Customer Reviews

Glossed and Found (Bath & Body Series)

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

 

 

I agree with the previous reviewer. This book is filled with superfluous information that does nothing to drive the mystery. In fact, there are so many side plots that the mystery gets lost, and I didn't even care about the outcome. Also, the sex was ridiculous and had a disconnect with the rest of the book. I have to be honest; I could barely skim the last few chapters. I think I'm done with this series. Persia Vanderbilt, the main character, has never been very likeable to me.

I've read several other mysteries by this author, but was quite disappointed in this one. The writing seemed "padded"--i.e. paragraph after paragraph that did nothing to advance the plot.

The plot itself was okay, but certainly not exceptional, and some of it wasn't even believable. For example,although there was some explanation for the seemingly total imcompetence by the local police department (understaffing), the idea that even a rookie (much less the police chief) would miss so many of the pertinent and obvious clues that an untrained 32 yr old shop owner ferreted out seems more than a little farfetched.

Another part of the plot that strained even the most willing suspension of disbelief is the handling of the dv incidents by the police. Again, only the most incompetent of professionals would have handled the case they way it was.

All in all, this novel was not one I'd recommend to anyone.

Persia Vanderbilt has grown tiresome for me. The endless self-absorbtion of the character has worn out its welcome. More emphasis on the town, her auntie, the shop and the plot would be welcome. Less emphasis on how toned and fit Persia is, and much less description about what she's wearing might make me come back. As much as I hate to say it, it was a struggle to get through the book.

Having enjoyed the first two India Ink books, I was ready for another fun read. I was kind of disappointed in the latest installment.

For one, I could have done without Persia and her boyfriend "getting it on" every time they were together. I'm all for a little romance but all they seemed to be interested in was having sex.

Another problem I had was the mystery itself. You can pretty much figure out who the "perp" is by about half way through the book. Too bad.

All in all, the book was ok. I don't know if I'll buy the next one though.

In Gulf Harbor, Washington, Persia Vanderbilt understands how important the holiday season starting with the Thanksgiving Gala is to her business Venus Envy, the spa she runs and owns with her Aunt Florence. Still she looks forward to the festivities ending so she can spend more quality time with her new boyfriend. At the Thanksgiving Gala, she is shocked when the newly hired makeup artist Lisa Tremont fails to show up as everyone is working that day.

The police inform Persia that they found Lisa's car parked near Lookout Pier and soon conclude she drowned. Persia has a difficult time with the official position especially when Lisa's sister Amy agrees that something is not right as the woman feared deep water and coincidentally thought she found some of the missing inheritance that she and her sibling should have received when their father died. Though there is no proof of murder, Amy begs Persia to investigate, which she agrees even as her former boyfriend Elliot stalks her.

Though there seems to be too much going on in Persia's life between the bash, the investigation, the former boyfriend and a friend struggling with a "monster-in-law", readers will enjoy this exciting amateur sleuth tale as the heroine is a courageous caring person. The "Bath and Body" whodunit is cleverly written so that the audience obtains a taste of the Puget Sound town preparing for the holidays, which with the exception of Elliot, leads to a fine cozy that will send readers to visit the spa (see SCENT TO HER GRAVE).

Harriet Klausner

I enjoy this series, but in this installment, it seemed that there was so much else going on -- Persia's relationship with Killian, her problems with Elliott, decorating the house for Christmas -- that the mystery kind of got lost in the shuffle, only popping up now and then as if the author suddenly remembered it.

I also thought it was a bit farfetched. After all Elliott pulled, he should've been locked up for good before any of these incidents happened. And, since Auntie is such a serious business owner, I didn't believe for a second that any shop owner would take off the day after Thanksgiving, the biggest day in retail, simply to decorate her house.

