God Don't Play [Hardcover]

Mary Monroe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2006

From Mary Monroe, beloved author of God Don't Like Ugly and God Still Don't Like Ugly, comes the entwined stories of two lifelong friends, their secrets and lies, and a new challenge that could destroy their relationship once and for all...

With a handsome husband, a beautiful daughter, and a lovely house to come home to every night, forty-five-year-old Annette Goode finally has it all. Heaven knows she paid her dues--from a childhood filled with abuse to a rocky start as an adult. Annette's friend Rhoda knows too, for Rhoda has been both her savior and her greatest fear. Their erratic relationship has survived some serious bumps in the road. But now that things are good, someone apparently thinks they're a little too good...

When Annette receives an anonymous--and menacing--birthday gift, it's just the beginning of a slew of hostile letters, vicious phone calls, and vile packages from a female who is obviously disguising her voice. Gaining comfort from the support of Rhoda and Rhoda's teenage daughter, Jade, Annette hopes that somehow the problem will go away. But when the threats extend to her little daughter, Annette realizes the situation is dire. And she's right, for soon her tormentor reveals exactly what she wants--and how it could destroy everything Annette has built...

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this third novel in Monroe's bestselling God Don't series, Annette Goode finally has it all: a sexy husband who adores her, a beautiful young daughter, a comfy house, a good job and a perfect best friend. But why is someone suddenly sending her anonymous hate mail? As the poison pen letters and threatening phone calls become more ugly and violent, Annette takes her friend Rhoda's advice and sets out to discover and expose the culprit. Along the way, she is forced to dust off some of the skeletons in her closet—including childhood poverty and sexual abuse, a brief stint turning tricks as a teenager, and being an accessory to murder. Annette also confronts gnawing insecurity: obese and unfashionable, she wonders how long she can hang onto a husband who, according to gossip from the local beauty parlor, still has his name tattooed on the buttocks of Annette's prime suspect, the town femme fatale. Monroe squeezes everything she can from this novel's melodramatic plot, but it never feels as ominous as it should, nor does the tidiness of the conclusion enhance the book's already-faint sense of verisimilitude. What was interesting about Annette is covered in the earlier books. (Aug. 29)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

In this third book in the story line from God Don't Like Ugly (2000) to God Still Don't Like Ugly (2003), Annette Goode and Rhoda -Nelson-O'Toole are still best friends. For the first time in her life, Annette is content and happy in her marriage to childhood friend Pee Wee Davis. They live very comfortably and have a nine-year old daughter, Charlotte. Annette's recent promotion to supervisor at the collection agency has been a source of gossip. Rhoda and Otis are still married but live very separate lives. They stay together for the sake of their teenage daughter, Jade. Annette loves Jade like her own daughter but is manipulated into allowing her to behave and participate in activities that are inappropriate. When Annette begins receiving threatening notes, phone calls, and packages, Rhoda and Jade become very protective of her feelings and safety. The person torturing also has Annette questioning and confronting Pee Wee about his fidelity. When Annette is forced to fight for her sanity, family, and safety, her relationship with Rhoda and Jade is forever changed. Lillian Lewis
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 314 pages
• Publisher: Dafina (September 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758203462
• ISBN-13: 978-0758203465
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #380,477 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Deja Vu..., August 31, 2006

By 

Phyllis Rhodes (Orlando, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: God Don't Play (Hardcover)

Mary Monroe returns to Richland, Ohio to visit with Annette and Rhoda, the heroines and survivors of God Don't Like Ugly and God Still Don't Like Ugly. This novel, God Don't Play, picks up some years later, where seemingly not much has changed. A middle-aged, overweight, "Plain Jane" Annette has been promoted to manager at the debt collection agency. She is still happily married to the younger, good-looking, Pee Wee, a successful barbershop owner and operator. Annette's best friend, Rhoda, is still the wealth y and much envied town beauty who is often shadowed by her 17-year old daughter (and Annette's Goddaughter), Jade, a younger version of Rhoda in more ways than one.

Annette's reticent world is shaken when she suddenly receives hate mail that attacks her physical appearance. She immediately confides in Rhoda and Jade. The hate mail continues and becomes more graphic and violent; it eventually graduates to packages with inappropriate and foul content delivered to her place of employment. Threatening phone calls reveal a woman who claims to be having an affair with Pee Wee. In the midst of all this, life happens and Annette must deal with family illness, disgruntled co-workers, gossiping neighbors, Jade's sexuality issues and a seemingly wayward husband.

As complex as it sounds, I found the plot to be largely single-threaded. It follows the antics of fretful, mild-mannered Annette as she (along with Rhoda and Jade) try to find out who is behind the harassment and uncover their motive. Because it was quite obvious to me who the culprit was fairly early in the novel, it was quite frustrating to read through the remainder of the book observing Annette continually miss clue after clue. It takes nearly 300 pages for her to "get it" (and even then, it is largely by accident, not from any deductive reasoning or investigating). There is a brief confrontation and essentially the novel ends with forgiveness all around with a hint of more to come - perhaps another novel?

For those unfamiliar with the series, this novel contains enough subtle references to plots and events that occurred in the other two "God Don't..." books to give the supporting characters some depth. For those who are familiar with the two previous novels, I think they will be pleased to catch glimpses of Scary Mary, Lilliemae, Betty Jean and other quirky characters. As much as I love Mary Monroe as a writer, I was a bit disappointed with this offering, thus the middle of the road rating.

Reviewed by Phyllis
APOOO BookClub
Nubian Circle Book Club

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars You'll turn the pages!, September 6, 2006

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: God Don't Play (Hardcover)

A tale of two sister friends, God Don't Play, is as complex as it is entertaining.

The author reverses common roles: it is the heavy-set, seemingly unattractive Annette who has the handsome and loyal husband, while the lovely Rhoda's spouse spends little or no time with her. The story reels with the fact that opposites do attract.

Even Rhoda's daughter Jada often wonders how her mom could be friends with such a "big person." Yet, Annette is one of those women who loves friends and family with a passion; a person who you either love her or hate her--with no middle ground.

A number of people become suspect when Annette begins to receive threatening calls and deliveries. Yet, the plot is like that of a person looking for her glasses that are right in front of her the entire time.

Mary Monroe's cast of characters doesn't leave much room for sympathy for any of them. Rhoda spoils her daughter Jada to a fault, and Annette dotes on them both, often to her own abandonment. Their husbands, Otis and Peewee, appear to be caught up with women who are surrounded by much drama. Yet, the story moves through all lives concerned, leaving you to wonder what they will be up to next. Only Mary Monroe knows the answer to that. One thing for sure, she will be letting us know for some time to come that God Don't Play.

Armchair Interviews says: Good story of people types that we all know.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Oh Mary You Should Weep, February 28, 2007

By 

Francine "Frannie" (Brooklyn) - See all my reviews

This review is from: God Don't Play (Hardcover)

. . . Tell Your Altered Ego To Moan Some More.

Mary, Mary, Mary. I'm shaking my head in total disappointment. You didn't put much thought into this story line. It was, well, boring and highly predictable. Some things are better put to sleep. This book really should have stopped after the first one. God Don't Like Ugly was brilliantly written. God Still Don't Like Ugly was just, "eh," tolerable. And this one was a rotten egg. Because you're my girl, I had to tell you the truth. So now suck it in, consider the critism and get back to what you do best--"The Upper Room" and "Gonna Lay Down My Burden" styled stories.

To be honest, this series wasn't a good series at all. Save yourself some embarrassment and end it here. You do so much better at individual novels that has closure. Nothing personal. So with that said---I love ya, girl.