Customer Reviews

Lost and Found

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I thought this book pulled together a lot of recent trends I've noticed in her recent work (edgier, more focus on mystery, slightly more 'ordinary' h&h) and made it all work. I like the lack of major drama in the past lives of the main characters. He is a widower but she wasn't murdered by the bad guy ('Sharp Edges') or die in a dramatic plane crash ('Family Man') - and his first marriage was a good one. His daughter is a normal teenager. The heroine is successful and good at her job without being nauseatingly so. All in all nice people one might like to meet, and yet they still manage to solve the crime, hold their own in fights, and set the sheets on fire!

The recent 'Shady Lady' also has regular people characters, but somehow they're a little too ordinary. Mack and Cady manage to be normal but still transcend the ordinary enough to be belivable as hero and heroine.

For the record, I'm a longtime JAK fan. She was one of my favorite authors for a long time, but the qualities that made her books special have been declining steadily, at least in her mystery/romance variations.

The plotting in Lost and Found is good; there are plenty of lively, well-realized secondary characters who "coulda dunnit". They move the narrative along swiftly and I was stumped right up to the end as to the real villain. The secondary characters are inter-connected logically and emotionally. JAK handled that part of the narrative flow very smoothly, with none of the jarring inconsistencies or too-obvious plot lurches that have marred some of her books. So full marks there.

The trouble is the weirdly flat emotional tone between the "lover" main characters. The most affecting character is unhappy, lonely Aunt Vesta. There's potential emotional fodder a-plenty: Cady fears becoming like her Aunt Vesta, yearns for children, is plagued by old fears; Mark--in a wonderful departure for JAK--is a widower w/ a teenage daughter, a great dad, mourns his dead wife but needs to move on to being a lover/mate/companion again. The resolutions Cady and Mark--and his confused, conflicted daughter--reach are more outlined than illuminated. The scenes are there, the build-up is done, the trademark sparkling Krentzian dialogue is there, but they barely touch the emotional underpinnings before skimming on.

I loved Eclipse Bay; it's vital, vintage JAK. When her focus is firmly on romance, details seem to pretty much take care of themselves. And even if they don't the vividness of her romantic imagination more than compensate. When she's doin' that voodoo she do so well, few can match her. (Sorry, lousy grammar but that's the riff...) She's a storyteller of romances. Her strength is the sting, song and chemical burn of romance. When she gets too far away from those roots she falters.

Unfortunately, Lost and Found falters. If marketed to pure mystery fans, it'd be a solid, workmanlike product. Romance fans, seeing her name on the cover, will probably feel very shortchanged and overcharged.

I know I'm going to get bashed by every JAK fan out there, but hang on before you start. Let me start off by saying I'm a die-hard fan of JAK. The woman has never really written a bad book. However, let's face it, Lost and Found isn't all that great. After reading Eclipse Bay by Ms. Krentz this summer, I just knew she was back on track with her trade mark sassy dialogue, strong female character, and that bad boy hero she does so well. That isn't what I got when I read Lost and Found.

Cady Briggs is an expert at what she does. She identifies art and antiques. She is part of well known and respect family that owns one of the leading art galleries in the world. Doing a little independent work, she hooks up with Mark Easton who runs a low profile investigating company on the web. This sets up the beginning of the book with a little flirtation involving email and phone calls.

Then Cady's aunt dies and leaves her controlling interest in the family's business, Chatelaine's. Cady and Mark pretend to be engaged to determine why Cady's aunt backed out of a merger the entire family was in support of just before her death.

There are several different plots in this story that all lead back to the aunt's death. I don't know why the first three-fourths of the book didn't work. In fact, it took me two weeks to finish this book. However, I am glad I finished the book, because the last one-fourth of the book is pure Krentz. The characters came alive, the dialogue picked up, and I never picked up on who the real murder was even after skimming the ending before I finished the book.

I would love to give a glowing review of this book just because I love JAK's writing, but it isn't going to happen. If you have read Krentz throughout her career, don't expect the same caliber as her earlier writings.

