Jake & Mimi: A Novel [Hardcover]

Frank Baldwin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 4, 2002

Mimi Lessing's attraction to a seduction artist has thrown her marriage plans into chaos. She never imagined that the pleasures of sex could so overwhelm her imagination. Jake Teller's attraction to Mimi Lessing is causing him to rethink his greatest pleasures: the art of the chase, the gleam of submission, the thrill of giving women greater pleasure than they ever dreamed of. A man who secretly watches Mimi sees her with Jake and is filled with rage. Soon the women who Jake has slept with begin being murdered, focusing investigators straight at Jake. Then Mimi herself disappears. "Jake & Mimi" is a relentlessly plotted and powerfully written thriller and a breathtaking exploration of the pleasures and limits of sex.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Baldwin's (Balling the Jack) erotic thriller is neither erotic nor thrilling. Mimi Lessing is engaged to a wonderful man, but although their sexual encounters are satisfying, they lack an air of danger. Enter Jake, a world-class seduction artist who works with Mimi in a leading Manhattan accounting firm. With one glance, he can make women swoon and engage in bondage-style sex. Mimi discovers his power, and Jake, intrigued by her sophistication and control, invites her to watch one of his conquests. She becomes enthralled by his games, eagerly awaiting the next opportunity to watch him in action. What Mimi doesn't realize, however, is that she is being watched by a stalker willing to kill to keep her away from Jake and his conquests. The plot seems like an afterthought in this limp and plodding novel, which overflows with extended descriptions of Jake's sexual technique. Definitely not bedtime reading; pass on this. Jeff Ayers, Seattle P.L.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Seduction, obsession, and murder....A clever thriller... unusual and compelling. (Toronto Sun) Thrilling...The story line grabs the audience. (Midwest Book Review) One wicked read.... It seduces you...teases and torments you...then leaves you screaming for more.... Brilliant. (Larry Brooks, author of Darkness Bound) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1st edition (January 4, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316170771
• ISBN-13: 978-0316170772
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,331,982 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't Waste Your Time or Money, July 8, 2003

By 

PadreRat (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jake & Mimi (Paperback)

It's a surprise others have been so generous towards this book. Usually, I'm the one to be positive when a book has let me down but I honestly can't recommend this. The story is marketed as a 9 1/2 week thriller but it missed it's marked.

The first mistake is noted in other reviews...poor character development. Jake's character is tolerable if Mimi's wasn't so weak. You never get the feeling as to what makes her tick or motivates her to the voyeristic behavior she increasingly displays. Just when you think the book could salvage itself (by having Jake & Mimi get together and finding out the results) it doesn't happen. The ending was such a yawner that I barely registered the words. By that point, I just wanted to finish the book.

I don't like wasting my time and money to be disappointed when it could have been so promising.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Contrived, unappealing characters..Like bad fast food, December 16, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Jake & Mimi (Paperback)

While eagerly awaiting the delivery of my latest book order, I picked up this "gem" at the grocery store. I want my money back. In a word--or two--it stunk.

Okay, if you're looking to get your rocks off on some very overly-descriptive, dragging, and dark sexual content, there's plenty of it here. Not much "thriller" content. More like a horny writer writing down his creepy fantasies, adding some filler content, and calling it a novel.

The characters are totally contrived, unappealing, and actually pretty darn annoying. Jake, the S&M/CPA playing his vengeful sex games with women to "take away" from them and compensate for his first teenaged sex fling that coincided with the death of his parents. Mimi, the naive, pure, bride-to-be, who becomes a regular voyeur/silent partner to his dalliances. (If she said "please" one more time, I was ready to scream). And the stable of female victims (portrayed as sexually frustrated idiots) who willingly give themselves to a stranger without so much as a second glance. And lastly, the client/ghoul who stalks and preys on these woman, judges as "impure", then causes them to disappear. It was just ridiculous.

The POV of each character (all in the first person) is confusing and adds to the annoying aspects of this story.

The ending was completely anticlimatic, with a feeble attempt at symbolism that fell flat and left me even more annoyed that I'd wasted [money] on this.

Save yourself some money. If you want a decent psychothriller, try Nicci French. If you want literary S&M porn, go buy an S&M mag. But save yourself the [money]. It's like bad, overpriced fast food--heartburn with headache included.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars To Die For, January 16, 2003

By 

Bruce Rux (Aurora, CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jake & Mimi (Paperback)

Jake is an effortless seducer. He can have any woman in less time than it takes another man to watch a movie. His conquests get more screaming orgasms out of him in an hour than they will with their husbands or lovers in a lifetime. Jake has torture down to a silken art form - his women don't just have sex with him, they totally submit...and love it.

Mimi works at the same financial firm Jake just got hired onto. She's less than a month from marrying the man she's gone steady with for six years. In a single moment, she's seen in Jake's eyes the power he has over women, and he's sensed her vulnerability - and need. Jake invites her to watch one or two of his overnight conquests, just so she knows what she's getting into. Mimi's weakening. Because she wants to. She can't believe how skilled Jake is. He's to die for.

Problem is, before it's all over, someone will.

This is a very clever, extremely well-written erotic thriller - with the emphasis on "erotic." It's been called a cross between 9-1/2 Weeks and Silence of the Lambs, though it's actually more reminiscent of David Lindsey's Mercy and some of Anne Rice's or Laurell K. Hamilton's works. The story is pretty straightforward, and Hitchcockian - very voyeuristic, and suspenseful. What elevates it - again, like Hitchcock - is the author's style, employing multiple first-person viewpoints to craftily play with the reader's perceptions.

The only real flaw with this book is that it takes a little too long to really get cooking - aside from the sex, that is. But that's a minor flaw, for the ultimate satisfaction.