The main charcter gets harder to like in each book. By this, the 3rd book, she is practically unbearable. The main character (Perfect Persia) is so self centered, she goes to the pool at the local gym and we are told how she walks around the other women in the dressing area naked because she is okay with her body...or the clingy-like-second-skin-gold-metalic dress she wears to the big party is in the story for no apparent reason than to emphasize how "hot" she is. That is typical for this character. The attempts by the author to try and make Persia more human are so obvious they stick out - because Persia has to stretch to care much.

There is a constant onslaught of talk about designer clothes, shoes, swim suits, handbags, evening gowns etc. that I just wanted to scream "I don't care anymore". Giving a sense of the person with some description is good - but this is minutia that gets very old very fast.

The mystery - what mystery? Oh yeah, some girl disappeared. A girl that Persia found frustrating and annoying - even though she tried to assist the girl to get over her fear of the water. An instance of Perfect Persia attempting to care. This book lost my interest before I reached the last page. I don't care to read anything more from this series - ever.

So, pretty much non-existant plot and a repulsive spoiled rich brat for the main character. If you liked watching Paris Hilton in "Real Life" and her supposed "sex tape" - you just may like this.

We join Persia Vanderbilt and her aunt Florence for the holiday season at their shop Venus Envy, a bath and body shop in Gull Harbor, WA. In this third installment in the series, we find Persia still suffering the attentions of her ex but thoroughly enjoying the attentions of her current beau. When she receives the call that her beautician, Lisa Tremont, is missing, she follows up the clues that the police aren't able to pursue due to budget cuts. Persia is convinced that Lisa did not end up at Lookout Pier of her own volition, due to a deathly fear of water from a childhood experience. The holidays prove to be almost more than Persia can handle with her best friend's marital difficulties and her own physical altercations with her ex. But how will she be able to help anyone if she can't stay alive?


Thanksgiving is proving to be a success for Venus Envy, the bath and body shop co-owned by Persia and her aunt, Florence. But it is also proving to be quite a hectic time, what with the elite Thanksgiving Gala to attend, the shop to manage, decorations to hang, people to host dinner for, ex-boyfriends attacking at home and at work, and an employee mysteriously gone missing.

Persia is trying to find Lisa, her beautician, who has gone missing right before a huge gala. Lisa and Persia had been working on conquering Lisa's deathly fear of water at the local pool, so Persia knows that Lisa's car, found abandoned down by a pier, is a clue to mislead the police. Lisa had hinted she was close to discovering who took the money missing from her inheritance; but Persia's efforts to help her friend are interrupted by the reappearance of her ex-boyfriend when he throws a rock through the plate glass window of Venus Envy, as well as Persia's windshield. His attempts to get Persia's attention escalate as Persia gets closer to finding what happened to her missing friend.

I am intrigued by the life of Persia Vanderbilt. She is woman, hear her roar! Persia is a confident woman happy in her own skin, and not afraid to let people know it. She and her aunt dance to their own tunes but yet are some of the most loyal friends people could have. The recipes of scents are included, as Persia's specialty is to create custom scents for the patrons of Venus Envy.

This is a great cozy series for people who like to pamper themselves. The characters are strong, and despite the multiple story lines, a wonderful perspective on the hectic holiday season.

I normally like books that are published by the Berkely Pub Group. The authors have a "hipper" writing style than some of the traditional mystery writers. This series started out with potential but by the last book I was done with this author. There is a place for overuse of grunge sex and foul language and it is called the toilet. If this book was disposable that is where it would be.

In this one, Persia's employee goes missing and it's up to her again to help a friend and unravel the motives of the likely suspects. After reading the other reviewers' gripes I hestitated on this one, so was pleasantly surprised when I actually sat down with it. All of India Ink's (a psuedonym) and Yasmin Galenorn's novels tend towards rich characterization, and I enjoy the depth. This one does take it's time, but I found it an absorbing quality and one I often miss, as opposed to novels where 2D characters move through a series of quick plot changes without nearly enough development. So take a chance, I thought the whole thing charming.