Customer Reviews

A Meeting In The Ladies' Room

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was introduced to Anita Doreen Diggs through the dark and captivating A MIGHTY LOVE. I loved her writing and particularly her dialogue which is the way real black folks talk. Because A MIGHTY LOVE was so moving, I decided to read A MEETING IN THE LADIES ROOM. Her second novel gets off to a slow start but if you hang with it past the first two chapters, you won't be able to put it down.

If you like murder mysteries, tales of suspense, tales of lust and sexual obsession and tales of unrequited love, its all here in one compact little story.

I have learned a whole lot about the dark side of book publishing and a lot of other things from A Meeting In The Ladies Room. But it wasn't totally bleak. The author is quite funny. Her hilarious description of THE BLACK PACK which is a group of African Americans who work in the book publishing industry is worth the price of the book itself. The heroine of the book is Jacqueline Blue, a book editor, who is accused of murdering her white boss. Although Jackie does work hard to extricate herself out of this frightening position, she spends a whole lot of time obsessing and fantasizing about Victor Bell - the man of her dreams. A man who isn't feeling her at all. Sometimes I wanted to shake Jackie until her neck rattled for giving so much energy to the Victor chase.

But the truly tragic figure in the book is Paul....a man who loves Jackie with all his heart and who is willing to settle for half a woman instead of walking away.

To put it simply, A MEETING IN THE LADIES ROOM is an expertly written, highly entertaining and amusing work of suspense by an author who is clearly on her way up. Do yourself a favor and read this book. Do it for a look at the way the book publishing industry works; do it for a look at the crap African Americans who work in that industry have to take; do it because you've once chased a guy who didn't want you; do it because you've once let a good man down and you now regret it. Just read it!

Publishing editor Jacqueline Blue is a sister with a plan - to move further up the corporate ladder in an industry where blacks are few and far between. When she is accused of the murder of her boss, those plans go out the window. Forced to take leave of absence due to the investigation and impending trial, Jacqueline's focus shifts to finding the real killer, thereby proving her innocence. If the threat of possible life imprisonment is not enough to keep Jacqueline's thoughts and life in chaos, she must also deal with some family issues and the humiliation of finally coming to terms with the fact that the feelings she has for a fellow industry worker are completely one-sided.

Although it started off slow, A MEETING IN THE LADIES ROOM quickly turned into a real page-turner. I found myself anxiously flipping the pages, ready to find out who the real killer was, and the motive behind the killing. Murder, mystery, intrigue and a little bit of romance all combined make this a novel well worth reading. I look forward to future works from this very talented author.

Reviewed by Renee Williams
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Anita Diggs, Meeting In The Ladies Room was the best read I?ve had in a long time. Jacqueline Blue?s brush with the law had me in stitches. Yes, I know it was a serious situation, however, Ms. Diggs satirical use of dialog and language kept me chuckling throughout the entire book. The main character?s obsession for Victor was enough to carry the book, so yes; adding in all the rest made it ?the read of the year? for me. I can tell Ms. Diggs had fun writing this book and it showed. I look forward to her next fictional effort.

Jackie blue is a black executive in publishing world and gets accused of murdering her boss. The author kept the story moving, I can't say that there was a slow part in the whole book. The author didn't give an overkill of background information; everything was just as it should. This was a fun and satisfying book. BUY IT YOU WILL LOVE IT!

Last year Anita Doreen Diggs launched her career as an author with the A MIGHTY LOVE, a story about the unwavering power of true love. Though different in tone and theme, her sophomore release, A MEETING IN THE LADIES? ROOM is an enjoyable read.

An editor at a large publishing company, Jacqueline Blue?s success can been measured by her lifestyle and her importance to the company. She lives in an upscale apartment, drives an expensive car, and takes good care of her mother. All is fine, until her boss turns up dead and Jackie is caught on tape hurrying from the scene of the crime. She becomes the #1 suspect. When her fingerprints are discovered all over the crime scene, she is arrested, and her once almost perfect life seems a thing of the past.
The appeal of A MEETING IN THE LADIES? ROOM lies in the character of Jackie. What I most like about her is her imperfection. In the office, she is a strong confident woman but shows vulnerability in her relationship with men. Her obsession with a man who has no interest in her is mostly annoying, but very real. I know of too many women who ache after men who have no interest in them, but reject men who genuinely care about them. Paul, the one who loves her, is a wonderful caring individual who seems wimpy at times, but his strength of character become evident when Jackie is arrested. His unwavering love for Jackie is admirable, and she eventually realizes that he has so much to offer and is the best man for her.
The secondary characters are vivid and possess individual personalities which give a vibrancy to the group called Black Pack. On the surface the members of the group seem like parasites, feeding on and grasping every opportunity to outdo each other. Instead, I saw a group of lonely individuals united, not only by the color of their skin, but by a strange warped affection and admiration for each other.
Ms. Driggs? writing flows smoothly, allowing for quick reading. There are no unnecessary scenes or clutter. Add the suspense generated from the search to find the true killer and A MEETING IN THE LADIES? ROOM has all the hallmarks of an engrossing read. Set in the publishing world, Ms. Diggs holds the publishing industry up for readers to see its value as well as its imperfection. Since Ms. Diggs?s works in the industry the sense of reality is strong.
With its themes of obsession, loyalty and friendship, A MEETING IN THE LADIES? ROOM will leave readers feeling satisfied. Though not as emotionally intense as A MIGHTY LOVE, this story is a worthy follow up to Ms. Diggs? debut last year.

(...)

I read this book in a day. I really enjoyed it. A definite must read. Although I am a little confused at to what the title has to do with the book...

Meeting in the Ladies Room is about Jackie Blue, who's in trouble because her very important boss is dead and suspicion has fallen on Jackie. Naturally the rest of the book is a race to keep herself out of trouble but the most intense parts of the book and the most interesting are the parts that deal with the nature of obsession. Jackie is obsessed with Victor, Paul is obsessed with Jackie and Victor, well, Victor's got a whole messy issue of his own. I liked the book tremendously.

i got this book from my mother after she talked about how good it was. i just finished it last night and thought it could've been better. it had some page tuner parts, but to me it was kind of boring.

but ended well. I do have to admit that it did keep me asking the question of 'Who did it?' for quite a while. Nice read to pass the time.

Former book editor Anita Doreen Diggs burst on the scene with her first novel A Mighty Love. Now she is back with an interesting thriller/mystery. Jacqueline Blue is a rare commodity, she is an editor at a large publishing company and she is African American. As the story begins Jacki is looking forward to getting together with the Black Pack. The Black Pack is made up of a group of men and women who also work in the publishing industry. Among the members of the Black Pack are Victor and Jackie, who loves herself some Victor. Jackie lives in a nice upscale apartment, takes great care of her mother and things seem to be going her way?that is until her boss Annabelle Murray turns up dead. Jackie turns out to be the number one suspect for she is the last one to see Annabelle alive. Is Jackie the murderer, can she prove her innocence? Does anybody believe her? Will somebody help her? To find out purchase the book. Anita has a smooth style of writing which helps the story to flow and make for an easy and enjoyable read.

Reviewed by Jocelyn Lawson for www.avid-readers.com.
Avid reader rating 3.5 out of 5 stars