Rating: 
Summary: Interesting plot
Review: Intrepid private investigator Carlotta Carlyle is approached by a man who claims that he has received a manuscript written by a girl who disappeared as a young teenager some 24 years ago. The girl, Thea Janis, wrote a brilliant and successful book at a very early age and then disappeared. When Carlotta begins to investigate, she finds that Thea was reported dead many years ago. She begins to investigate Thea's wealthy and politically-active family and begins to uncover some skeletons in the closet. She works with her old police buddy, Mooney, and after several red herrings, begins to unravel a tangled web of lies and deceit that run very deep in Thea's family. Some of the familiar elements of this series are missing in this book. Carlotta plays nary a game of volleyball and her little sister Paolina is absent until the very end of the book. A parting of the ways occurs between Carlotta and her current lover with suddenness and fury over a seemingly minor matter. Also, the presence of Paolina's father lurks furtively in the shadows, but never really makes an impact on the story. Other than this, readers should enjoy this entry in the series.
Rating: 
Summary: Fresh, exciting, intellilgent.
Review: Linda Barnes does it again. Such a tight, intriguing, carefully drawn plot. The characters are fresh and intelligent. The roller coaster action hangs together without distraction - so difficult to do. And Carlotta Carlyle, woman detective par excellence, has not become brown and jagged with age. Boston makes for an interesting setting.
Rating:
Summary: Her best book so far
Review: Of all the current crop of female PIs, Linda Barnes' CarlottaCarlyle may just be the best:.... This is her best book so far: cunningly plotted, beautifully written, believable and likeable. Read it once for the plot, twice for Carlyle herself. Added bonus: Barnes is the only writer I know who can talk knowledgably about music without making it seem like she's showing off.
Rating:
Summary: Her best book so far
Review: Of all the current crop of female PIs, Linda Barnes' CarlottaCarlyle may just be the best:.... This is her best book so far: cunningly plotted, beautifully written, believable and likeable. Read it once for the plot, twice for Carlyle herself. Added bonus: Barnes is the only writer I know who can talk knowledgably about music without making it seem like she's showing off.
Rating: 
Summary: the long journey is not up tp the destination
Review: The ending was the same as so many other books along the same line that I was sorely disappointed. Especially because there were many opportunities for it to turn into something a little less predictable. A saving grace was CJ Critt's narration. )I listened to BOT). It almost made the characters interesting. This was my first Carlotta Carlyle mystery and probably my last.
Rating: 
Summary: Verrrrrry Slooooow
Review: This book, unlike the entire rest of the Carlotta Carlyle series (and I have read them all), bored me to tears. If I did not have a "thing" about reading every single entry in any series I like, I would never have finished the book. The good news is, since I read it out of sequence, I know that the slowness of the plot is an anomoly...the only one in the series to be just about impossible to finish. But finish it I did.The plot concerns the sudden appearance of an unpublished manuscript by Thea Janis, a teenaged prodigy who wrote a shocking blockbuster hit, "Nightmare's Dawn," a couple of decades earlier, before apparently killing herself at the tender age of 15. Carlotta is hired by a Dr. Manley, a "friend of the family" who is now convinced that Thea is alive, and who wants Carlotta to--very discreetly--find her. Manley is absolutely firm in his belief that Thea is still alive, and although Carlotta strongly doubts it, her subsequent sleuthing brings her closer and closer to one of the most prominent Boston families, one of whom is running a close race for governor. Sounds tailor-made for a great read, right? Wrong. There are so many red herrings, side stories, wrong turns, threads that go nowhere and endless musings, I had to stop reading for days at a time. Several times, I thought to myself, "Now THIS is a perfect ending for the book." But nooo.....it went on and on and on and on into many such endings, until it finally limped to a disappointing conclusion. I forgive Linda Barnes, because I love her writing and I love her series. I'm going to put this down to panic over a printing deadline and forget all about it. My suggestion: If you have read the entire series and you are a purist about reading every last page (like I am), go ahead, but be warned. If you are an occasional Linda Barnes reader, and you like what you have read, skip this one, by all means.
Rating:
Summary: Verrrrrry Slooooow
Review: This book, unlike the entire rest of the Carlotta Carlyle series (and I have read them all), bored me to tears. If I did not have a "thing" about reading every single entry in any series I like, I would never have finished the book. The good news is, since I read it out of sequence, I know that the slowness of the plot is an anomoly...the only one in the series to be just about impossible to finish. But finish it I did. The plot concerns the sudden appearance of an unpublished manuscript by Thea Janis, a teenaged prodigy who wrote a shocking blockbuster hit, "Nightmare's Dawn," a couple of decades earlier, before apparently killing herself at the tender age of 15. Carlotta is hired by a Dr. Manley, a "friend of the family" who is now convinced that Thea is alive, and who wants Carlotta to--very discreetly--find her. Manley is absolutely firm in his belief that Thea is still alive, and although Carlotta strongly doubts it, her subsequent sleuthing brings her closer and closer to one of the most prominent Boston families, one of whom is running a close race for governor. Sounds tailor-made for a great read, right? Wrong. There are so many red herrings, side stories, wrong turns, threads that go nowhere and endless musings, I had to stop reading for days at a time. Several times, I thought to myself, "Now THIS is a perfect ending for the book." But nooo.....it went on and on and on and on into many such endings, until it finally limped to a disappointing conclusion. I forgive Linda Barnes, because I love her writing and I love her series. I'm going to put this down to panic over a printing deadline and forget all about it. My suggestion: If you have read the entire series and you are a purist about reading every last page (like I am), go ahead, but be warned. If you are an occasional Linda Barnes reader, and you like what you have read, skip this one, by all means.
Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable weekend read.
Review: This is the first book I have read by Linda Barnes. It was a good story with some surprising plot twists. It wasn't so suspenseful that it kept me glued to the book, but the author did a great job of portraying your average dysfunctional wealthy family. The female P.I. (ex-cop) protagonist, Carlotta Carlyle, doesn't come in with guns ablazing, but she gets the job done (sometimes quite humorously).
Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable weekend read.
Review: This is the first book I have read by Linda Barnes. It was a good story with some surprising plot twists. It wasn't so suspenseful that it kept me glued to the book, but the author did a great job of portraying your average dysfunctional wealthy family. The female P.I. (ex-cop) protagonist, Carlotta Carlyle, doesn't come in with guns ablazing, but she gets the job done (sometimes quite humorously).
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