Customer Reviews

Fat Tuesday

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Sandra Brown is always a must read, and while this book was a good read, it wasn't my favorite book of hers. The mystery/suspense was well written, but the connection between Remy and Burke just doesn't work. I never felt the chemistry and emotional intensity that is so important.

Bought this book thinking it would be a gift for someone who likes romance novels. She already had it. The book sat around for awhile, then someone asked me if I liked Sandra Brown's new mystery novel, and pointed out some of the reviews.

Rule: Never judge a book by its author's name.

FAT TUESDAY is a good adventure story with a decent mystery plot, though not as strong as some I've read. What excels here are the characters. Pinkie Duvall is well portrayed as not only a powerful attorney, but a drug dealer as well. Burke Basile is a New Orleans cop whose life is falling apart. His partner died accidentally from a shot fired by Basile in a drug raid and he witnesses his wife involved with someone else. Basile wants revenge, and his target is Pinkie Duvall, who he holds responsible for all that has happened to him. He resigns from the New Orleans Police, poses as a priest to kidnap Remy, Pinkie Duvall trophy wife, then the action really starts.

The characters are well defined. The plot seems like a cliche at first, then suddenly you find that you can't put this one down. Good book - I'll be looking for more of Sandra Brown's mystery novels.

If you like a very fast read involving sex,violence and revenge, you'll love Fat Tuesday.The protagonists are a cop who accidently killed his partner,a VERY crooked lawyer,a beautiful,dominated wife and a whore with a heart of gold, then you'll love this book.It's a 2 day read-very pacy and quite exciting,written in a journalists quick style and very readable.

Having read just about all of Sandra Brown's romance novels (in fact, she was the first romance novelist I ever read who was literate and knew how to create a plot), I got a bit miffed when she turned to mysteries. My thought was: You are great at what you do, but what makes you think you can compete with the "big boys"? Oh, how wrong I was. I picked up "Fat Tuesday" in a collection of older paperbacks, and took it with me on a trip from Philadelphia to Houston. I figured it would be mindless enough to distract me from my fear of flying. Again, I was wrong. It not only distracted me, I FORGOT I was flying.

This fast-paced, finely plotted, zingy trip through the seamier side of New Orleans is one of the better police dramas I have read. The villain, Duvall, is as chillingly evil as any mafia chieftain (the scene where he crushes a collection of rare and beautiful orchids beneath his heel because of an imagined imperfection says it all). The hero, Burke Basile, is gritty, brilliant, hard-boiled--and vulnerable, a tough-as-nails cop who can't forgive himself for accidentally shooting his partner to death in a drug raid gone wrong.

The showdown between the two men, which comprises most of the book, makes it impossible to stop reading. There are enough plot twists and interesting side characters to keep the story barreling along, and yet, even though you know what has to happen, it comes as a complete surprise anyway.

This is a great summer read, and I now plan on reading Brown's other mysteries straightaway.

After accidentally killing his partner in a drug bust gone wrong, NOPD detective Burke Basile decides that the best way to get even with New Orleans corrupt lawyer and drug kingpin Pinkie Duvall is to take what he treasures most - his sexy and serene wife Remy. What Burke doesn't realize is that Remy hates Pinkie. As a child, she was sold by her prostitute mother and raised to become Pinkie's bride. She's his virtual prisoner in his ornate mansion. The only thing keeping her in Pinkie's house is her sister, whose safety Pinkie holds over her head. Burke falls under Remy's spell and soon he's plotting to help her while also exacting his revenge against his nemesis, culminating in events that'll leave all their lives changed forever. Will she be his lover or his betrayer?

Brown cleverly tells the story from the hero's point of view - a nice change of pace. While some readers found it disconcerting not to know what was going on in Remy's mind, I found that our lack of understanding Remy adds to the remoteness and ethereal quality of her character. This fast-paced action-packed story is quintessential Brown.

