Customer Reviews

Murder on Naked Beach: A Lucy Ripken Mystery (Lucy Ripken)

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

 

 

This is a travel writer's dream come true of press junket mystery in the caribbean. Unfortunatly for a lay person this holds no fascination what so ever. What happens to Lucy Ripken is nothing more than some wistful daydreams of someone who wished something more was happening when nothing really is.
The premise starts off weak as Lucy is in the airport preparing to leave New York in the middle of the cold winter and head to the warm tropics to see a new hotel. The excruciating detail about waiting to leave the airport is to be missed by anyone who has ever flown on a plane.
Next we are in the warm tropics and it's nothing a second grader couldn't have told us about. But then wait, a man dies out on the nude beach and for some reason the girl that finds him is all freaked out about it and leaves the island to go home early. So for some reason it is apparent to all that he just had a heart attack in the hot tub, but to our would be sleuth, certainly there must be Murder on Naked Beach!
The book countinues like this for some time alternating between psuedo mystery novel and a dsescriptive narritive from a travel pamphlet.
This is a dull read that is more work than pleasure and I would advise not to book this trip.


Happy Reading

The beginning and the ending chapters are the most important chapters in a book. This beginning was a rambling about a woman waiting in an airport to fly on a junket to Jamaica. There was no ending. The author should have ended this book instead on leaving it open for a beginning for a future book. I suspect a previous one star review for this book is the only honest review. All the five star reviews must have been from friends of the author.

On my last novel, al-Qaeda Strikes Again, based on early reviews, I completely rewrote the beginning so that a body was discovered on the first page. I wrote four endings and had early reviewers comment on which was the best and used that in the published book.

Once again the sharp tongued, sharp witted Lucy Ripken gets to the bottom of the mystery with her unique blend of personal flare and nosiness. On assignment photographing a new resort in Jamaica, Lucy stumbles upon murder, drugs and, possibly love. Lucy Ripken's fun-to-read adventures are filled lush and vividly detailed locations (no doubt inspired by Henderson's travel writings) and peppered with colorful secondary characters, but the real cornerstone is Luce herself. A plucky, strong-willed modern heroine with a realist job and personality, Lucy is immediately likeable and accessible. Her courage and no-nonsense demeanor are quite admirable, and her insights fill an already fun read with dark humor and appeal.

This book was a really great read. Entertaining thriller with a cool protaganist. Can't wait for the next one in the series!

I highly recommend Murder On Naked Beach. It's a fun, captivating thriller and a perfect book for any mystery buff. I can't wait to see what Lucy's up to next!

I am not a very avid reader but this book kept me intriuged from start to finish. I would recomend this book to any one looking for a good story. And you don't need a PHD to read it!



_Chas B.

Smart, funny beach mystery. Thoroghly enjoyed the fast paced action and hilarious description of journalists on press junket.

Highly recommend!