Rating: 
Summary: Best Seller???!!!???!!!
Review: I can't believe I swallowed the hype and bought this turkey. I only finished reading it because I thought it had to get better. I would rather read a stack of junior high poetry contest submissions than anything by this author. When I finish a book, I usually pass it on to someone I have recommended it to. I don't want to offend anyone, so this thing is going in the trash where it belongs. Don't waste your money or your time. Next time I will check the reviews at Amazon.
Rating:
Summary: the plot itself could make a movie on Lifetime or Oxygen
Review: do yourself a favor - don't waste your time with this book.
Rating:
Summary: Exit Wounds
Review: Don't waste your money! I only finished it because I paid full price for it. Writing is terrible, 5th grade level at best. If this is the best book you've read, the bar is ready to be raised. Last one I'll read by this author...there's much more out there.
Rating: 
Summary: A orphan's triumph
Review: Exit Wounds
is a disturbing book for envious cat and ferret owners to read. Although tragic, on a heartwarming level it is likely to be appreciated by 'committed' dog owners. It deals with the abusive deaths of a dozen innocent dogs slain by an incompetent who under- ventilates a shelter, then leaves the dogs, toilet seat down, confined in the overheated desert with the unbearable stench of an unpalatable dead human. A corrupt lawperson illegally takes the sole underaged survivor home as a potential sex slave of a family friend instead of properly consulting a kindly officer entrusted with such problems, herself a victim of the lawperson's budgetary mismanagment. The survivor is found in a makeshift shelter outside, where fortunately much of the psychological damage of vicious loss of the entire community was minimized. Although swift justice to the corrupt official is thwarted through political influence, the incompetent dog killer is at last punished. By pluck and personality the survivor ascends to a role as a security advisor to the now-contrite lawperson, which leads in turn to a rewarding career.
B. Musemeus
Rating:
Summary: Excruciating Reading
Review: For all the hype, (NY Times Bestseller??!!!), I was absolutley floored by how bad this book was. The writing is so poor I had trouble concentrating on the plot, which was probably a good thing.
How many times can each character say something "grimly"? Other repetitions with adjectives, verbs and adverbs (often in the same paragraph) drove me to distraction. Someone please buy Jance a Thesaurus.
Conversations between characters were vacuous, and Joanna's thoughts in italics were just plain stupid. Did I mention the exclamation points? That's 12th grade stuff, folks. Who the heck was the editor on this book?
The only mystery about this book was why I read the whole thing. Guess I wanted to see how truly bad it was, and I was not disappointed.
If you want good tight writing and twisting plots, try Karin Slaughter's books.
Rating:
Summary: Do yourself a favor and pass on this piece of garbage
Review: I also bought the hype of NYTimes Best Seller. Goes to show you some people have really bad taste. The story was promising and could have been exciting without the awful dialog. It seems like the author was being paid by the word - too much repetition, entire scenes which added nothing to the story, etc. I would NEVER purchase another book by this author. Glad it's over and this ones in the trash can... Charlie
Rating:
Summary: Enticing, yet not exciting
Review: I was able to maintain a high level of interest in this story of a female sheriff investigating the murder of a indigent woman with multiple pets in rural Arizona. While not an "edge of your seat" thriller, this book presents what I would compare to a good detective TV series. Joanna Brady is an interesting character who you will like to get to know (or continue to know if you follow the series). In addition to the main plot, you get to follow Joanna's day to day challenges with her family and other police duties. The main plot does keep you wondering as any classic whodunnit would, with some, unfortunately predictable twists. Some may get annoyed with the authors more than subtle message about animal cruelty. The 1 star harsh reviews noted here are not a fair representation of the quality of the book. This was my first Jance book and it prompted me to buy others, including the thriller series.
Rating:
Summary: Sooo Lifetime!
Review: If you like this book you will probably like "Bless the Child" by Cathy Cash Spellman. They are very similar. This book can be summed up in one word, simple: simple-minded, simple characters, simple plot (applied loosely), and simple premise. What a contrived piece of garbage!
I can't describe everything wrong with this book because there's not enough time. If it's meant to be a mystery it sucks because you figure out who did it about halfway through. If it's meant to empower women it sucks because the women are either victims, in denial, weak, worried about what everyone thinks, or oblivious. If it's meant to promote animal adoptions it sucks because the author's plea for that is irritating. That's how bad this book is! It can make an animal lover say that its plea for more animal adoptions was annoying.
This author has no style. The book reads like an episode of inside edition. There is no immersion into the story. The total lack of character development leaves you with no compassion for them. As a reader I felt completely outside the story; an uncaring observer of a poorly described scenario. The attempts to tug at my heartstrings were laughable. I've been more moved by the appearance of colorful weeds on my lawn. The only reason I read the whole thing was that my neighbor recommended it and loaned it to me. Do not waste your time.
I must say though that this novel was inspirational. If this crap can make the best seller list, it gives me hope that my original fiction might get published.
Rating: 
Summary: Tough message and a good read
Review: Other reviewers have discussed the plot. Sheriff Brady is called to the scene of a woman's murder. Detectives discover seventeen dogs in the woman's house, all of whom suffocated to death. The dead woman turns out to be Carol Mossman, who has held a series of low-paying inconsequential jobs before ending up in this trailer owned by her grandmother. Jance, a seasoned best-selling author, plays fair with the readers while delivering a page-turner. We look over Sheriff Brady's shoulder as she investigates. Two newswomen were murdered in the same style: is a serial killer loose? What was Mossman trying to keep quiet? And what is the role of her definitely
dysfunctional family? Although the mystery holds attention, the real action takes place in Sheriff Brady's personal life. By marrying her off to a novelist who does the housework, author Jance has avoided the fate of most married detective heroines: losing their edge. Husband Butch cooks great meals and raises teenage daugher Jenny, while her mother continues to disapprove of whatever Sheriff Brady does, on or off the job.
And early in the book, Joanna Brady gets a surprise that will create interesting subplots in volumes to come. Jance's novel goes down as smooth as a good scotch. She's a real pro even when she delivers a searing message. As a dog-lover, she must have had a hard time writing about the way dogs suffer, and it's not surprising that the Brady household acquires more dogs during hte course of the action. I think the author's heart was touched as much as her heroine's. I'm not surprised by the number of women who appear here: a female sheriff, a minister, and more. It's not uncommon to experience women in those roles. By creating a superman husband, Jance allows her heroine to focus on her sheriff role, bypassing traditional female obligations. The characters don't have the staying power of other heroines, such as Anna Pigeon or Bennie Rosato. The focus is on action, no-nonsense and get-the-job-done. This approach may be anchored in the author's southwestern roots, where tough women work on ranches, ride horseback and do their jobs. Jance herself comes across as tough and straight-shooting (I saw her sign books in Tucson). Sandra Day O'Connor is cut from the same cloth. Heroine Joanna Brady would probably find a soul sister in Shirley McClintock, heroine of the series by B. J. Oliphant, or Texana Jones, Allana Martin's heroine . You may not agree with their southwestern values, which remain conservative in many ways. But you have to respect their grit and determination to get the job done. And you have to respect the skill of author J. A. Jance, who makes it look easy.
Rating:
Summary: moves at a slow pace
Review: Sheriff Brady is faced with an interesting mystery involving three dead bodies connected by bullets from almost a century ago. This has the makings of a very good mystery, but the book moves at too slow of a pace. Meanwhile, our hero battles morning sickness as she and Butch are starting their own family (is this the beginning of the end of the series as we know it?). The side stories are not as good in this book as they are in most of the Brady books. Overall, I was disappointed.
|
