Customer Reviews

BAIT: A Crime Novel

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Goodby Melhone hello Meg...Great read. Great fun. Ran across this book by accident and I am sure glad I did. Took a bit to get used to Songers style but WOW....The twists and turns that led to the surpise ending..kept me glued tell dawn. Hope she comes up with another soon. A definite new author and sluthing team that know their stuff.

Bait is a great book that won't let you put it down. C.J. did an awesome job at keeping you guessing who was involved on which side of the law until the very end!!

I really enjoyed this book. Reilly and Meg are very interesting characters. The story was believable. I was a little disappointed in the ending, I think I was expecting something else. At any rate, for a debut novel, this was very good. Am looking forward to the next one.

This book introduces the series character, Meg Gillis. She is an ex-cop, a cop's widow, and the partner in a home/business security firm with another ex-cop. She's not a lighthearted, wisecracking heroine. She's had a lot of pain in her life and it has scarred her. Her partner disappears, possibly due to what looks like involvement with police corruption, and she becomes a suspect. The story chronicles her ever-changing role in the investigation and her dealings with the complex personalities involved.

What intrigued me by this book, as I got further and further into it was that my impression of Meg Gillis was being built up by her words and actions, not by an author-provided description of her looks or her setting. It seemed to me that Ms. Songer really managed to describe the mindset of an ex-cop, one who views the world from the feminine perspective rather than the masculine, but who is forced deal with the masculine preconceptions of the cop's world.

The writing style in this book is spare and to the point. You have to pay attention to the nuances of the characters. This serves to create tension nicely and forces you to try to puzzle out what is exactly going on, and who, if anyone, Meg can trust. There are a lot of twists and turns in this story, and the pace is maintained throughout the book. This was a good debut novel about an interesting character, and I'm looking forward to reading the second book in the series.

Bait is an extraordinary first novel... Actually, it is an extraordinary novel. I was hooked from the first page and was unable to put the book down. I like Meg and enjoyed spending time with her. Meg, an ex-cop, runs a security business with her friend, Mike, and is drawn into intrigue when she is unable to find him. The book was filled with twists and turns, delightful characters, suspense, sexual tension, excitement and some delicious surprises. I devoured Bait and Hook in a couple of days, and I recommend you have Hook on hand when you start Bait, because you won't want to take the time to run to the bookstore.

Charlie and Meg Gillis, and her partner Mike Johnson were dedicated California police officers for many years until Charlie was murdered. Meg and Mike were prime suspects and even though they were ultimately cleared, they left the force because their belief in the system was shattered. Mike and Meg open up their own security business, which over its three-year life has become successful. Though she managed to put Charlie's murder behind her, Meg always wondered who did it and why as no new clues surfaced. Everything abruptly changes when a frantic customer, Mr. Haroutunien, calls, begging for Mike to get to his home immediately.

Unfortunately, Mike is a no-show that day, so Meg answers the summons. From that moment on, her life spins out of control. Having police back-up, Meg arrives at Mr. Haroutunien's home, only to have him deny ever speaking to her. The police take Meg in for questioning and while at headquarters her car is stolen. When the vehicle is retrieved, it is covered with blood as if someone was killed inside it.

Mike remains missing and everyone is searching for him. The police begin to harass Meg, who now wonders if her business partner was on the trail of some crooked officers. Not trusting anyone, but knowing she needs help, Meg turns to her biggest tormentor, Sergeant Joe Reilly of the Special Tactics Unit. She prays that the two of them can find the answers to what is going down before either one of them is killed.

Remember the name C.J. Sanger because this talented writer has a great career ahead of her if this adrenaline-pumping, police procedural is any indication. Although BAIT has a fast-paced, action-filled story line, it is Meg who makes this a special novel. She is a quixotic mix of toughness, vulnerability, and bravado, who keeps on going even when the going gets ultra-tough. Ms. Sanger provides a unique insight into Meg's wryly and witty thought processes while also allowing the reader to observe a serio-comic, often times satirical edg! e to the sleuth. Meg is clearly one of the best female detectives to come down the fictional pike in several years. Hopefully, there will be more trips with her on horizon.

Harriet Klausner

Wow! I'm so glad I found this book (and author). For mystery lovers, it doesn't get any better than this! It sounds cliche, but I REALLY couldn't put this book down. It is so fast-paced, action packed, and even sexy. The author peels away the layers page by page until....the ultimate conclusion.

I cannot say enough good things. Read this novel today, but set aside a whole day, cause you won't be able to stop!

CJ Songer's Bait is an excellent book. Finally a female protagonist that is intelligent, unpredictable, and very courageous. Meg is calm and collected in the face of the intrique that surrounds her. What I enjoyed most was that she wasn't the typical shrinking violet heroine that ends up relying on a man or men to fix everything, she's well equipped to do that job herself. C.J. Songer has created a new a very fresh female character that is very 90's and will definitely wear well into the next century.

C. J. Songer's crisp style of writing nicely fits her story and her characters. And what great characters she has created. Reilly and Meg are flawed but so darn likeable. I found myself wanting to get to know them better. I just finished reading "Bait" and I plan to purchase "Hook" as soon as possible. If you are perusing the reviews to decide whether or not to read "Bait" my advice is, read it!

I bought Bait and Hook based on reader reviews and am glad I bought both at the same time because I didn't have to race out and buy the second. I did have to go back and re-read once in awhile to catch on to what Meg was saying or doing. Does it detract from the books? No. You (and the other characters) think Meg is going to do one thing by her actions, but she usually manages to surprise both. Meg's relationships with her partner Mike and the investigating cop Reilly are believable and add a great deal to the story. My only disappointment is learning from C.J.'s website that we have to wait until Fall of 2003 for the next in the series.