Customer Reviews

Body Movers

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The title of this book is what drew me to it originally and I am so glad that it did. This was such a fun and entertaining story with a great criminal case thrown in. I am usually good at guessing the killer in a story but this one came out of nowhere and I was very surprised.

I am so excited to see that there is going to be another in what I hope will become a series with these delightful characters.

This is one aggravating book. Carlotta is 1) abandoned by her bail-skipping criminal parents 2) used and abused by her worthless brother, who she raised from age 9 with no help 3) Simperingly helpless to the rich people who all dumped her, including her ex-fiance who forgot her as soon as she hit hard times.
When Carlotta continued to suck-up to all the above, especially her gambling brother who won't even get a job, any job, (and his knee-breaker loan sharks) I was done. Only made it through the first third of this episode of "Doormats R Us" until I skipped to the last 20 pages and returned to library.
Life is way too short to read about women this ineffectual.

I almsot marked this a 4 because I was so mad at the first maybe 80 pages or so (couldn't stand her brother and her continuing to put her life on hold for the loser and also didn't like her being treated like lowlife by a former friend) but I'm glad I kept at this one because the brother though continually in one mess after another seems to be trying here and there and there was always something going on to keep the story moving. I think Bond usually writes romance (or that's what I've seen in the Blaze line but she's a new author for me and I've recently gotten several of her other books) but this really isn't a romance though there are sexual situations/innuendos here and there but not actual 'sex'. there are 3 men 'interested' in the the main character and one I don't think is worth the time of day though the other 2 I'd have a bit of trouble picking between...and the brother has the hots for his parole officer. Oh and this 'ends' with the current 'storyline' but also ends wtih the pickup/tension for the next book (andI've heard the 2ndbook ends the same way with something happening we have to wait a year for the sequel)..I don't particularly like that and since there are supposedly several of these to be done I hope she puts out at least 2 per year or I'll be reading these when I'm 50! overall a nice story once you get past the first few chapters and just relax and go with it!

I got this book in a shipment from my book club and when I read the back, well, I'll admit I was less than impressed. It all sounded like a big rip-off of the Stephanie Plum bounty hunter series. And I'll also admit that I have never been happier to be proven wrong.

The wonderful life Carlotta Wren though she would always have ends when her father is accused of a white-collar crime and her parents skip town to avoid prosecution. And just barely eighteen Carlotta is left behind to take care of the house and raise her younger brother Wesley. Her wealthy fiancée dumps her flat on her back and her blue-blooded "friends" abandon her. And ten years later, Carlotta's still working at Neiman Marcus to make ends meet and trying to keep Wesley out of trouble. Only that's a lot harder, now that Wesley's a gambling addict, and a felon thanks to a computer hacking gone wrong. When she orders him to grow up and get a job, she never dreamed it would be helping move bodies for a very handsome morgue worker. Then again, she never dreamed that a hunky cop would reopen her parents disappearance either. Or that her ex-fiancée would re-enter her life, bringing a murder along with him. Who knew?

While this book does feel a lot like the Stephanie Plum series, it is still wonderful. There is a lot of good humor, and Carlotta is a very engaging character. This one definitely deserves a place on any bookshelf.

To put it bluntly, I don't like either Carlotta or Wren. They each make poor choices, are whiners, and get on my last nerve. Carlotta has to be told that she has done a poor job of raising Wren the Criminal. Get a clue? He gambles, gets put in jail, then buys a gun when he is on parole and goes looking for another poker game so he can get his head and his sister's bashed in by the mobsters. Smart, hunh?

When Carlotta needs money desperately to pay Wren the Criminal's gambling debts, she gives the stuff away to a Women's Shelter because her stuck up acquaintances turn up their noses at her. Human, yeah, but still, really, really dumb.

One more thing: they "smirk" a lot. That, too got on my last nerve. Maybe I was just in a really bad mood. Even more so since I bought all the books based on the
reviews I read, and am only on the first one. :(

I bought this book because it was represented as a comic mystery. I read about half of it and then put it down because not only was it not funny, it was downright depressing. I do not recommend it, nor do I intend to read any more books in the series.

When her father Randolph Wren and her mother Valerie fled Atlanta rather then face criminal proceedings, they left behind their eighteen years old daughter Carlotta and her nine years old brother Wesley. Not long after the scandal exploded, Carlotta's fiancé U of Tennessee student Peter Ashford ended their engagement and eventually married obnoxious Angela. Carlotta's fairy tale life ended with her working in retail and raising her sibling as a single mom at Neiman Marcus.

A decade later, Wesley is arrested for computer hacking and has a sizable gambling debt. Stunned and feeling like a failure, Carlotta is attracted to Atlanta Police Detective Jack Terry whom she met when he investigated her brother. She next meets Jack when she becomes the prime suspect in Angela's murder. Not one to sit idly by, Carlotta begins her own brand of investigating even as Peter confesses and Jack thinks she is back with her former fiancé.

The BODY MOVERS is an engaging amateur sleuth tale with romantic and police procedural underpinnings. Carlotta holds the entertaining story line together as she intrepidly sets off to learn the truth, but seems to land in one misadventure after another; who could know that the Lenox Mall holds so much danger and excitement? Fans will appreciate her finding work for Jack and look forward to her next escapades as suddenly daddy has called for the first time since he deserted her.

Harriet Klausner

I was hoping there would be some humor in this, but I didn't find any.

Carlotta's life isn't going well - her parent's left her and her brother Wesley 10 years ago after skipping bail, her brother has a gambling problem, and she's now working as a sales clerk at a high end department store. The sales clerk gig is not bad because she gets an employee discount but man, some of her customers (who used to be her friends before her parents were arrested) can be really nasty. But things rapidly go down hill after one of her best customers is killed, her brother's loan sharks come calling and a hunky cop reopens her parent's case. And then her brother takes a job as a body mover....

If you were a fan of Nancy Drew as a kid and are a fan of Stephanie Plum now then this may be a good series for you. I found it to be a fun read with just enough twists to keep me interested. It's not deep but it's fun.

This was an extremely well written book. The plot really flowed and had you guessing, and the characters (especially Carlotta) made me empathetic to her ever step of the way. Each person in this book was just like someone you might know in real life, the quirks that make people human, good and bad. It's sometimes uncomfortable to dig into those feelings, but they're there, and Ms. Bond does an excellent job portraying them. This was fast paced and funny, but also very dark. If you're just looking for fluff, this isn't it, but if you're looking for depth, humor, and a story that will have you going out to buy the next one, then look no further.