Rating: 
Summary: School is back in session!
Review: A severely lengthy novel, A DARKER SHADE OF CRIMSON deals with Nikki Chase, former Wall Street raider, now Harvard professor, who stumbles on the dead body of Rozella Fisher while finding her way down the emergency stairwell during a blackout in one of the halls. Nikki does some background history on her friend and finds out that she never had a degree, but she had a position in the finance department of the university. She had a connection with several major players on the campus that she kept to herself, and a disk that held several discrepencies between what was and wasn't counted with the school's budget. These contradictions and how they surrounded Rozella is what propels this mystery along. It's not enough that Nikki's former boyfriend, Dante, moves back into her life, but the fact that he is living in the same building makes it too close for comfort, adding the sexual tension. Again, the book is a long one, and the spaces between the mystery and the ex's can be a little too much at times, but it introduced a new mystery sleuth in a new atmosphere loaded with numerous cracks in the armor, hopefully bringing forth numerous stories.
Rating: 
Summary: LIke Zelig
Review: A very good quick read but it Nikki Chase our heroine seems always to be in the right place at the right time. This type of mystery seems somewhat unreal. It is saved by some terrific characters. I especially enjoyed the Rafe the police man who adopts Nikki
The ending was enjoyable.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable murder mystery
Review: I picked this book up at Barnes and Noble after reading a good reveiw. I enjoy mysteries and romances. I realy enjoyed the way Ms Thomas Graham writes and I will be securing the follow up to this novel. I hope she develops the story of Nikki and Dante and explains what happen in their past.
This book was a good start to an new crime solver. Hopefully Ms Thomas Graham will continue to hone Nikki's skills in this area. It might help if she had som self defense training if she going to be in more dangerous scenes.
Hopefully the next book will develop faster as the author will not have to go into the background of the lead character so much.
I hope to have the new book befor the end of the weekend and I reveiw it also.
Rating:
Summary: A Quick, Fun Read
Review: I ran to the bookstore to pick up a copy of Pamela Thomas-Graham's "A Darker Shade of Crimson" after hearing that it was about black people at Harvard. The book was a quick and fun read that highlighted issues of race, class, and gender in academia while at the same time providing an entertaining plot.1-There were some inaccuracies in the book---such as a line mentioning "the collected works of William Junius Wilson" of whom I have never heard but who seems to be related to "William Julius Wilson." 2-The use of time was a bit ambiguous in the novel. At moments when I felt three weeks had gone by, she reminded me that only 2 days had gone by. 3-There was a bit too much name-dropping, to the point that I am not sure if people who haven't been to Ivy League schools would feel welcome to the book. I don't think I would. 4-Nikki Chase's relationship with Dante Rosario was not clear and/or believable; it was also annoying. 5-The politics of skin color came out well in the character dialogue of the story but Graham was less successful in handling it in the plot. 6-On a "moral" note I was left with the lesson that African Americans need to be excellent at what they do at all times. However, I decided that Nikki Chase was also someone I did not want to become--a woman working for "success" defined in terms of moving up a social hierarchy and getting approval from others. Success should be INWARDLY driven, determined, and evaluated. Thus, I feel like Nikki Chase is headed for therapy and a drastic mid-life crisis if she continues with the life perspective she has. Besides all of that though I thought the plot was captivating. The ending for the murder plot was a bit slow and less dramatic than what I was suspecting. But the ending for the Leo-Ella connection plot was surprising. In addition, I found myself laughing out loud during some parts of the book. Most important, the commentary on the compexities of race, gender, and class in academia were informative without being preachy. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick read and who has some interest in the black middle-class or Ivy League environments. Those who don't, I'd refer you to a different novel before I'd refer you to this one.
