Customer Reviews

Death By Chick Lit

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There's no better time than summer for reading and no better book this summer than this one -- it's fun, fast, funny. I first met the heroine, Lola, in Ms. Harris's first book, Miss Media, and fell for her (or them both) then -- and am completely head over heels now! Pay attention, book clubbers: this is one to grab. And mysterious Edgar Award nominators: take it from a former nominee, this is one for your list!

Lynn Harris has done it again, this time with a fast-paced mystery that author Lola Somerville is determined to solve. Lola is quirky, passionate, and determined to be taken seriously as a writer. In this case, that means she wants a piece of the action murdered-bestselling-chick-lit-author action, especially because she thinks being targeted for murder by this killer who's offing her friends and rivals is a sign that her star turn as an author is around the corner. Her obsession with seeing with checking for mentions herself in a chick lit gossip column is hilarious, and should ring true for those who Google themselves a little too often. There are plenty of other wacky characters here, like the woman in charge of the Jane Austen Liberation Front, which protests chick lit events, and "Reading Guy," who's often the only male around at bookstore signings. As trouble mounts, Lola's mom is looking out for her, too, getting on the internet and checking up on her daughter, to Lola's alternating chagrin and amusement.

Harris will keep readers guessing . . . when they're not laughing riotously. The "cameos" by famous people like "Alexandra Coltish" (Ann Coulter) and gentle and not-so-gentle ribbing of all sorts of proscriptive books telling women when to have kids and what to do about their careers make for fun guess-who? games. She also makes fun of computer geekery, Manhattan snobs, and Lola herself. In some ways, Harris's book could be called chick lit; even though she's got a married protagonist, the things she cares about are her friendships (sometimes catty, sometimes true), her career, gossip, her garden, and, of course, murder. But whether you ultimately think the book is chick lit or not isn't that important. If you're a fan of cozy mysteries, live in Brooklyn, work in publishing, or simply want a great book to take to the beach with you this summer, check out Death by Chick Lit.

Lynn Harris has given us Lola Somerville, an endearingly flawed heroine who's professional envy is clouding her judgment and leading her into physical danger. While she hones her mystery solving skills, "who killed her authoress colleagues and is she next?" She also tries to tune out her inner voice that compares the success of her last book and press to their's, (they had more success than Lola which was unfair!) for she knows it is wrong and it is making her seem small. Also her professional jealousy is not helping with either A. Her Career, and B. Solving the murder. On the plus side A. She is alive and B. They are not.... but is she next? This book is a farcical hoot, complete with lots of careerist neurosis. Bravo Lynn Harris!

I just finished off "Death by Chick Lit" and half a pot of coffee. What a treat to have a read that was so snappily satirical and, surprisingly (to me, having never read one of Ms. Harris's books before), so oddly familiar in parts: it re-awakened my desire to be one of Charlie's Angels (in 5th Grade during after school playtime with my friends I always had to be Sabrina because of my lame, non-feathered hair) and Nancy Drew rolled in to one. And it made me so nostalgic for New York it hurt.
Thanks to LH for the fun romp through Brooklyn & the Islands Coney & Manahttan!

DEATH BY CHICK LIT by Lynn Harris
August 12, 2007

Rating: 3.5 Stars

I read DEATH BY CHICK LIT earlier this summer, and it is a good summer read - light and fun. The main character, Lola Somerville, is a writer who is frustrated because HER book for some reason isn't catching on, despite the fact that it is chick lit and it seems all the writers she knows are churning out chick lit books and ending up on the best seller lists. Not her, unfortunately.

Or maybe it IS fortunately... because she also notices that one by one, her fellow chick lit authors (at least the ones that made it to the best seller lists) are being killed off one by one. Lola is asked to help solve the mystery, hoping this will lead to a book deal.

DEATH BY CHICK LIT was not the perfect book but I enjoyed it because it made fun of the chick lit genre that had taken the book world by storm upon the release of BRIDGET JONES DIARY. While the story in itself kept me absorbed, I had a problem with some of the writing. Maybe there needed to be better editing of the book as a whole. On the other hand, it was a fast read that kept me interested until the end. DEATH BY CHICK LIT is another fun summer read that fans should not overlook.

OK- "Death by Chick Lit" Might be a fun "anywhere" read, but as it happened, this July fourth weekend, I started to read it on a beach.

I finished it on New Jersey Transit, but let's be honest, "Fun New Jersey Transit Read" just doesn't have the same pop, ya know?

Either way, it was fun, funny, and a quick page turner. I look forward to future books from Lynn Harris.

Lynn Harris' Death by Chick Lit is not only funny, but that witty, why-didn't-I-think-of-that, I-can't-believe-she-notices-that-too funny. I read it in one long sitting on a plane home and was totally engrossed despite an inordinate amount of crying babies and a little girl who thought kicking my seat was the funnest new game on the planet. If you can distract me from that, you know you've written a page-turner.
The end isn't predictable, the characters aren't one-dimensional, and the references aren't cliche. Instead it is a highly original book very much of right now and right here (NYC/Brooklyn literary scene). I love how Lynn plays with serious issues in a satirical way (feminism v. chick lit, ambition v. family, negotiating complex friendships and love). It's like getting a whole lotta sugar with just a little bit of medicine.

A laugh out loud satiro-mystery that gently skewers both mandal-wearing pseudo-sensitive metrosexuals, and the right-wing pseudo-ideological media vixens they (probably) secretly covet...what more could a man want from his summer reading? Lynn Harris deftly captures the ironies, idiosyncracies and pretentions of fame-frenzied New York, but always does so with a light touch and a gracious affection for even the most condemnable of her literary prey. Her ear for the language of contemporary media is exquisite, matched only by her palpable humanity. I honestly couldn't put it down.

It's bad enough that Lola Sommerville's first novel, Pink Slip, failed to make the bestseller list. Now someone is killing New York's "It Girl" writers, and Lola, it turns out, is not even important enough to make the hit list. As author bodies start piling up, Lola puts her investigative journalism skills to the test. But will her snooping get her a hot story -- or land her in hot water?

Lynn Harris's take on New York hipsters and the publishing scene are spot-on and hilarious, and her mystery is well-crafted and original. This one will keep you up all night, laughing all the while.

The name Lynn Harris on any book *guarantees* that the reader will a) be unavailable for a few hours while they page-turn the afternoon away (Warning: Don't read before bedtime if you have to get up for work in the morning), b) be laughing out loud (Warning: Don't read in public if you don't want the occasional stare), and c) grope about for pencils and odd scraps of paper to jot down the dozens of bon mots throughout the book. (Last warning: Don't read without a pencil. Too late for me, so save yourself.)

Written by one of the funniest, most adorable literary "chick voices" around, DEATH BY CHICK LIT is a fun mystery filled with likable, familiar characters and a lovable, flawed protagonist (Lola Sommerville) who'd be right at home with Austen's Emma or Elizabeth Bennett. The plot's fun, the lines witty, and Harris also manages to fill the pages with realistic insights into modern women and the competing chick voices in our own heads. lf you're headed for the beach, the airport, the bus station, whatEV -- you will be well-served with a copy of DEATH BY CHICK LIT in hand.