. Next, Asia's Aunt Lisa appears from out of nowhere (she's been in the Federal Witness Protection Program) along with her daughters, punky looking Charlotte and ideal-kid-like Jill. Lisa's obviously in some sort of trouble, and Munch is soon brought into solve the problems.
Obviously, I think that the book has some weaknesses or I would have rated it higher. The plot itself could have used a lot of work that it didn't receive. In addition, Munch and Lisa's daughters are made to be a little too good to be true which steals power from the characters and the story. Munch's world is filled with ethically black and white people, either very evil or very good. The subtle shadings of reality are missing.
But the book is most enjoyable, and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
Rating: 
Summary: A Protagonist with heart and soul
Review: This is another really strong entry in the series. Munch is such a wonderful character. One of the great pleasures of this series is watching Munch grow and change and attain happiness and security. While she makes mistakes, both in her life and her investigations, she never does anything out of character. You'd never find Munch going down into the basement without a torch. While lesser protagonists are standing nervously at the top of the basement stairs, peering into the darkness; you get the impression that Munch would have gone down the stairs, bashed the bad guy with her torch, and be in the middle of rewiring the basement in case of future problems. I love Munch's way of looking at the world - her sensitivity, empathy, down to earth attitude, and humour. Her relationship with Asia is very special. Barbara Seranella has long been one of my favourite writers and, with each successive entry in the series, her writing just gets better and better.
Rating:
Summary: A Protagonist with heart and soul
Review: This is another really strong entry in the series. Munch is such a wonderful character. One of the great pleasures of this series is watching Munch grow and change and attain happiness and security. While she makes mistakes, both in her life and her investigations, she never does anything out of character. You'd never find Munch going down into the basement without a torch. While lesser protagonists are standing nervously at the top of the basement stairs, peering into the darkness; you get the impression that Munch would have gone down the stairs, bashed the bad guy with her torch, and be in the middle of rewiring the basement in case of future problems. I love Munch's way of looking at the world - her sensitivity, empathy, down to earth attitude, and humour. Her relationship with Asia is very special. Barbara Seranella has long been one of my favourite writers and, with each successive entry in the series, her writing just gets better and better.
Rating:
Summary: tough love
Review: Though family means nothing but heartache, betrayal and trouble to Munch Mancini, she tries to help her adopted daughter Asia come together with her cousins. Still the mechanic and former druggie prostitute wants her child to have everything she did not including a warm caring extended family. Munch even considers a mate so that Asia has the male influence of a father. When the daddy brigade turns up empty, Munch does what she felt was a better choice anyway which is buying Asia a cocker spaniel. Meanwhile Asia's Aunt Lisa Slokum sends her usual friendly message filled with endearing profanities and orders to call. Lisa's preadolescent daughter Jill is Pollyanna while in contrast the older child Charlotte who is teen Goth. That is until she vanishes after a classmate is murdered and may have some stolen goods with her. Munch's former lover police officer Rico Chacon arrests Lisa leaving it up to Munch to mother Jill as well as Asia and to try to keep the still missing Charlotte safe from nasty killing thugs; not an easy task when you have no idea where she is. This is as much a character study as a mystery as readers obtain a deep look at Munch, Asia and the latter's extended family. The suspense is more towards whether Rico is the one than the missing child investigation. Still fans of the series will enjoy the insight into Munch and her widening circle, but also feel a bit disappointed in the lightness of the intrigue. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: as much a character study as a mystery
Review: Though family means nothing but heartache, betrayal and trouble to Munch Mancini, she tries to help her adopted daughter Asia come together with her cousins. Still the mechanic and former druggie prostitute wants her child to have everything she did not including a warm caring extended family. Munch even considers a mate so that Asia has the male influence of a father. When the daddy brigade turns up empty, Munch does what she felt was a better choice anyway which is buying Asia a cocker spaniel. Meanwhile Asia's Aunt Lisa Slokum sends her usual friendly message filled with endearing profanities and orders to call. Lisa's preadolescent daughter Jill is Pollyanna while in contrast the older child Charlotte who is teen Goth. That is until she vanishes after a classmate is murdered and may have some stolen goods with her. Munch's former lover police officer Rico Chacon arrests Lisa leaving it up to Munch to mother Jill as well as Asia and to try to keep the still missing Charlotte safe from nasty killing thugs; not an easy task when you have no idea where she is. This is as much a character study as a mystery as readers obtain a deep look at Munch, Asia and the latter's extended family. The suspense is more towards whether Rico is the one than the missing child investigation. Still fans of the series will enjoy the insight into Munch and her widening circle, but also feel a bit disappointed in the lightness of the intrigue. Harriet Klausner
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