I've been a fan of Jennifer Crusie's for a long time now; as for Bob Mayer, I leapt to fandom with the release of the first collaboration between these two ~ Don't Look Down. In fact, the two books written by this duo are the only books that I actually happily got in hardcover ~ and that's a rarity indeed.
I've got two of Mayer's Dave Riley books and I'm seriously looking for the rest... but I have to say that they're extremely hard to come across. The two that I do have I got from his website.
As funny as Crusie's stories are, Mayer's are serious thrillers, but the two of them combined write killer stories that just cannot be read, at least by me, without a great deal of semi-hysterical laughter and plenty of out-and-out guffawing. Man, hard to believe that two such diverse authors can write stories that are seamlessly crafted stories and seem to be very much the work of one marvelously talented author.
RATING:
Excellence: Excellent to Outstanding ~ 4.5 stars
Steaminess: Sensual
BOOK READ:
Jennifer Crusie & Bob Mayer; Agnes and the Hitman; St. Martin's Press; Aug 2007
SYNOPSIS:
Agnes Crandall's life is all about cooking ~ and getting ready to put on a wedding that will either make or break her. So when an armed thug shows up looking to kidnap her dog, she figures that's about as bad as it's going to get... little does she know that this is just the beginning of a week that takes her life from comfortable to outrageous to unbelievable. Oh, did I mention that she not only uses frying pans to cook fabulous food, but they make an extremely handy, and satisfying, weapon?.
Shane ~ just Shane ~ has been called by his uncle to come take care of his "little" Agnes. But Shane's life doesn't seem to be going any better than Agnes'... he missed the last hit he was hired to do, his boss is definitely holding back a lot of pertinent information, and "little" Agnes, is so not little, but oh she's one sexy lady.
MY NOTES:
Oh man... my stomach was killing me ~ and I was definitely scaring my family. But, true to Crusie's humour, this story was a laugh-fest... and even when you were maybe supposed to take it seriously, you just knew that, lurking around the corner, was yet another episode of belly laughs just lying in wait. And I could hardly wait. In fact, I was up past 1 a.m. ~ and having to get up at 6 ~ before I just couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.
This story was totally irresisitible and, even knowing how different the two authors are that co-wrote this, I could not separate what he wrote, she wrote. The characters are full and rich, the action is non-stop and amazingly hilarious, and the mystery ~ there is a mystery ~ was excellent. I'd read this book again, right now, just because I know that, while laughing myself silly, I missed a few tidbits here and there. But I will be re-reading this book, so all's good.
Books read in March: 33
Har / Sil ~ 25
Others ~ 8
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kalyko ~ Reading: One of life's little joys and a much needed reward!
Congratulations on reaching your first double-oh milestone
Kathy
now with a little extra effort you could catch up with me
Hugs
Sadhbh
May's Member of the Month
Dream Team 2008 Challenge blogs
WTG
Wtg on reaching 100. fantastic job. sounds like a great read for the 100 spot.
Christa ~ Quiet Canadians ~ 2008 Challenge Blog
My Shelfari Page
Uh, yeah... sure!
Sadhbh,
you slay me... with your humour! Boy if I could catch up, I'd be there already....
But I'm quite pleased with my progress, even though I'm down around 20 or so books. Last year by the end of MarchI had read 123 books... but my babysitting schedule was much different; I'm still pleased with my numbers... and more importantly, with the books that I've read.
Christa,
thank you... and, unlike last year, I really did put thought into my "00" read. When I saw this book I knew it was the right one... for one thing I've had it since it was released last August. So, score one for me reading one of my older TBR books as well!
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kalyko ~ Reading: One of life's little joys and a much needed reward!
stop whining
noone will ever catch up to Sadhbh - she is amazing ..... I only have 37 so far.... Congratulations on the 100... it is a great goal to reach even if it is less than last year.
I love this author too and the collaboration widens her humor.
Christa ... love your animated gif. did you createit yourself? with what program?
Jeannie
Yes I am a readalholic and I don't want the 12 step program!!!
Jeanie
nope that's one from photobucket.
Christa ~ Quiet Canadians ~ 2008 Challenge Blog
My Shelfari Page
Congrats on 100!!!
Looks like you picked a great book, too!!
"I would be the most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves"...Anna Quindlen
First off, Congratulations!
Way to go and keep reading, our numbers aren't climbing fast enough. Wasn't this one great? My animals thought I was crazy when I read this. I couldn't stop laughing. Didn't this one have the flamingo? Okay I'm laughing again thinking about the basement.
The D2K Paranormal Junkies ~ 2008 Book Challenge Blog
WOW .... first 100!
Congrats on your 100th Read! ...... awesome!
~~ KatherineT ~~ I'm a Harlequin Addict, and I'm proud of it!
~~ Quiet Canadians ~ 2008 Book Challenge Blog
Thank you... thank you very much....
LOL Jeannie, Oh I know... I was pretty cured of that last year when I first "met" Sadhbh... and it shocked the he!! outta my husband that there are people that read faster and more than I. And even though my numbers are a little less, I'm still pleased... I've got so much other stuff going on in my days now, it's hard to believe that I've even read this much.
Christa, I'm gonna have to do more checking on photobucket for ~ I'm guessing ~ freebie images like that... they're very cool! And I do so miss our other emoticons.
Tammy, thank you... and I was looking at the books on my shelves wondering just what a landmark read would be... when I saw this one I knew that this was the one. It was perfect!
Deb, my dog no longer even blinks when I go off into my reading hysterics... my family, on the other hand, still looks all worried when I lose it... or when I'm yelling at the characters... or sobbing my heart out... you know, reacting to the people and situations.
And the flamingo... poor Clarice!! (at least I think her name's Clarice... I can't find my book... it's gone off into the ether.) ROFLOL... oh gads, the basement! Agnes was such a hit! (hee hee)
Katherine, thank you... now if I can only do a better job keeping up with my blogging.... urk!
And as for keeping numbers up... I only wish I could talk my 15 year old daughter into blogging... she just finished Maria Snyder's Study series and is now reading Jeri Smith-Ready's Eyes of Crow. Not to mention all the other books that she reads... but she's not a big romance reader, and the only harlequin imprints that she reads are the ones that I already mentioned.
I'll have to work on her!
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kalyko ~ Reading: One of life's little joys and a much needed reward!
photobucket image
I think I typed in WTG in search for that image
Christa ~ Quiet Canadians ~ 2008 Challenge Blog
My Shelfari Page
Thanks Christa....
I'da never even thought of that.
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kalyko ~ Reading: One of life's little joys and a much needed reward!
I thought there had to be an easier way
I figured there had to be an easier way than wading through the 1000s of images there to get just the right one so now I try typing in the kind of thing I'm looking for like cheering, good luck... etc
Christa ~ Quiet Canadians ~ 2008 Challenge Blog
My Shelfari Page