Customer Reviews

Digging up Momma (Samantha Adams Mystery)

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

 

 

This is the latest and worst Sam Adams book. Reading this is like reading an afterthought of ms shankman's. Why do we need to know what happened to Sam's mother? And why have this all of a sudden mystery about it? Why didn't George or Peaches drop hints about Sam's mother in all the previous books? It would have worked better,and this book would have been more successful and plausible. Truly,I think that Ms Shankman only wrote this book because she had to fulfill her contract. If you really want to read Sam Adams books,go read King is Dead which is HILARIOUS or Hang all the Liars,or better read Now lets talk of graves

Oh my god what trash! I have been reading the genre of 'cozy mysteries' for a few months now. I have gone through Mary Danheims' Alpine series and her Bed and Breakfast series (the first being the better of the two), I adored the funny wit of the Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich. Then I got this book. The charachters are one dimentional. There is NO substance to the male characters that is not stereotypical. The main character is so unlikable I was rooting for her death. Really, a forty year old thinking her mom is dead for thirty years and when she finds out she isn't, does she demand answers to abandonment...no she cries Momma and tearfully adores unquestionly. What utter nonsense! The style of writing is daunting to follow and adding in the supernatural aspect is almost like the author is trying to appease as many possible readers who might shell out a buck for this trash. Please understand I don't dislike the supernatural. It has it's place and I recommend the Kim Harrison's Demon series or Jim Butcher's Dresden File books. You expect it there. I hate buying a book and not reading it, but I resorted to reading every 5th to 10th word and even skipped paragraphs as the end apppeared to be coming to this 300 page nightmare. Thank god I have not bought more than one of this series. If you insist on listening to other reviews here, for heaven's sake buy the book used and don't spend more than a dollar....I would even send you my copy, but I refuse to pass along garbage! Instead try The Southern Sisters Mysteries by Anne George or the other series I mentioned.

This was the first Samantha Adams novel I have ever read, so maybe there is something about the genre I don't understand. Don't get me wrong, I really think this is a gifted author. She had me in a "can't put this book down even at 1:00 a.m. during the work week" mode all the way to the very end. Then I had some questions, to wit: Why Earl? (See comments in the review above. And my biggest problem with the book--Sam is rescued in the end by (1) a character who doesn't appear, and who is mentioned no more than once, prior to the next to the last chapter who is assisted by (2) the ghost of a Native American woman--the same entity who appeared to be very much of this earth when she bought Sam some fast food early in the book. This was just too much for me. I will read one more Sam Adams novel, since they are so well received, and see what the first ones are like. I hope that there are no more interventions from "beyond the pale." Those are great for Anne Rice novels, but some of us like our sleuths a bit more realistic.

Samantha Adams, hot shot journalist, is afraid to love again having learned how much it hurts to lose a beloved one to death. Now, one of her loved ones has returned from the dead. Her mother Johanna, who allegedly died thirty-four years ago in a plane crash, has asked Samantha to meet her in a Santa Fe hotel.

Samantha catches the first plane to New Mexico and the couple shares a poignant reunion. That first night together, Johanna does not explain to her daughter why she let everyone think she was dead, figuring on telling her daugther tomorrow. An emotionally drained Sam does not have the energy to ask. The next day, the police inform Sam that her mother is dead, an apparent suicide. Sam believes that there is more to her mother's death than an autopsy would reveal and she begins to investigate her mother's death in order to learn the truth as to why she was abandonned over three decades ago.

DIGGING UP MOMMA, the latest novel in the highly regarded "Adams series", is a sure shot winner. As in the previous books, the heroine, once again, is a classic empathetic, angst-laden soul and readers love her for that. Additionally, this time the readers have the chance to satiate their curiosity by learning her mother's tale. Besides mystery fans, the book will appeal to New Age readers. However, it is Sam's torment that turns a very good who-done-it into a great novel.

Harriet Klausner

Having read all the others in the series, I was shocked at the prospect of Sam's mother possibly being alive. I really liked this book, it kept my attention to the very end.

Being a native New Mexican and living for over a year in Santa Fe, I was rather critical while reading the book. Not only was the story very enjoyable, but every aspect of how Santa Fe and the rest of New Mexico was described was very accurate. I strongly recommend this book if you are looking for a light-hearted mystery with a great idea of what Santa Fe is like.

This is my first Sarah Shankman book. I like her style. Mystery laced with black humor. We've got to laugh at ourselves, right? I do have one question, however: Why Earl? That's all I'm going to say on that matter. Don't want to spoil the plot for those who haven't enjoyed this delightful book yet. Samantha's a kick in the head. New Mexico, a great locale. Check it out.

. . .after believing her mom to be dead all these years, Sam goes off on a wild hare to find her over the objections of people at home who love her and believe she's just on a wild goose chase. What she finds in New Mexico is, indeed, her real mother, and their reunion is all too brief before Mom dies again. This time, for real, and for good. It's double the grief and now double trouble. Samantha has to figure out why she's lost her mother twice, before someone decides that she, too, must die.

I dropped a star from this one mainly because the plot resolutions relied 'way too much on implausible things. The "dieu ex machina" that was just one of the many flaws with "I Miss My Man but My Aim is Getting Better" also hurts this book. There was one loose thread from "He Was Her Man" that was finally tied up here, too, though the character's entry was extremely contrived and convoluted.

Frankly, I think Sarah Shankman has done all she can do with the Samantha Adams character, and I hope she will retire her, at least for awhile. Better to leave 'em wanting more. . .

Strap on your cowboy hat for the wildest read you've had in a long time! Samantha falls down a hill and finds her own history with a little guidance and protection from American Indian spirits. A bit bizarre but definitely a page turner! Good read!

It's one thing to be a reporter and write American Weird, a book that collects bizarre true-life stories--it's another to have your own life turn into one. That's what happens to cranky, lonely Samantha Adams, a New Orleans orphan and recovering alcoholic whose life has been plagued by loss and fear of commitment. At 42, she's stunned to receive a letter from her mother that summons her to Santa Fe: Samantha's parents died in a French plane crash over three decades ago.

Samantha rushes right out there, but after a too-brief meeting that answers few questions, her mother's found dead. Suicide? Murder? Why did her mother abandon her in the first place? Why has her mother adopted aliases and why do some people in Santa Fe disclaim knowing her? The slam bang finale offers a very satisfying solution to all these questions.

In the spirit of Carl Hiassen, DIGGING UP MOMMA offers a diverting mix of art dealers, tourists, hucksters, mobsters, dreams and visions. Shankman ably captures the wonderful diversify of Santa Fe, and the intense magnetism and color of northern New Mexico where "the bizarre, the weird, and the miraculous are the rule."

And despite the uneven writing, this is a breezy quick read with just the right dashes of feistiness to keep it from becoming overly sentimental. That's especially important when the book features an annoyingly cute Shih Tzu named Harpo and a precocious child.

Lev Raphael (Levraphael.com), author of LITTLE MISS EVIL, the 4th Nick Hoffman mystery.