Rating: 
Summary: A definite "guilty pleasure"
Review: The Sam Jones series of suspense novels by Lauren Henderson was recommended to me by an editor at Amazon.com, and I decided to take a chance and purchase the earliest one available (the actual first in the series "Dead White Female", appears to be out of print) as a gift to my 21 year old daughter, who enjoys books with a female protagonist. She liked the book very much, so I read it, and I also enjoyed it. Sam Jones is not the typical female character, but rather an independent, single person who lets nothing stand in her way when she has the scent of a good mystery. The tale is well-told, with a number of interesting characters and minor plots. The mystery is rather straight-forward, but that's all right with me: I'm not engaged in a guessing game with the author, I just like to read the book. Some references to things only known by British readers tends to be puzzling, but I'm sure overseas readers of American books have the same problem. This is well done, and a good diversion for a few hours at any time of year.
Rating:
Summary: Something a little different
Review: This book was something different compared to all of the other mysteries out there. The fact that the heroine was far from perfect was a refreshing change. I'm already half way thru Freeze Margarita and am looking forward to the next books in the series. This one I am keeping on my shelf. I would definitely recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: What's not to like about a tart-tongued, rubber-clad sleuth?
Review: This is a fun mystery. Her U.S. debut finds Sam Jones having sculpted a giant mobile called Floating Planet (though she thinks of it as Thing III) for a prestigious London bank. During the unveiling party, Sam meets (and covets) a banker named Sebastian. Bill, a security guard she frequently chatted with during the sculpture's creation, collapses at the party. He mutters a few intriguing words to Sam before losing consciousness, implying that one of the people in the room has been blackmailing him. Sam joins Sebastian's clique, hoping to bed him and discover who might have nudged Bill to an early grave. Of the two goals, bedding Sebastian takes priority.Sam's entree into Sebastian's privileged world coincides with her semi-estrangement from her usual crowd. One of her closest friends has acquired a New Ager girlfriend who's sucked the life out of him and concealed the damage with a goat hair sweater. Other friends are similarly distracted, allowing Sam to concentrate on her new pals. When one is found dead underneath Sam's squished mobile, she takes personal offense, and steps up her investigation. I must have liked Sam because I wasn't annoyed that almost every male in the book comes on to her, a conceit that usually annoys me in other books. I did wonder at her decision not to go to the hospital to see Bill before he died. She chooses instead to get extremely drunk with Sebastian & company. I also thought her libido was a bit too closely tied to her suspicions. If she found a male dishy, she was inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt. Thus it's a given that her investigation centers around the clique's females -- the bank president's twin daughters, Suki and Bells (a.k.a. Susan and Belinda). They have everything money can buy but little else. Suki in particular is so starved for friendship that she eagerly responds to Sam's kindly overtures. This is a fun read, particularly after the second death, when things really get going. Sam finds that the glitziest wrappings may conceal particularly sordid contents. She's a great tourguide. She fits in well enough, but brings an outsider's perspective. Not much gets past her, no matter what chemicals she's doused her brain with that night. (Gotta enjoy her chat with the police in which she keeps being handed beers. Of course, she *has* been having an on-off affair with the copper questioning her) Though Sam always has time for fun, her investigation proceeds on the strength of her wits and her persistence.
Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely brilliant!
Review: This is the book you must read if you have a sense of humor and know just a little about the English and their finely knitted social roles. Henderson's heroine Sam, is a gutsy, intelligent and believable character - complete with all those flaws that we all do our best to gloss. Make sure that you don't have to get up early the next morning - 'cause this book will keep you turning the pages until way past sleeping time!
Rating: 
Summary: Slow moving, unbelievable and boring
Review: Very little happens in this book. It is boring and pointless. The story is highly unbelievable too.
Rating:
Summary: A new 'out there' protagonist
Review: Yeah, this Sam Jones dudette is a bit different from your other on-edge heroines - and it's all for the benefit of your reading pleasure. An sexy urban sculptress in a black rubber dress - who could resist? Good plot, good mystery, stellar lady sleuth.
It's good. Read it.
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