Hot Ticket [Hardcover]

Janice Weber (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1998

When secret agent Leslie Frost is sent to Washington, D.C. to pick up a murder case, her search for a murderer leads her to the steaming jungles of Central America, where famed ethnobotanist Louis Bailey has vanished. Not coincidentally, his brother, lies terminally ill with a mosquito-borne dengue fever, the possible victim of assassination by insect. Sooner than she can say Paganini, Frost, a concert violinist, is back in D.C. playing an erotic duet with Fausto Kiss, a pianist of great wealth who thrives on everyone's secrets. Caught between cold ambitions and red-hot romance, Frost must fight for her life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Concert violinist and secret U.S. agent Leslie Frost returns (after her 1992 debut in Frost the Fiddler) to perform at the White House, where she finds the body of fellow agent Polly Barnard and soon digs up dirty doings at the highest levels of government. Herself an acclaimed concert pianist, Weber clearly knows a lot more about music than espionage but compensates with the urbane wit of her James Bond-ish heroine, who rides Harleys, wears black leather, kills only in self-defense?and snappily tells her own tale as she investigates her colleague's death and finds herself drawn into the inner circle of Clinton-esque President Bobby Marvel and his first lady, Paula. When Leslie is invited to breakfast at the home of aptly named Washington power broker Fausto Kiss, she soon decides that he holds the key to Polly's murder (she also decides that Fausto, reminiscent of Sydney Greenstreet, is downright sexy). With her controller, Maxine the Queen, pushing her to go after the president himself, Leslie travels from Washington, D.C., to the steamy jungle of Belize, from New York to Berlin in her quest for the truth. Arms merchant Krikor Tunalian, the vice president's brother, a doctor developing a deadly poison and a power-hungry female senator are some of the colorful suspects who fill this farcical romp, an entertaining though convoluted story that dresses its weary cynicism about the Washington scene in a cheerful procession of laughs, sex and intrigue. (Nov.) FYI: Reviewers of this novel will receive a privately pressed CD with music mentioned in the text. Frank Powdermaker plays Leslie Frost's solos, and Janice Weber acts as Fausto Kiss, Leslie's piano accompanist.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

First introduced in Frost the Fiddler (LJ 4/1/92), Lesley Frost, covert government agent and concert violinist, is summoned to perform at the White House for President Buddy Marvel and his hard-nosed wife, Paula (yes, another Bill and Hillary novel!). Vice President JoJo Bailey is dying of a jungle fever, and ambitious Senator Aurilla Perle is jockeying for his job and for Lesley to hear her monster of a daughter play the violin. Amidst all the politics, Lesley meets splendid millionaire Fausto Kiss, who loves to wreak havoc among the powerful and power-crazy residents of our capital city. Weber's crisp writing is a pleasure, although the novel's many characters will confuse some readers. Nonetheless, Ludlum and DeMille fans will welcome this new Lesley Frost caper as she wins, then loses love.?Alice DiNizo, Raritan P.L., NJ
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 337 pages
• Publisher: Warner Books; First Edition edition (November 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446517739
• ISBN-13: 978-0446517737
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,572,706 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars "Hot Ticket" flounders in Potomac bog, December 27, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Hot Ticket (Hardcover)

Author Janice Weber is definitely a talented writer. As narrated through her heroine, Leslie Frost, "Hot Ticket" provides a steady stream of sharp, sardonic prose, interlaced with vivid descriptions of Belizean jungles and Washingtonian power balls. Unfortunately, Weber's skills as a writer are far greater than her skills as a novelist, and therein lies the problem with this overlong book. After playing a recital in the White House, violinist/superspy Leslie Frost discovers the nude corpse of a sister secret agent in a Watergate apartment. Her search for the killer takes her back and forth between Washington and Belize, and involves her with a bizarre cast of characters: randy President Bobby Marvel (resembling---guess who?); his wicked witch of a wife (resembling---guess who?); dikey White House aide Vicky Chickering; ambitious Senator Aurilla Perle; a fabulously wealthy, brilliant, overweight power broker/pianist named Fausto Kiss---the list is practically endless, as are the plots and subplots: Who infected the Vice President with a dengue virus? Where is the Vice President's brother? Will Frost be able to keep the pawing Bobby Marvel (and his double!) at bay? How deeply will Frost become involved with the aforesaid Fausto Kiss? And on and on. Shakespeare also did this sort of thing, but without loss of tempo. Here, however, the story becomes unfocused as Frost deals with these cardboard caricatures. The most intriguing subplot in the novel----the mutual seduction of Frost and Kiss----is about as slow and verbose as an Eric Rohmer movie, and culminates in something less than the Clintonian definition of sex. The only thing that kept me going to the end of "Hot Ticket" was Weber's witty writing. Along the way, however, it was too easy to forget where the story had come from, too hard to remember where it was headed.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious, fast paced and full of action, January 12, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Hot Ticket (Hardcover)

This book is witty and full of great humor. It is half parody, half serious... about a narcissistic maestro violinist who is also an expert spy. The story goes fast, and with Smith's wisecracks and sarcastic sense of humor it will leave you laughing aloud. Leslie Frost, aka Smith, is the perfect, smart heroine for the intensely serious espionage world.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you like politics and mystery, this book's for you., March 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Hot Ticket (Hardcover)

I totally enjoyed this romp through the salons of Washington and the jungles of South America. Very timely topic, considering the horror currently occupying the White House. This book is perfect for a rainy weekend, a day on the beach or just an escape!