Rating:
Summary: Fresh breath of air
Review: I wanted to hate this book. My petty cattiness wanted to pick this book apart due to the fact that the author is a glamorous, educated woman with the world at her feet. The green eyed monster aside, I found the book to be readable but not up to the hype that it has been given. Veronica "Nikki" Chase stumbles over the body of a colleague after a blackout. She then becomes interested in finding out who did it, and why. Along the way there are ex husbands, implied affairs, scandals, and ex boyfriends. Did Pamela Thomas Griffin write this book with Writer's Digest 'Beginnings, Middles & Ends' open on her desk? This book was way too formalistic and predictable. This section is a spoiler, so read only if you don't mind knowing how the book ends. My complaints: A) The best friend Jess. She was so corny, with her 'slang' laced talk. B) The ex-boyfriend, Dante. What was up with him? Was he the equivalent of a black man's blonde eyed trophy? Was he there so she could have a secondary plot? And since Nikki was so irresistible to every man she met, why would she let this guy push her buttons so? He was callous about her feelings, but it seemed that she spent the eight years he was away thinking only of him. C) The fact that Nikki decided to investigate. What was this - a bad episode of Charlie's Angels? There seemed to be no reason for Nikki to stick her nose into the business of Ella's death. I couldn't get find any motivation behind her search. The two had only just become friends at the time of her death, so there wasn't even any reason to suspect foul play. And less we not forget the tragic mulatto. For crying out loud, this is 2001! This passing issue could play about fifty years ago. Some people seem to have an issue with the fact that Nikki had no close friends of color except Maggie. Since she was in Boston I found this to be credible. I did enjoy reading about Harvard and the elite. Since I'll probably never be one of them, it was nice to get a peek at how the other half lives. Borrow this book from a friend or the library. It is not one to own.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book
Review: I was an economics major in college and I loved reading about a beautiful and smart african-american econ major! The Harvard setting was a bonus. I couldn't put the book down. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing Mystery
Review: I was extremely excited to read a Harvard-set mystery featuring an academic sleuth who is both African-American and female. Unfortunately, the mystery (plot, surprises, credibility) is the most flawed aspect of this book, which reads more like a romance novel. I have no doubt that the author knows the territory (she is a graduate of Harvard-Radcliffe), but she has a lot to learn about writing and literature. Too many stereotypes, self-conscious "reversals" of stereotypes... BUT despite what I consider fatal flaws (I'd really rate it at 2 1/2 stars), it's an enjoyable read if you don't mind the Race Relations 101 sociology and the Intro to Feminism yadda-yadda. And isn't it a little odd that every single male at Harvard finds the heroine irresistible? Not nearly dark or well-crafted enough for my taste. However, since I went to graduate school at Yale, I'm going to try BLUE BLOOD, the second in her Ivy League series.
Rating:
Summary: A Quick, Fun Read
Review: In this gripping mystery, Pamela Thomas Graham introduced the world to a new sister sleuth. Graham's characterizations are phenomenal, the writing is flawless, and the storyline is enthralling. I'd encourage anyone looking for a chilling mystery with a thick plot, set in an innovative location to check out A DARKER SHADE OF CRIMSON. Reviewed by CandaceK
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers Complete review can be found on our website...
Rating: 
Summary: Unimaginative mystery, decent writing.
Review: Ms. Thomas-Graham did an admirable job for a first novel. I think it's too long by 100 pages and the "mystery" wasn't too dificult to figure out. [Without giving some things way, one immediately knew who was responsible for the budget discrepancies after the first 30 pages.] As for the death of Ella, if you've read enough mysteries, you could have figured that one out, as well. The writing isn't bad; it's breezy without being pedestrian and I learned a few new words. I think it's the plotting that's the problem: lots of useless information about characters; lots exposition about her specialty (economics) that don't move the story along, and several stereotypical characters (Maggie immediately comes to mind along with Isiah). My central problem: How Nikki reacted every time she came in contact with Dante. It was distracting and unrealistic and in the end, it could have been cut completely from the book. I liked the insights into Harvard (such as they were), but most of those characters came off as stereotypes and nothing in their behavior (words or actions) provided any new or insightful information. As for the antagonist: didn't buy it at all. At page 260, I jumped to the end because, by then, the story was essentially over. I went back and skimmed through the pages I didn't read and I didn't miss a thing. All that said, I'll read the next book in the series because one book doesn't give an author a chance. And while I think the character of Nikki is pretty bland, maybe the author will give her some "umph" in the next and subsequent books as she develops as a writer.
Rating:
Summary: Unimaginative mystery, decent writing.
Review: Ms. Thomas-Graham did an admirable job for a first novel. I think it's too long by 100 pages and the "mystery" wasn't too dificult to figure out. [Without giving some things way, one immediately knew who was responsible for the budget discrepancies after the first 30 pages.] As for the death of Ella, if you've read enough mysteries, you could have figured that one out, as well. The writing isn't bad; it's breezy without being pedestrian and I learned a few new words. I think it's the plotting that's the problem: lots of useless information about characters; lots exposition about her specialty (economics) that don't move the story along, and several stereotypical characters (Maggie immediately comes to mind along with Isiah). My central problem: How Nikki reacted every time she came in contact with Dante. It was distracting and unrealistic and in the end, it could have been cut completely from the book. I liked the insights into Harvard (such as they were), but most of those characters came off as stereotypes and nothing in their behavior (words or actions) provided any new or insightful information. As for the antagonist: didn't buy it at all. At page 260, I jumped to the end because, by then, the story was essentially over. I went back and skimmed through the pages I didn't read and I didn't miss a thing. All that said, I'll read the next book in the series because one book doesn't give an author a chance. And while I think the character of Nikki is pretty bland, maybe the author will give her some "umph" in the next and subsequent books as she develops as a writer.
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