Party Crashers

Rating:
Summary: A Letdown
Review: I quickly picked up this book when I saw it was another Stephanie Bond. I have really enjoyed her books in the past. In this book, however, I was never on board with the romance piece. It seemed rushed and poorly formed. Hope the next book is better.

Rating:
Summary: I couldn't put the book down!
Review: I thought this book had everything to offer from suspense to romance to learning how to crash a party! I thoughouly enjoyed this book and will continue to read more of Ms. Bond's books.

Rating:
Summary: fine mixing of humor and love within in a crime thriller
Review: Realtor Jolie Goodman quit her job over her new boss demanding she do an unethical act in order to make a sale. Jolie temporarily sells shoes at the Nieman Marcus in Atlanta's Lenox Mall. There she meets Beck Underwood of Underwood Broadcasting, who needs socks and shoes having just returned from Central America. The duo is attracted to one another, but nothing comes of it not jus because she is working, but police Detective Salyers arrives to question Jolie about her missing boyfriend Gary Hagan, whose car was found in the Chattahoochee with a dead woman inside.

The police suspect that Jolie abetted Gary in his escape though she denies involvement. As Detective Salyers searches for Gary, he quietly warns Jolie to watch herself as he is in danger and she might be. Meanwhile she runs into Beck at an event that she crashes and soon they begin to fall in love. However, after Gary, she has doubts about her taste in men besides which she is in danger from people who believe she has something of Gary's that they want at any cost.

Though the police procedural-Gary subplot in many ways takes center stage and the conspiracy behind all this is overdone, the contemporary romance between Jolie and Beck is well written and cleverly interwoven with the case. The support cast adds depth especially those co-workers like the ultra-tall long necked professional party crasher who mentors the heroine in the arts of attending celebrity events for free. Fans will appreciate this mixing of humor and love within in a crime thriller while attending an advanced class in Party Crashing 301.

Harriet Klausner