Goodnight Nobody [Paperback]

Jennifer Weiner (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Washington Square Press; 1st Thus. edition (2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743468953
• ISBN-13: 978-0743468954
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (214 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,965,978 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

JENNIFER WEINER is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of seven books, including Best Friends Forever, Good in Bed, In Her Shoes, which was made into a major motion picture, and Certain Girls. A graduate of Princeton University, Weiner lives in Philadelphia with her family.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

201 of 218 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Had to give up, October 25, 2005

By 

Bearette24 (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Goodnight Nobody: A Novel (Hardcover)

It pains me to say I didn't like a Jennifer Weiner novel, and it will probably get me a bunch of unhelpful votes, but so be it. I loved her first 3 books, saw her movie, and got my copy of Little Earthquakes autographed by her at a reading. So you can see, I'm a fan.

But that wasn't enough to get me through Goodnight Nobody. There are spots of bright dialogue, but the overall effect is "phoned in." The characters aren't memorable or well-developed; I didn't care about them. The protagonist, Kate Klein, is the usual Weiner "stand-in" and somewhat more developed than the other characters.

So if Kate were the main focus of the novel, it might have worked out. But no, the main focus of the novel is the dead Kitty Cavanaugh. This is problematic because we barely get to know Kitty, and since Kate writes her off as a "perfect suburban mom," we're not terribly interested either.

So there's nothing to keep you reading, unless an occasional nugget of funny dialogue is enough motivation to plow through over 300 pages. For me, it's not.

I hope her next book is chick lit, not a mystery. I am grateful that I got this one from the library.

64 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Left too much unresolved, but excellent writing prevails, October 3, 2005

By 

Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Goodnight Nobody: A Novel (Hardcover)

Kate Klein has just relocated to the suburbs with her husband after a mugging in New York City. When she arrives in Upchurch, a Stepford-like Connecticut suburb she discovers a town full of perfectly aerobicized and coiffed stay-at-home-mommies, complete with matching diaper bags. She hasn't quite been accepted by them, but when the queen bee invites her to lunch, she's so excited, but unfortunately finds her hostess face down in her kitchen in a pool of blood, with a butcher knife in her back. Kate's boredom results in her taking a crack at solving the murder. After all, the keystone cops cannot seem to figure out a motive or any suspects. She discovers that she and Kitty had a friend in common, Evan McKenna, a NY investigator who also happens to be a former lover she hasn't seen since an embarrassing incident that caused her to from New York and into the arms of her husband Ben. Ben wants Kate to leave the sleuthing to the authorities, while Kate just wants something to do three days a week while the kids are at school. With the help of Evan and her best bud Janie (who has the best lines!), Kate discovers that all is not well in tight-knit Upchurch, and there are plenty of secrets that people want to keep buried.

"Goodnight Nobody" is a dramatic change from Weiner's regular writing style. But her excellent storytelling and funny narrative kept me hooked. She is at her best when she writes about relationships, but I felt that the two men in her life were not completely drawn out. There were far too many things left unresolved too and since Weiner does not write sequels, the reader is left to wonder.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Goodnight, Period., March 29, 2006

By 

Lois Lain (San Francisco Bay Area, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Goodnight Nobody: A Novel (Hardcover)

I am a little confused as to why Weiner, one of the hottest writers today, felt it necessary to try her hand at a mystery. After the raucous success of "In Her Shoes," "Good In Bed," and "Little Earthquakes," I expected her to keep moving on the same vein -- and I was excited about it.

But this book doesn't make the grade set by her previous three best-sellers. The mystery is clunky, the characters annoying, and the plot disjointed. This was a strange attempt at a new genre. Let's hope Weiner returns to her familiar -- and lush -- territory and leaves the mystery writing to others.