I have read all JAK books (also those under Amanda Quick and Jayne Castle). She is an excellent writer and by far my favourite. I waited in eager anticipation for Lost and Found to be released. But something was lacking in this book. I found myself bored and skipping pages. The element that is JAK simply was not there, I found her usual wit and the chemistry between the couple saddly lacking.I hope this was a one off and look forward to reading Slightly Shady in April. Hoping it meets her usual excellent standards that set her apart from other authors!

Sadly I must agree that this is not her best work to date. Uncharacteristically I could put this JAK book down and did several times. Usually I have to start her books on a weekend morning because I'll read straight through until I'm done. While her characters did eventually come to life, they were very slow to start. Further, I found myself not particularly caring about them or their problems. While this is not her best effort, it is still surpases most authors' best work. I'd read a grocery list if she wrote it. The problem is that she is competing against herself and given her past brilliance, she has a tough competitor.

No excitement, no "get my blood pumping passion", minor character developed in the story (NOT!) is murderer...just all around disappointing.

Cady Briggs knew Mack Easton only from the internet. He owned an online company, Lost And Found. He mainly traced stolen artifacts for owners and museums when the owner could not go to the police for one reason or another. Mack hired her as a consultant often since she had excellent connections in the art world. They met face-to-face when Mack hired her to help him track down a stolen antique helmet.

Everyone said Cady Briggs was a lot like her Aunt Vesta Briggs. They both had a fine eye for art and antiques, fought panic attacks, and had bad luck with men! But everyone also knew that Cady liked consulting jobs. She wanted nothing to do with Chatelaine, the gallery Vesta ran. Sylvia, Cady's cousin, was a natural born CEO and was a shoo-in for inheriting Vesta's shares when she passed away. However, one week before Vesta died, she changed her will to give all the stocks to Cady. Vesta made it clear that she was considering canceling a bidding for Chatelaine to merge with Austrey-Post as well.

Cady did not believe Vesta's death to be a swimming accident. Thinking foul play and the concerns Vesta had of the merger, she called Mark for help. He would pose as her "soon to be fiancée", and help track down a killer that she could not prove existed. It quickly became apparent that more than one scam was going on! And Cady was in the hot seat!

***** Jayne Ann Krentz has often proven to me that I am right to consider her one of the best Modern Contemporary authors of our time! This latest book will take a place of honor among my favorites in my "Keeper" shelf! There is not way I could recommend this book highly enough! *****

I have read many of Jayne Ann Krent's book and this is the last one that I will purchase, especially a hardback!!There is no romance, zero sensuality,a poorly constructed "mystery", and no meaningful conversation between the couple. In the last few pages there is a marriage proposal that had no build up and the heroine is totally surprised that the hero is in love with her. Save your money and get this at the library. I would ask the author to return to the romance genre and stop trying to write a mystery novel. I miss the wonderful writing she did in her romance paperback releases.

This book is a mystery, yes, but it is also playful and cheeky. The subject of the mystery was different, and as I know little about antiques I actually learned that it is a very complex international business. What I loved about this story is the man. Mack, our hero, is the man I want to meet. He takes care of his woman, and her family, and his family. Most times the men are coaxed into the relationship, dragged into the family, but not Mack. He boldly walks right in. He is a mature man with a grown daughter, so why should he act like a confused kid? Nicely done. Cady is no weak woman either. She knows she needs a partner, first professionally, then personally. I liked the way they worked together.

Now, about the ending. The mystery wraps up very nicely and quite credibly. It all made sense to me. But the love story had an epilogue that was a bit too sweet. I like a happy ending, but once again I had the feeling the author was compelled to give us a peek into their future in this book instead of writing another one. Mack and Cady could be Nick and Nora. There could have been at least two more books about this couple with their unique talents and genius friends. What about it, Jayne?

Every time Jayne Ann Krentz writes another book I become more disappointed with her performance. This latest "attempt" is boring - full of windy conversations that go nowhere. Good grief, get on with the relationship between the hero and the heroine. It just meanders endlessly until the end of the book. There is no chemistry! Ms. Krentz' earlier writings were witty and full of action. I keep hoping for a return to this style. Enough with trying to make a statement in what is basically a romance novel. I doubt I will buy another of her books which is a shame because I have all of her previous writings.