FAT TUESDAY could only mean Mardi Gras and the madness that goes with it! This tale is about a cop at the end of his rope. Burke Basile feels that he's the reason his partner is dead, his marriage is over, and his career is over, so he focuses his revenge on his main enemy, Pinkie Duvall, a lawyer who helps killers get away with murder. Burke plans the ultimate revenge - he plans on kidnapping Remy, the lawyer's beautiful wife. What he doesn't know is how desperate this woman is and how she is trying to get out of the loveless marriage to Pinkie, but is instead a prisoner in her own home. Burke plans a daring plot that has him inside Pinkie's mansion for a Mardi Gras masquerade party on Fat Tuesday, but didn't consider his love-at-first-sight feelings for Remy.

FAT TUESDAY is a highly charged story in which Sandra Brown proves that she can cross the line of romance writer into the genre of mystery. This is one of my favorite books by her, and I consider it a "stop light book" (one that you have on the seat when you're driving, and while at a stop light, you read a paragraph or two - you definitely can't put this book down). This is filled with romance, wicked attempts of possessing another human being, and suspense.

Although this is the 1st Sandra BROWN novel that I've ever read, I like it a lot. The first 1 to 2 chapters might be a bit stale and ordinary, but when it got to the plot part, it got very interesting. It has actions; it has some small romance, and most importantly, a good story line making it more enticing and rich to read. I literally stayed up late attempting to finish the book before I yielded to my sleepiness. I am quite surprised that a woman author could write an action oriented book that comes out well like FAT TUESDAY. I am definitely looking forward to her next novel.

This is my first time reading Sandra Brown. I was hooked right from the first page. She never stops the action and I love her hero's and heroines. They may be a bit above real life, but you don't care. she just sweeps you along with the story. I found it hard to put down. As soon as I finished it I went to my computer and looked on Amazon for more of her books to order. She has a new fan.

The book was awesome. I found it impossible to put down and had a hard time from skipping to find out the ending. Sandra Brown paints a great picture for her audience and is very vivid and creative when describing her characters. The ultimate Pinkie is evil and intriguing while Bastile plays a similar counterpart. If you want a good suspense story, read Fat Tuesday!

Sandra Brown is great at creating skin-crawling villains, and this book is no exception to the rule in that department. In this glitzier version of the Richard Gere-Kim Basinger cinema classic "No Mercy," Burke Basile is a burned-out cop on the edge. When the man responsible for the death of his partner, Kev Stuart, beats a murder rap, and then Burke finds his wife in the shower with another man, he slips over the edge. He's helped along when he develops an obsession for the beautiful wife of his bitter enemy, defense attorney, Pinkie Duvall.

Pinkie is the slimy lawyer who got scumbag Wayne Bardo off when charged with Kev Stuart's murder. Because of corruption in the New Orleans Police Department, his power and influence, and connections with the city's criminal element, Pinkie is untouchable. Almost as untouchable as his gorgeous wife Remy, who he shows off like a playmate while she's on his arm, but is otherwise kept under lock and key. Pinkie acquired Remy when she was 17 and gave her not a moment of freedom since. Aside from the innocent people Pinkie would hurt if she left, Pinkie also holds Remy's 16-year-old sister over her head. Fearful of what Pinkie would do to Flarra, Remy gave up fighting long ago.

Then one day, Burke Basile snapped and devised a plan, with an unwilling sex offender posing as a priest to help him, to kidnap Remy Duvall. Feeling he has nothing to live for, he vows to avenge Kev Stuart's death, no matter if he dies or goes to prison in the process. While Burke hides Remy in the swamp, Pinkie Duvall sends the force of his manpower out to find her, while deflecting interference from the pesky FBI, who might delve into things he'd rather keep secret. At the same time, there's a dirty cop in the NOPD, and Burke Basile isn't sure who he can trust. The tension builds, practically from the first page, until the satisfying climax at Pinkie Duvall's blowout Fat Tuesday costume party.

In addition to her creepy villains, Sandra Brown has also created colorful protagonists, people with deep flaws and personal demons who find redemption in each other. Their love affair comprises only a small portion of this story, but it is no less important for its minimal presence. Remy and Burke had lost hope of having joy in their lives, had even resigned themselves to death, but when they found each other, it gave both a very strong reason to live, and more than a little hope. It is this that carries them through the insurmountable problems they face, and helps them take down a very dangerous and powerful man. The 90's spawned some of the best romantic suspense I've read, and this book is a fine example. Sandra Brown is an author not to miss.