Customer Reviews

Die For Love (Jacqueline Kirby)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Elizabeth Peters is one of those rare authors who can mingle intelligent whodunnits with sheer lunatic hilarity.

And rarely did she show this as expertly as in "Die For Love," a brilliantly twisting whodunnit that expertly lampoons romance novels and the writers who churn them out. Peters surrounds her acerbic heroine with mounds of puffy pink luvvyluv, but also tosses in a startling murder into the mix.

Jacqueline Kirby, seeking to expand her horizens and get out of a romantic rut, travels to New York for a romance writers' convention. After educating herself on sexy schlock, she encounters a bunch of colorful celebrities there -- a scathing columnist, a rabid feminist, an obsessive fan, an old classmate, the gorgeous and talented Queen of Romance Valerie Valentine, a sexy male writer, and a sinister yet hearty literary agent.

Then the columnist dies unexpectedly, and it seems that Valentine is the target. Jacqueline begins peeling away the layers of cotton-candy romance to find out what ugly secrets are important enough to kill for. Was it jealousy, hatred, or money? (Surprisingly, passion doesn't enter into it). Armed with the ugliest hat and the fattest purse in the world, she sets out to smoke out the killer.

"Die For Love" is a massive tonal shift for the too-short Jacqueline Kirby series. After two pretty serious, European-flavoured mysteries, suddenly we're in New York and immersed in hilarious romantic spoofery -- and you can tell Elizabeth Peters is having a delightful time mocking the romance genre.

So she intertwined satire and a clever whodunnit very nicely, swinging deftly between the funny (Jacqueline having a "war of quotes" with Hattie) and a strong collection of motives, suspects and some clever literary allusions mixed in with the over-the-top schlock. But she also reminds us of some of the more serious results of the romance genre, such as the "rape=love" message.

Jacqueline is her usual irrepressible self -- big fat purse, flamboyant clothes, and the lofty position of a librarian with a naughty streak. She steps further from "conventional detective" into her unique, perkily eccentric niche. One interesting fact is that in this book, she sets out to write a historical romance.

And she's backed by a deliciously colourful cast of characters -- demure Sue, the sexy but beleagured hunk Victor, the hilarious hardcore feminist Betsy, the bewigged and timid Valerie Vanderbilt, and the grotesquely scheming Hattie.

"Die For Love" isn't quite worth dying for, but it's not hard to love. Hilarious, barbed and relentlessly clever, this is a must-read for mystery fans... and maybe romance fans with a sense of humor.

This is by far, one of the funniest books written by Elizabeth Peters/Barbara Michaels. She must have written bodice rippers at one time in her literary life to have created characters so true to form. Jacqueline Kirby has got to be one of my favorite sleuths of all time - combining great looks with a talent for spotting trouble.

There aren't too many books that I find laugh out loud funny but this is one of them. Written with humor and even the occasional burst of compassion, Elizabeth Peters takes on the cut-throat world of romance novelists.
Those who enjoyed this book may also enjoy "Bimbos of the Death Sun" by Sharyn McCrumb, an equally funny mystery about a murder that takes place at a Sci-Fi convention.

Set in the midst of a conference for romance writers, this mystery features my favorite Peters character Jacqueline Kirby, a librarian from Coldwater College of undetermined age. Eager to escape the rain in Nebraska, Kirby sets off for NYC to attend the Historical Romance Writers of the World conference because she thinks she can write off the cost as business deduction on her tax return(!). Sandwiched in between the clues of the exciting mystery plot are magnificent tongue-in-cheek looks at bodice-rippers and the industry that produces them. The satirical tone and Kirby's dry wit will have you laughing your way through the novel. At then end, you too may be inspired to try your hands at writing a romance novel- after all, if Kirby can write and sell a novel while solving the murder, why can't you?

I enjoy this series quite a bit, although of Ms. Peters' three series, it is my least favorite and I almost rated this entry just three stars. This third entry has our favorite librarian, Jacqueline Kirby, attending a romance author/publisher convention in New York,mostly just to escape her boring home city and to use it as a tax write-off since it is remotely related to her field.

Not long after she arrives, there is a murder; a gossip columnist is killed. There is a bevy of suspects for Jacqueline to sort through and therein lies one of the problems of this book - the suspects are a little exaggerated and overblown. Another problem I had with this book was Jacqueline herself. While she was arrogant and stand-offish in the first two books, in this one she is downright mean to some people, particularly to her semi-boyfriend, who has followed her to NYC for the conference. Rather than finding her amusingly sarcastic, this time I found her irritating. The third problem with the book was that this one was a little dated. The first two books of the series, also having been written in the early 1980's, did not come across as being 20 years old but I guess the situation of the romance conference and the descriptions of the dress styles (important to the plot of the book) really showed that this is a re-issue.

But, any Elizabeth Peters book is head & shoulders above most other mystery writers today and I would recommend this book to any mystery lover.

This was the first book that I have read about Jacqueline Kirby. I found her to be the most extraordinary character. She had style, taste, and enough satire to make even the impassive romance writers cringe. I have never read a romance novel, but the way Jacqueline described them (and so flamboyantly made fun of them) almost made them sound funny. Die for Love was a novel with everything I look for: good characters (especially heroines), good plot, great suspense, non-stop action, and lots of laughs. Jacqueline's attitude and Holmes-like deductions make this a must read for every Elizabeth Peters fan.

The third Jacqueline Kirby novel is different from the others. It is told from her perspective, although still in third person. This story finds her in New York City for the Romance Writers Conference. Of course, she falls in with the top people and a murder soon follows. The trouble is... the police don't think it's a murder!

This novel is an ascerbic, biting look at the lascivious world of romance novels. It is funny and sarcastic- one that shouldn't be missed!

Barbara Michael's (or is it Elizabeth Peters?) "Die for Love"
is so different from her other novels, either in her Barbara
Michaels byline, or under her real name, Elizabeth Peters,
that I wonder if it is meant as an apology for any skeletons
(either literal or literary) that this author might have in
her closet. As we learn of the ins and outs of the romance
publishing business, the sin of ghostwriting lurks
omnipresently in this plot. Whatever little peccadilloes
this prolific author might harbor along those lines, her
originality, her wit, and her diversity make her one of
the best, if not the best, romance novelist in America today.
After all, Egyptologists will come and go, but Barbara
Michaels' fiction is here to stay. This book is a prime
example of the writer at her best.

This sounded like a book I'd enjoy, but I didn't much. The setup was great, but I didn't care for Jacqueline. She was rude to just about everyone & wanted to kick people in the shins etc. This is the first Kirby book for me & it will be the last.

I would recommend instead the Double Features series by Jeffrey Cohen. The 1st book is Some Like it Hot - Buttered.

elizabeth peters is a 5 star mystery authoress- when you madly waiting for the next amelia peabody book to come out read these smaller mysteries- you will fall in love with the background,knowledge of the subject matter and the characters esp. the who done it-