Customer Reviews

Naked Addiction (Leisure Fiction)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I enjoyed reading Naked Addition and how addiction of any kind leads to destructive behavior. I found it interesting to read about the case from the police and cub reporter's points of view and to learn what the police can and can't say to the press and what the press can and can't print. It's all a play on words and showed the ongoing conflict between police investigating a high profile case and the press reporting on it. What I also found interesting about the story were the points of view of the other characters and how they related to the victim and crime. It goes to show how complex, messy, and confusing things can get while investigating a murder. Compared to other mystery novels I've read, Caitlin Rother's knowledge of police procedures and the details she provided were much more extensive and interesting to read.

A closely observed thriller set in La Jolla, California--the American Riviera--and its middle class peripheries. For fans of her true crime writing a must read. Rother is an author of keen eintelligence who has a flair for the emotionally raw.

Author, Caitlin Rother takes the reader on ride like no other. The character development in Naked Addiction is superb. With sex, drugs and death, Naked Addiction kept me turning page after page with true anticipation. The story is complex, fun and sexy. I look forward to next installment. I reccommend all mystery fans buy it today!

I just finished the book Naked Addiction and it was great! I read at least 2 to 3 crime/mystery novels a week and this is one of the best I've read in years. The author has the talented ability to allow the reader to get into the characters with rich descriptions of their thoughts and actions. I couldn't put it down.
I am extemely hopeful that the author Caitlin Rother will write another fiction crime novel and keep the Ken Goode character going.

This realistic murder mystery gives a frank look at the world of police investigation, murder, drugs, and the newspaper industry. Pulitzer prize-nominated Caitlin Rother brings her experience in journalism and investigative reporting to the forefront and displays a wealth of detail in both facts and character development.

The story introduces Detective Ken Goode, who is leading his first murder investigation and trying to solve a murder of a beautiful woman who lives in the world of obsessions: sex; drugs; money and a desire for respect. Each of her characters are authentic and have their unique pasts that tie them into the murder and keep us guessing. Rother is able to sprinkle the details involving these characters throughout the novel and keep most of them as viable suspects until the end. No one likes predicting the ending, and we are not disappointed.

We are also able to see inside the minds of many of her characters and learn about each of their insecurities and desires. Each person's circumstances and motivations are woven into the story in a way that makes you feel a part of it. I'd love to see some of these characters again in another novel. (Det. Goode, reporter, Norman Klein, Seth Kennedy)

Set in the beach communities of San Diego, it invites locals to reminisce and strangers to discover the great places San Diego has to offer.

Also pleasantly surprising, was the fact that although the novel is well resolved and the mystery explained, all the loose ends are not tied up too neatly. Rother rightly leaves some of Detective Goode's personal problems unresolved. No one wants a perfect ending!! Especially when we want another detective novel. This would make a great movie, too!!

San Diego police detective Ken Goode wants more than anything to be transferred to the homicide division so when he ultimately stumbles over the body of a dead woman he thinks she is his ticket to getting what he desires. His attitude changes when he comes to "know "the victim Tania Marcus who attracted men in droves, some of them walking on the wrong side of the law. He learns that she attended Head Forward School of Hair Design and that she planed to open an "escort" service that will cater to men and women.

A couple of days later Sharona, a girl who attends the same school is found dead in the same manner. Through good old fashioned police work Goode finds a connection between the two women and how the Pumphouse, a bar where drugs are sold house works and two men Seth and Keith who are suspected drug dealers and knew the two women. When Keith is murdered Goode knows all three murders are connected and he believes they were all killed by the same person. However, finding the link and the killer isn't easy; as different suspects have diverse motives for killing only one of the victims with no one having reasons for three homicides.

Caitlin Rother's first novel is an excellent police procedural that will appeal to fans of Nancy Taylor Rosenberg and Christine McGuire. The investigation contains red herrings, wrong paths taken and misdirection and that makes the reader feel they are accompanying the protagonist. Goode is an honest police officer whose motive for solving the case changes from wanting a transfer to solving the crimes as he gets to know the victims.

Harriet Klausner

"Naked Addiction" by Caitlin Rother is one of the most well-constructed murder mysteries that I have ever read in 40 years of reading that genre. Rother's years as an investigative reporter put her on the front line of crime and she has used that experience to construct real and authentic characters and scenarios that are so factual that you feel you could be reading a newspaper account of a crime. The plot of "Naked Addiction" is so complex and elaborate that you never suspect who the murderer is until Rother decides to let you know.... at the end of the book. Caitlin Rother's debut into the fiction genre is impressive and has a long life ahead of it.

This police procedural is written by a Pulitzer Prize-nominated former journalist who covered a murder story for the San Diego Union-Tribune which resulted in a 2005 Edgar nomination for a true crime novel (Poisoned Love). In this work of fiction, she introduces Detective Ken Good, who wishes he could transfer to the Homicide group from his current narcotics post.

He catches his big break when he stumbles across the body of a beautiful woman in an alley near the beach. Then the bodies keep mounting, the tales of drugs and sex and other bizarre goings-on keep complicating the solution of the cases. Are they separate or related? Also complicating Goode's efforts are his own insecurities and apparent immaturities.

An almost throw-away character, a cub reporter who also is attempting to catch a big break is almost a caricature and completely unnecessary. And, of course, in the end, he has to come up with the gold ring, if only for his long suffering.

The novel is a workman-like effort. It moves along with all kinds of twists and turns and details expected from a crime reporter. It would appear that Good is destined to be a continuing character.