Rating: 
Summary: Too Good To Miss
Review: As I read the opening pages of Too Big to Miss, I found myself imagining Odelia Grey as Stephanie Plum's long long sister -- older, wiser, and definitely larger, but every bit as much fun as she faces a world that has dealt her more than her fair share of hurt. However, as Odelia is forced to deal with the startling and lurid suicide of a dear friend, such comparisons were forgotten. I was drawn into Odelia's world and into her pain as she deals with learning the dark secrets of a friend she once idolized. As the mystery unfolds with page-turning speed, Odelia becomes more than just a wise-cracking voice, but a fully realized person I was sorry to say goodbye to. I hope the next Odelia Grey mystery comes out soon.
Rating:
Summary: Old Genre - New Twist
Review: I am not generally a fan of mystery genre but I'll make an enthusiastic exception for this writer! She's got style and panasch... and and she has something to say! Anyone who has lived with the pain, discouragement (not to mention socially acceptable discrimination) of being overweight, or otherwise mildly "different" (the "soft" minorities), will find special treasures here.
Rating:
Summary: Old Genre - New Twist
Review: I am not generally a fan of mystery genre but I'll make an enthusiastic exception for this writer! She's got style and panasch... and and she has something to say! Anyone who has lived with the pain, discouragement (not to mention socially acceptable discrimination) of being overweight, or otherwise mildly "different" (the "soft" minorities), will find special treasures here.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Gift
Review: I did not read this book but just got a call from my mother who did. I live in Southern California and happened to see the author at a cool little store in Old Town Monrovia (Mystic Sisters) that featured Sue Anne signing her book in front of the store. Since my mother likes mysteries and with the bonus of having it signed by the author, I bought it on a whim and it went back to Ohio with me to be a gift for mom during my Christmas visit.Apparently, she finally got around to reading the book and just called with an "order" for anything else that Sue Anne has written (& she is now spoiled and hopes I can get signed copies)! She loved the book's main character and said that she found it very engrossing literally from cover to cover. I guess I know what I am going to be looking for this mother's day!
Rating:
Summary: Too Big to Miss
Review: I like mysteries. The fact that the main character was a paralegal definitely attracted me to this, but after the first few pages, digesting the rest was up there with a visit to the dentist. The story itself wasn't bad: woman solves the mystery of her friend's murder, finds love. What was terrible were the so-called "size acceptance" references throughout the book, meaning that fat women are beautiful and thin women are not. All the so-called "evil" characters, with the exception of one, were thin women. Ms. Jaffarian has just alienated potential readers, as I would have happily read her next book, except I don't want to deal with the "size acceptance" stuff, which in reality is thin-bashing. Guess what? Thin women are paralegals and mystery-readers, too.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderfully fun and eloquent read!
Review: I ordered this book because it was recommended by Amazon.com as a "you might like this if you liked . . ." from Lynne Murray's books. I have read all of Ms Murray's books and eagerly anticipate her next installment due this summer.
I am now hooked on Odelia Grey as well.
Ms Jaffarian writes wonderfully with great unforced detail and original metaphors. Her characters suck you in to care about them from page 1.
Not only is this a great mystery but it also takes to task a cause near and dear to my heart -- fat prejudice. Odelia shares many of the feelings, fears and negative self talk prevalent in the mind of the plus-sized female in our thin obsessed society. Throughout Odelia's journey in finding out answers to her friend's death, she grows stronger and more self assured as a person.
This book is a great mystery all by itself but if you are a plus-sized woman, it is a must read!
Rating:
Summary: A wonderfully fun and eloquent read!
Review: I ordered this book because it was recommended by Amazon.com as a "you might like this if you liked . . ." from Lynne Murray's books. I have read all of Ms Murray's books and eagerly anticipate her next installment due this summer.
I am now hooked on Odelia Grey as well.
Ms Jaffarian writes wonderfully with great unforced detail and original metaphors. Her characters suck you in to care about them from page 1.
Not only is this a great mystery but it also takes to task a cause near and dear to my heart -- fat prejudice. Odelia shares many of the feelings, fears and negative self talk prevalent in the mind of the plus-sized female in our thin obsessed society. Throughout Odelia's journey in finding out answers to her friend's death, she grows stronger and more self assured as a person.
This book is a great mystery all by itself but if you are a plus-sized woman, it is a must read!
Rating:
Summary: A "Must Read" for the Mystery Lover
Review: I was pleasantly surprised to find a book by a new author that kept my interest from cover to cover. The storyline was both suspenseful and cleaver. As an avid reader of another mystery author (MHC), this book is in the same class! As usual, I tried to solve the mystery before the end of the book, and this book was so cleaverly written, I was fooled up to the very end. I am looking forward to many more stories by Sue Ann Jaffarian and her main character, Odelia Grey - who is Too Big Too Miss!!!
Rating:
Summary: Breaks sterotypes as well as tells a good mystery story
Review: This is a mystery novel by a brand new writer, Sue Ann Jaffarian and, like the author, the lead character, Odelia Grey, is a paralegal in Southern California. Odelia is in her late forties, single, 5'1" and 215 pounds. She's lived a lifetime of prejudice about her size but, as a mature woman, she's not going to take it anymore. She and her circle of friends have a support group and are slowly but surely accepting themselves for who they are and taking a stand against the discrimination against them. Odelia is shocked and upset when the leader of their group, Sophie London, supposedly commits suicide. And she is even more surprised when she discovers that Sophie had a porn website and shot herself in front of her viewers. Besides grief, what's a gal to do? What follows is a tight, well-plotted story, with enough twists and turns to keep me up past my bedtime. I really liked it, and that's saying a lot, because I'm not a big fan of mysteries. However, "Too Big to Miss" goes far and beyond the story. With a sense of both humor and mastery over her material, Ms. Jaffarian has something to say about the politically correct prejudice against fat people as well as the bias against anyone who is different. In the book, there's a romance between Odelia and a paraplegic, Greg Stevens. Gently, we are reminded of the humanity of these characters, while never once forgetting the strong story line of the plot. We root for Odelia in her quest for the murderer, and we also root for her as she breaks stereotypes and establishes a relationship. She's not only a good detective, but also an inspiration to anyone who has ever felt "different". I thank Ms. Jaffarian for writing this book and look forward to her next. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Too BIg To Miss by Sue Ann Jaffarian
Review: This was my first novel by Sue Ann and I was astounded by how she grabbed me with the first page and by the time I was 4 or 5 pages into the book I was totally hooked. This is a wonderful read and I can't wait to read more by this fantastic author. Too Big To Miss is the first novel in the Odeila Grey mysteries series. Odeila Grey is a middle-aged woman of size. She finds her life turned up side down when she receives news that a close friend a size-activist leader has committed suicide. Odeila finds it hard to believe that her friend would do such a thing but the suicide was viewed by dozens of people during a live web cast for an X-rated website. Odeila is compelled to get to the bottom of her friends' apparent suicide and has to dig deep into her past. A lot of what she finds out is a shock and doesn't make sense. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can't wait for the second instalment. This is a great mystery in fact one of the best I have read and it kept me on the edge of my seat from page one.
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