vsbedford's review
2.0
What could have been a sparkling mystery gets bogged down in stolid plotting and style - there's far too much telling and something about this particular third-person narration puts far too much space between the reader and the characters. Perhaps the series improves?
I received an ecopy from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ecopy from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
ssejig's review
3.0
Charlotte Graham is an aging (at 60ish? I think they said her age but I lost track) movie star in the early 1990s (when this book was originally published. And it shows in the attitudes of some of the characters toward others in the book. Can you imagine the word "cripple" being used to describe someone today?)
Anyway, it seems Charlotte has gotten some press for helping to solve a mystery and so it's to Charlotte that her friend Paulina Laugenberg turns when something's rotten in Denmark. Or at least in the beauty empire that Paulina has built.
There are a LOT of characters in this book. From the great Paulina and her personal staff to the spa staff to the other guests at the spa. If you can sit down and read this book in a shorter span of time, I'd highly recommend it. Otherwise you can get mired in trying to remember who exactly is who.
Anyway, it seems Charlotte has gotten some press for helping to solve a mystery and so it's to Charlotte that her friend Paulina Laugenberg turns when something's rotten in Denmark. Or at least in the beauty empire that Paulina has built.
There are a LOT of characters in this book. From the great Paulina and her personal staff to the spa staff to the other guests at the spa. If you can sit down and read this book in a shorter span of time, I'd highly recommend it. Otherwise you can get mired in trying to remember who exactly is who.
dontmissythesereads's review
3.0
Book #83 read in 2007
This was a very good book. I liked the characters very much and the plot was interesting. I would like to continue reading this series.
This was a very good book. I liked the characters very much and the plot was interesting. I would like to continue reading this series.
yetanothersusan's review
2.0
I could not get interested in this book or its characters. Charlotte, an aging movie/stage star, is the main character but we don't get to know her beyond what we might have learned from Entertainment Tonight if she were a real person. Instead we got excessively detailed descriptions of the spa, its history, the architecture, etc. I also didn't really understand what brought her to the scene of the crime to begin with. Supposedly she gets a call from her good friend Pauline, but their interactions seem to be more like acquaintances. I think Ms. Matteson got bogged down in writing about the wrong parts of the story. I just struggled.
A preview copy of this book was provided by NetGalley and Open Road Media in exchange for an honest review.
A preview copy of this book was provided by NetGalley and Open Road Media in exchange for an honest review.
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