6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
will definitely appeal to the cozy and amateur sleuth crowd, May 4, 2002
This review is from: Dying to Get Her Man (Mass Market Paperback)
Jennifer Marsh is a writer who wants one of her mystery books published so badly she's afraid to tell her boyfriend she loves him for fear it will take time away from her writing. However, when Journalist Sam Culpepper's ex-girlfriend comes to him for help. Jennifer is not only angry but also jealous that her boyfriend is allowing her stay with him.
To take her mind off her troubles, Jennifer tries to find out if Suzanne Gray committed suicide like everyone believes or if she was murdered. Sam's ex-girlfriend Belle horns in on the investigation and eventually moves in with Jennifer after Sam's home is burglarized. When somebody tries to shoot Belle, Jennifer decides she must shift her focus if she is ever to get the third wheel out of their lives.
DYING TO GET HER MAN will definitely appeal to the cozy and amateur sleuth crowd. The heroine is humorous, spunky and loyal, serving as an ideal role model. Judy Fitzwater injects a lot of humor in her novel but she definitely knows how to create a fascinating story line that will keep readers interested in finding out what is really going on.
Harriet Klausner
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dating Other Guys Is A Better Solution, July 30, 2004
This review is from: Dying to Get Her Man (Mass Market Paperback)
Jennifer Marsh, part-time caterer and full time, frustrated, unpublished mystery writer is having a romantic evening.
Sam Culpepper, her reporter boyfriend has given her flowers, taken her to a romantic restaurant and has told her that (they have to talk). Now they're dancing, (Sam doesn't actually dance, he plants himself in the middle of the floor and sways with the music).
Jennifer isn't sure but she thinks he may be going to pop the question and she isn't ready for it. So she starts asking him questions about the death of Suzanne Gray. (Nothing kills an evening of romance like discussing a suicide).
Suzanne had been discovered, dressed in a long white dress, satin shoes, a blue ribbon in her hair, lace gloves on her hands and a bouquet of flowers, stretched out over the grave of her newly buried fiancee, Richard Hovey.
Richard had been one of the most powerful attorney's in Atlanta, famous for getting killers out of prison. But one night, while preparing for his lover to arrive, with a bathtub full of warm scented water. Candles every where. Richard had slipped on the rose petals that had been scatter around and fell down the stairs, breaking his neck.
Jennifer thought it was strange for anyone to kill themselves by taking an overdose of pills and then laying down to freeze to death on a grave. Even more strange was the Hovey family denied Suzanne was his fiancee. They claimed to have never heard of her and Richards ex-wife claimed they were seeing each other and had planned on remarrying.
Investigating Suzanne's death is put on hold for the moment, when Jennifer is stunned the next morning by seeing the newspaper announcement of the engagement of Isabelle Renard and Sam Culpepper.
Was that what Sam wanted to talk to her about the night before?
Jennifer doesn't let that stop her investigation. Was Suzanne a suicide or murdered? Was Richard's fall an accident or murder? Were they engaged? Was he going to marry his ex-wife or was there someone else? Did the wife killer that Richard had just got out of prison have anything to do with it? Isabelle claims he was out to get her and was looking for Sam to protect her.
All very confusing, but Jennifer was determined to figure it all out and to get Sam back without resorting to homicide herself.
Highlights
Jennifer and her writer's group investigating if Suzanne had actually made any wedding plans. April going to the bakery with her two kids and sampling everything in sight. Leigh Ann's outrageous story to a saleswoman in the Bridal boutique to get her to let them see the dress Suzanne had ordered.
The return of Emma Walker and her mutant dog.
Teague McAfee, reporter for the Atlanta Eye. He usually only has a few pages in each book and is a very sleazy character, but is so funny you overlook that.
The mystery. This is almost the only book in the series where I didn't figure out the mystery or the killer. And I like the fact that in all the books, the crime happens quickly, usually in the first chapter. In ths book, Suzanne is dead in the first paragraph.
Lowlights:
Sam Culpepper. Sam is usually the calming, sane, rational person in the group. In this book, he was an idiot. I thought he was acting out of character.
Not enough of the current books the writer's group are working on. You usually get a reading of one of the horrendous books, which are always very funny.
This series has really improved with each succeeding book. Jennifer acted so stupid in the first book, I almost didn't go onto the second one, but the funny writing caught me and I've thoroughly enjoyed this series.
If you like this review, I have listed my previous ones in the About Me Section. These are the ones I wrote before Amazon changed this section so you can now see all new reviews going forward.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another success from Judy Fitzwater, August 14, 2002
This review is from: Dying to Get Her Man (Mass Market Paperback)
Dying To Get Her Man by Judy Fitzwater is a marvelous addition to the Jennifer Marsh series. I have read each as it came out with great enjoyment. They just seem to be getting better with each one. I eagerly look forward to each new title.
Jennifer is more intimately realized in this book than in earlier ones in that we really begin to see her fears and obsessions as human flaws. She is just as funny as ever (as is the critique group) but I really liked and felt for her this time. The various "romantic" relationships form the theme running through this story. Don't get me wrong, the theme stuff doesn't get in the way of an exceptionally compelling mystery plot. Far from it. It only adds depth and texture.
As usual, Fitzwater (and Jennifer) are a step ahead of everybody else (especially including the reader) as the mystery unfolds. The danger is leavened with even more humor than normal (I don't find Jennifer and her critique group laugh-out-loud funny, but they produce in me a series of small chuckles which seem to repeat themselves periodically for days as something jogs a specific memory.)
I decided to post this not to tell you about the story but to recommend some of the best humorous mystery reading being published today. My advice is to get this book and read it as soon as you possibly can. I just know that when you do, you will be running right to Amazon to get the rest - and I envy you. I have gone back and reread all of them with great enthusiasm but there is nothing like the thrill of that first discovery. Each new book is like an opportunity to check back on old friends and meet new ones. I hope this series continues for a long time. The world needs more people like Jennifer and her friends.
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