Customer Reviews

Revenge of the Gypsy Queen (Tracy Eaton Mystery)

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This is the first in Kris Neri's series starring Tracy Eaton, and the only one I've read. I really have to check out the other two, because I had a good time reading this mystery.

Note, this is not a totally realistic novel. I think anyone who actually did some of the "investigating" Tracy talks herself into would be too loopy to take seriously, not to mention a danger to herself if not others. But it didn't bother me because it was all in fun. There are other mystery series that are played for laughs, such as Maddy Hunter's "Passport to Peril" series, and I love them all.

For example, Tracy is in her in-law's attic (without permission, she "borrowed" a key) and looking through old photo albums for clues. She finds an album with photos and articles from her husband, Drew's, high school pitching successes. Fortunately, Drew went into law instead of trying pro baseball, and so, Drew and Tracy were fated to meet and fall in love: "If he'd gone into baseball, he wouldn't have been visiting his law school roommate in L.A. the day I crashed into their car."

I thought this was a fun romp. Lots of characters, drama queens, red herrings, improbable situations and LOTS of Tracy's indominatable spirit and indecipherable logic.

This book was nominated for the "Big 3" in the mystery field: Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity. The plot twists and turns start when Traci and her up-tight husband Drew fly to NYC for Drew's sister's wedding. Traci is stuck sitting next to a woman who has to compare Traci to her famous mother, movie-actress Martha Collins. Think of Martha as a combination Debbi Reyonlds / Liz Taylor (as if you could get those two in a room together).

So, Traci, not quite the movie star's daughter she is expected to be, ends up spending time with her in-laws in New York City. The bride is kidnapped. And the in-laws are acting strange...stranger than usual. Tracy decides it is up to her to find the bride.

Kris Neri creates a world of crazy characters that play off each other like a dysfunctional pinball machine. Hum, that doesn't really make sense, but my point is: it's a fun and zany ride.

Once you read the first chapter, you're hooked and you'll be a fan of Kris Neri's Tracy Eaton!

I tried, I really tried to like this book. It was just so hard. It had humorous moments, and a couple of memorable characters, but most were fairly stereotypical, or simply not fleshed out enough to be of much interest. The plot hinged on an awful lot of improbablities, piling up coincidences and an awful lot of sheer dumb luck for the herione, Tracy. Tracy jumped from idea to idea without a whole lot of provocation, so the book could be hard to follow.

Basically, I was a little bit lost the whole time -- plot points were sometimes almost glossed over, there were just a few too many characters, and they seemed to often either miss the terribly obvious, or draw wild conclusions from the obscure. Add in a sort of deus ex machina ending, and I was a muddle. This book could have used one more revision under the editors pen -- made slightly tighter it would have been very good.