Bait

Rating:
Summary: A fast-paced, pulse-pounding debut!
Review: Bait is an extraordinary first novel... Actually, it is an extraordinary novel. I was hooked from the first page and was unable to put the book down. I like Meg and enjoyed spending time with her. Meg, an ex-cop, runs a security business with her friend, Mike, and is drawn into intrigue when she is unable to find him. The book was filled with twists and turns, delightful characters, suspense, sexual tension, excitement and some delicious surprises. I devoured Bait and Hook in a couple of days, and I recommend you have Hook on hand when you start Bait, because you won't want to take the time to run to the bookstore.

Rating:
Summary: Read It!
Review: C. J. Songer's crisp style of writing nicely fits her story and her characters. And what great characters she has created. Reilly and Meg are flawed but so darn likeable. I found myself wanting to get to know them better. I just finished reading "Bait" and I plan to purchase "Hook" as soon as possible. If you are perusing the reviews to decide whether or not to read "Bait" my advice is, read it!

Rating:
Summary: An engrossing, but slightly convoluted read!
Review: CJ Songer's Bait is an excellent book. Finally a female protagonist that is intelligent, unpredictable, and very courageous. Meg is calm and collected in the face of the intrique that surrounds her. What I enjoyed most was that she wasn't the typical shrinking violet heroine that ends up relying on a man or men to fix everything, she's well equipped to do that job herself. C.J. Songer has created a new a very fresh female character that is very 90's and will definitely wear well into the next century.

Rating:
Summary: Definitely Hooked
Review: I bought Bait and Hook based on reader reviews and am glad I bought both at the same time because I didn't have to race out and buy the second. I did have to go back and re-read once in awhile to catch on to what Meg was saying or doing. Does it detract from the books? No. You (and the other characters) think Meg is going to do one thing by her actions, but she usually manages to surprise both. Meg's relationships with her partner Mike and the investigating cop Reilly are believable and add a great deal to the story. My only disappointment is learning from C.J.'s website that we have to wait until Fall of 2003 for the next in the series.

Rating:
Summary: Definitely Hooked
Review: Meg Gillis is a former cop working at a small Beverly Hills security firm. She receives a call from a Mr. Houratanian who demands to speak to her partner Mike. Meg has not heard from Mike in days and is afraid to learn what he has cooked up now. In order to distract herself from her thoughts she offers to help. The caller lets her know that his son has been kidnapped and he does not want to involve the police. Once she arrives to the scene she discovers that the police had already arrived and Mr. Houratanian has no idea what is going on. He says that no kidnapping has taken place and that all this was a mistake. Meg should have just ignored the situation but instead she decides to put her two cents and try to figure out what is going on.

Ms. Songer's character is very annoying. The author considers herself to be the next Virginia Woolf by having us learn everything through Meg's stream of consciousness. The reader is expected to catch up and the heck with everything else. One of the most perplexing scenes involve her mentioning a character named Josh. It is not until sixty pages later in the book that we learn that Josh is her stepson. Is it so hard to say `my stepson, Josh' when first introducing him.

The title of the book is misleading. It is not until three-quarters of the book that any reference is made in using Meg Gillis as a lure. The Bait here is getting people to purchase her book.

Rating:
Summary: She¿s the Bait and that¿s not Good
Review: Security specialist and former police officer Meg Gillis knows her partner Mike sometimes does side jobs that are less than respectable, but she looks the other way. Then he disappears.

When she finds his apartment ransacked and blood smeared on the walls, she hits the streets with the cops hot on her tail. The same thing happens at her house, with one big difference, there's a body in her bed. To find Mike and to find the killer, Meg unwittingly becomes the bait.

This is an excellent first novel that had me reading through a rainy Sunday. When I finished the sun was going down and all of a sudden I wondered where the day went.

Review submitted by Captain Katie Osborne

Rating:
Summary: A Fine New Mystery Series
Review: This book introduces the series character, Meg Gillis. She is an ex-cop, a cop's widow, and the partner in a home/business security firm with another ex-cop. She's not a lighthearted, wisecracking heroine. She's had a lot of pain in her life and it has scarred her. Her partner disappears, possibly due to what looks like involvement with police corruption, and she becomes a suspect. The story chronicles her ever-changing role in the investigation and her dealings with the complex personalities involved.

What intrigued me by this book, as I got further and further into it was that my impression of Meg Gillis was being built up by her words and actions, not by an author-provided description of her looks or her setting. It seemed to me that Ms. Songer really managed to describe the mindset of an ex-cop, one who views the world from the feminine perspective rather than the masculine, but who is forced deal with the masculine preconceptions of the cop's world.

The writing style in this book is spare and to the point. You have to pay attention to the nuances of the characters. This serves to create tension nicely and forces you to try to puzzle out what is exactly going on, and who, if anyone, Meg can trust. There are a lot of twists and turns in this story, and the pace is maintained throughout the book. This was a good debut novel about an interesting character, and I'm looking forward to reading the second book in the series.

Rating:
Summary: "Bait" is engrossing!
Review: This is the first book I read of hers. I began this book and couldn't put it down. C.J. Songer's characters draw you in and keep you facinated. I immediately went out and bought her 2nd book. Now I have the miserable task of waiting for the 3rd book in this series!

Rating:
Summary: Too many unexplained leaps
Review: Wow! I'm so glad I found this book (and author). For mystery lovers, it doesn't get any better than this! It sounds cliche, but I REALLY couldn't put this book down. It is so fast-paced, action packed, and even sexy. The author peels away the layers page by page until....the ultimate conclusion.

I cannot say enough good things. Read this novel today, but set aside a whole day, cause you won't be able to stop!