Customer Reviews

Tutu Deadly (Jenny T. Partridge Dance Mysteries, No. 1)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Tutu Deadly is the wonderfully delightful misadventures of dance instructor extraordinaire, Jenny T. Partridge.

Jenny T. Partridge has an unreasonable fear of suffocating under the indignant mass of dance mom Emma Andersen, whose daughter isn't center stage quality. In fact, 6-year-old Ella just peed her tights... again. Okay, maybe it's not so unreasonable a fear, and not just of one dance mom. Her most talented student is missing, a dance mom is dead, and dancing instructor Jenny T. Partridge is suspect number one according to Ogden's finest. There is only one short week before the annual Nutcracker. Jenny has no Sugar Plum Fairy, and the nuts are already coming out of the woodwork.

Jenny T. Partridge's life is coming unglued. Between Detective Tate Wilson who wants her in prison orange, an empty pantry, and the person who is trying to kill her Jenny's life is not getting any easier. Natalie Roberts has delved into the world of sweat, toe shoes, and glitter to create the delightfully humorous Tutu Deadly. I promise you'll fall in love with Jenny T. Partridge.

Natalie Robert's writes delightful deadly humor. Her cast of characters and dialogue that will have you smiling, if not laughing out loud, all the way through to the very end, and begging for the sequel. Read it again, it's just as funny twice.

Geez, now I have to wait six months for Tapped Out the next episode of Jenny T. Partridge. But it will be so worth the wait.

Calista Cates-Stanturf

Jenny Partridge's life is already complicated. She is trying to run a dance studio, deal with psycho dance moms, and keep up with her bills. The last thing she needs (or wants) is for the mother of her most talented dance student, Taylee, to be murdered - by poisoned cookie dough that Jenny was selling as a fundraiser. Now Jenny is trying to convince hunky police detective Tate Wilson that she is not a murderer while fighting her attraction to him. She's trying to find the killer as well as finding out who shot at her, who set off a bomb in her studio, and where Taylee is. On top of that, she is trying to stage her version of the Nutcracker. She certainly has a lot to take care of, too too much!

"Tutu Deadly" is a pretty good debut cozy mystery. Author Natalie M. Roberts does use a few of the standard cliches for a cozy mystery - cute, single woman struggling to make her dream job profitable (I kept thinking "why doesn't she charge more for dance lessons?"), who stumbles across a murder that threatens her livelihood, and the hunky police detective who initially suspects her but then sets out to clear her name. But Roberts manages to add some fresh twists that help make this book enjoyable. First is Jenny herself - she is laugh out loud funny at times, especially when she mangles phrases, but her love for dance and her sincere concern for Taylee is what makes her a great character. Having the book set in the world of a dance school with its psycho dance moms is another great touch (and provides plenty of suspects). While there is a lot of humor in the book (the whole sub plot with Jenny's friend James not being able to tell his mother he is gay is especially hilarious) there are enough serious moments to keep the book from being too light and fluffy. The mystery itself is well plotted with lots of twists and turns. There are a lot of little plots going on in the book (almost too many) and readers will have a hard time figuring out who the murderer is. Roberts deserves credit for not wrapping everything up happily in the end, since real life isn't like that.

"Tutu Deadly" isn't too too bad.

I truly enjoyed this first novel in the Dancing Mysteries. It was a great light read, perfect for a vacation/beach/relaxing night. My only real complaint, and that is why I gave four stars instead of five, is the fact that the heroine complained on just about every page about how poor and/or hungry she was. After about the first 20 pages, I got the fact that she had no money. This was the only real downfall in my very humble opinion, but it was enough where I felt it distracted a bit from the story. Aside from that,I felt that the mystery was well drawn out, the characters were developed, I laughed out loud qutie a few times.

I will definitely be visiting the Jenny T. Partridge dance studio in her next installment this fall.

Jenny T Partridge is a character so endearing, I just wanted to snatch her from the pages. Calamity follows her everywhere and it is a hoot to see her untangle herself, all the while hunky Detective Tate Wilson isn't sure to arrest her or hug her. The US Marshall who pops in and out of the body count is nothing to sneeze at either. I cannot recommend this funny, well written story high enough. Good job!

Jenny T. Partridge is the founder of the Jenny T. Partridge Dance Academy. She counts on her annual production of The Nutcracker to keep her Dance Academy afloat. Jenny doesn't count on all the mayhem in her life and the craziness that ensues after a cookie dough fund-raiser that goes horribly wrong. This is a laugh out loud, cheer you up read. The characters are fun and refreshing, Jenny is easy to care about and I hope this is only the beginning of a long running series.

I love this book! It's fun, endearing, and just a little bit sexy. If you like fun mysteries, get TUTU DEADLY!

Typical for a cozy mystery...Girl gets involved in murder, cute cop, and chaos ensues. However, I found that this was really cute, funny, and had several kooky twist in the plots. Jenny, the main character was refreshing, funny, flawed, and resourceful. I was pleasantly surprised!

Ok - I just have to start with the fact that I find Jenny T. Partridge irresistable. Her life is a little chaotic, her friends a little diverse, and her life a little messy. She can't hold onto a cell phone to save her life, much less a good man.

Somehow things begin to change with the poisoned cookie dough, the death of a dance-mom, and the disappearance of her star student. The supporting cast of characters is comparable to those in the Stephanie Plum series, minus one Grandma Lazur, because who can compare to her.

I really enjoyed the plot, and was guessing to end of the who-done-it. I can't wait to catch up with Jenny and her crew again.

The Brits have their Bridget Jones, now we have Jenny T. Partridge. As if Jenny's life wasn't chaotic enough running a dance academy, one of the psycho dance moms is poisoned with cookie dough from the fundraiser - and all hell breaks loose. But - can murder be funny? It is in Jenny's world.

Even though the death of the dance mom is connected to her dance studio, the show must go on. Jenny has her annual Nutcracker performance coming up, so her strange life must go on, too. Only now she's tailed by not one, but two hunky detectives.

The murder plot twists and turns through her life which is complicated by a cast of zany characters from a gay dance instructor, to a neurotic costume designer, to her nosy Mormon family, and of course those psycho dance moms. They all seem like they're out to get her.

"Tutu Deadly" is the first book in the Jenny T. Partridge Dance Mystery series. The star of the series, Jenny is a lovable, witty sitcom-like character who is sort of all your BFFs rolled into one. Roberts does a superb job weaving humor into a complex murder plot that keeps the reader guessing right up to the climax. All of this is spiced up with just enough romance to keep readers wanting more fun - and frolic!

"Tutu Deadly" is also a perfect crossover novel for teens. They'll get caught up in the quirky mystery of who killed the dance mom. They'll laugh with Jenny as she stumbles through her love life. And if they've ever been part of any organized sports activity - or just like to watch So You Think You Can Dance - they will totally relate to the characters at the dance studio. Roberts' engaging storytelling and hilarious take on the dance world make the Jenny T. Partridge Dance Mystery an outstanding new series for young adult readers.

This is a great new series. It has enough mystery & romance to keep you hooked. The crazy cast of characters are great. Can't wait to read the next book.