msruh1979's review against another edition
3.0
It was like reading a book based on an episode of Murder She Wrote. Perfect for any nursing home reader that can't have too much excitement, suspense, and intrigue due to cardiac ailments.
cook_memorial_public_library's review against another edition
4.0
A 2015 staff favorite recommended by Jane, who says, "Ephron has written a suspenseful page-turner inspired by the 1958 stabbing of Lana Turner's lover. The old Hollywood setting rings true, since Ephron grew up there, the daughter of a screenwriting team.''
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Check our catalog: http://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Snight%20night%20sleep%20tight%20ephron__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=gold
allee_waters's review against another edition
2.0
2 stars - it was ok.
This book was a quick in between book I read. For a cheap bargain book it wasn’t bad. I have read many better crime/mystery novels, and had a hard time connecting with the characters and the setting. The plot seems a little far fetched at time, but it was a quick and easy read.
This book was a quick in between book I read. For a cheap bargain book it wasn’t bad. I have read many better crime/mystery novels, and had a hard time connecting with the characters and the setting. The plot seems a little far fetched at time, but it was a quick and easy read.
mcipher's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this a lot - great mystery, lots of Hollywood glamour and seediness, interesting characters - except that I was really disappointed by the end. I get that a mystery can't always get neatly wrapped up in a way that makes sense or makes me feel that justice is served, but it just left a bad taste in my mouth. Four stars until the end, which took it down to just three.
bethreadsandnaps's review against another edition
2.0
Flat mystery and not very suspenseful. The protagonist is the daughter of a Hollywood writer who is trying to solve the mystery surrounding her father's death and a long ago murder of her friends' mother's boyfriend. The problem was that I didn't find it very compelling, particularly for a mystery.
aspygirlsmom_1995's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
msmandrake's review against another edition
2.0
I'll be generous and give this two stars since I read it mostly in the middle of the night while unable to sleep due to having thrown out my back, so I might possibly have felt more kindly towards it if I read it in under more pleasant circumstances. I had plucked it off the new books shelf of the library because it is written by Nora Ephron's sister. (which could also have played a tiny role in getting it published in the first place). This book is very...simple? If I was a creative writing teacher I would have said, good effort. Meaning it was competent, no blaring errors (although remember it was the middle of the night, I could have missed something). But the characters are pretty run of the mill,some bordering on cliche, no sentences will be reread with wonder at how she could put those words together so beautifully ("Deirdre took a deep breath." Next page "Deirdre took a deep shuddering breath.") The story starts out as a rip-off of the Lana Turner/Johnny Stompanado/Cheryl Crane mess with a fictional movie star (I've always hated fictional movie stars, I have no idea why) I didn't guess the ending, but there weren't many clues and a number of Oh I'm sure moments getting there. And there was a Perfect Man for our heroine at the end, of course there was.
(one plus...it takes place in 1985 Los Angeles, and since I live there I appreciated some of the old place references, like CC Brown's on Hollywood Blvd, they DID serve their sundaes in cold metal dishes and bring you extra hot fudge. But that is a reasonably obscure "plus", I know.)
(one plus...it takes place in 1985 Los Angeles, and since I live there I appreciated some of the old place references, like CC Brown's on Hollywood Blvd, they DID serve their sundaes in cold metal dishes and bring you extra hot fudge. But that is a reasonably obscure "plus", I know.)
carolsnotebook's review against another edition
3.0
The blurb gives the set-up - and of course all the events are connected. I think Hollywood in the '80s with secrets going back to the late '50s was a great setting. Stars and writers with their careers and public image to think of give an interesting outlook on the mystery.
My main problem with Night Night, Sleep Tight was that I just didn't care about Deidre. I didn't like her, didn't hate her, didn't feel sorry for her, or any of the main characters really. I didn't get to know her mother and brother enough to fully understand their motives and the family friends were all pretty self-absorbed. The mystery itself was fine but not compelling enough to carry the book.Deidre happens to find her father's memoir quickly after his death, which was more than a bit convenient. It gave her a direction to take her questions and other people a motive for murder.
I was surprised, and a bit disappointed, by who the killer was. It made sense though, given the aspirations of all the characters involved. I did like the ending- instead of taking what would be the expected route, Ephron let the characters do what was in their nature.
This was not one that kept me involved. I finished it because it wasn't bad enough to put down, but it also didn't call my name at every free moment.
My main problem with Night Night, Sleep Tight was that I just didn't care about Deidre. I didn't like her, didn't hate her, didn't feel sorry for her, or any of the main characters really. I didn't get to know her mother and brother enough to fully understand their motives and the family friends were all pretty self-absorbed. The mystery itself was fine but not compelling enough to carry the book.Deidre happens to find her father's memoir quickly after his death, which was more than a bit convenient. It gave her a direction to take her questions and other people a motive for murder.
I was surprised, and a bit disappointed, by who the killer was. It made sense though, given the aspirations of all the characters involved. I did like the ending- instead of taking what would be the expected route, Ephron let the characters do what was in their nature.
This was not one that kept me involved. I finished it because it wasn't bad enough to put down, but it also didn't call my name at every free moment.