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Rating: 
Summary: Could have been a lot better
Review: I enjoyed this book to some extent but it could have been better. It was very slow and the mystery played out like any other mystery story - in other words, predictable. What I liked about it was the plucky heroine, Desiree Shapiro. She had spirit and guts.
Rating: 
Summary: Another great entry in the series!
Review: I have read all of the Desiree Shapiro mysteries and this is one of the best. Desiree is just so much fun that even if the plot is not too involving, it's great to spend some time with her, having takeout Chinese with her neice Ellen, spending her lunch hour shopping for a new pair of earrings - fans of the series will know what I mean. Desiree is just so down to earth and witty. I can't think of a better way to spend a lazy Sunday that curled up with one of Ms. Eichler's mysteries.
Rating: 
Summary: The Undesirable Desiree
Review: P.I. Desiree Shapiro's rat of an ex-lover is accused of pushing his wife under a subway train, and Desiree sets out to prove him innocent. I won't give away the shatteringly unsurprising ending, which the book ploughs toward without benefit of any real complications to the plot. This bumbling fool of an investigator begins by telling all the suspects right off the bat that they're suspected of being drug runners and murderers. This immediately sets all the suspects on their guard. It might work as an apparently guileless technique, used by someone like Columbo, who is crazy like a fox. But Desiree isn't crazy (which might be interesting), she's merely boring and dense. So-called mysteries of this ilk are responsible for the term "light reading" being applied to the genre. But light reading this is not, as the reader quickly becomes bogged down in a mire of tedious detail. How could an intelligent person possibly be interested in Desiree's vacillations between one dress and another, or her hair problems? While mystery novelists like Robert Parker and Janet Evanovich dress their characters for the reader, there's a purpose to it. It both reveals character and sets the visual scene. In this book, what warrants a phrase occupies paragraphs. Details like this occupy in excess of half the book. The writing is abysmally sloppy. When her creepy ex tells her of his wife's death, he "blew his nose once or twice." Well, was it once, or twice? Later the "once or twice" phrase is repeated in another scene. There are many more examples or poor writing, all too boring and irritating to mention. With all the good mysteries out there to read (so many mysteries, so little time), it's a shame that anyone would waste time on this one. The reader is left wishing wholeheartedly that someone would push Desiree under a train.
Rating:
Summary: Another great entry in the series!
Review: Really love every one of these books. looking forward to the next one but has of yet been unable to find it?? Murder Can Spoil Your Appetite...Does anyone know when it will be available???
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