Customer Reviews

Sex, Murder and a Double Latte

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Sex, Murder and a Double Latte was so fun to read that I stayed awake until the wee hours of the night to finish it. This book is suspenseful, chic, fun and very funny. The story is also quite engaging. Sophie Katz is a bestseller mystery writer going through the unthinkable -- someone is stalking her, playing out scenes from one of her books. The stalker is so sneaky and clever with his devices that Sophie comes across as paranoid to the police. What's worse is that she has picked up a strange pattern from the news -- two people from the art industry, a film producer and a famous rapper, have been killed in ways that are similar to one of the producer's movies and one of the rapper's music videos. It seems someone is killing artists by playing out scenes from their creative efforts. Who is doing this? Could it be the gorgeous Russian who is flirting with Sophie, or is it the weird guy her best friend is dating? All Sophie wants to do is sit back and enjoy free time after finishing her new book and quench her thirst for caffeine at Starbucks. With the help of her friends, she will do whatever is possible to put the creep behind bars so she could live a normal life again...

As said earlier, this is one entertaining novel! The storyline is clever and the characters are witty, quirky and fun to read. The whole life-imitates-art thing is quite well written. The novel is lighthearted despite some dark scenes in the book. It was fun to read Sophie playing the amateur sleuth not unlike the heroines in her novels. The outcome and identity of the killer are predictable though -- I was able to figure out who the killer was long before his identity was revealed, but the story was so engaging and fun that it did not matter to me that I figured out whodunit ahead of time. But there was something that bothered me about the book. The last scene centered on Sophie and Anatoly was not very believable. I won't go into details, but the scene was not realistic after everything they went through. Other than that, I enjoyed Sex, Murder and a Double Latte. The author's great voice made up for some of the shortcomings. I look forward to reading more of her stuff in the future. I highly recommend this novel.

"Sex, Murder and a Double Latte" definitely was a very breezy, fast paced and amusing read, and actually was a rather entertaining debut mystery novel. That said, I'd have to add however, this book is really for mystery lovers who enjoy light mysteries, because most of the focus for "Sex, Murder and a Double Latte" was on the heroine's (Sophie Katz) sizzling and troubled attraction for Anatoly Darinsky, who just might turn out to be a deranged and merciless killer.

When filmmaker Michael Tolsky is found dead with his wrists slashed and a note of regret penned to his estranged wife, his death is quickly ruled as a suicide. For Sophie Katz, up and coming mystery writer, however, there is something about Tolsky's death that niggles. Especially when she realises that Tolsky's death is an exact replica of a murder from one of the films that Tolsky had directed. And when Sophie's life suddenly starts resembling the plot from her book that both she and Tolsky were developing for a movie project, Sophie knows that Tolsky was murdered and that she's next on this mad killer's list of victims. The police won't listen and think that her imagination is in overdrive, but Sophie is sure that she's right, and that it is up to her to put a stop to this madman's spree...

If you enjoy humorous, light mysteries complete with a heroine that's full of spunk and snappy comebacks, and who possesses a group of loyal and courageous friends, you're bound to enjoy "Sex, Murder and a Double Latte." (This novel is especially bound to appeal to readers who enjoy a dollop of romance to their mysteries as well.) The mystery subplot premise was a very good one and was full of promise. Unfortunately, it also frequently took back-seat first to her preoccupation with her potential to romance, and then to her hyperventilations as to whether or not she was dating a serial killer. Understandable of course, after all who wants to admit that they might have cozied up to a murderer? But because I was more caught up in the mystery plot, I wanted more of how these murders connected, and a few more red herring suspects, complete with some interesting plot twists. Much of this was completely jammed into the last few chapters, which was a tad disappointing for me. Also, the red herring suspects never really materialised. On the whole though, this was an entertaining read. And I enjoyed it enough to hope that the author will be penning more Sophie Katz novels in the future.

Sex, Murder and a Double Latte is a fun mystery chick lit that will have you staying up through the night! Sophie Katz, a sassy mystery writer, becomes the target of a killer who is using her book as a means to determine how she will die. With the help of her unconventional friends (a sex toy shop owner, the ditzy-but sweet-Mary Ann, and a fashionable gay hairstyist with a quick wit), she must find the killer before the killer finds her.

Of course, her new, sexy Russian boyfriend might be the prime suspect. Kind of puts a damper on Sophie's sex life.

Kyra's debut novel is told in an entertaining, unique and absolutely fun way! Sophie is hip, strong and will have you cheering her on. This book is must read for any fan of the chick lit genre!

but enjoy it for what it is!

Sophie Katz is a writer of murder mysteries. Her latest book, Sex, Drugs, and Murder, has just been published, and a prominent Hollywood director has just committed suicide. Or has he? Sophie is immediately suspicious, because the way he chose to die also appeared in one of his movies. Soon it becomes clear that life imitates art; that is, life is beginning to imitate the things that took place in Sex, Drugs, and Murder. Sophie gets a strange note that reads, "You reap what you sew." She also gets strange calls where the caller simply hangs up. Sophie's home is then broken into, then her car is ripped apart, and a woman is hatcheted to death in a park. These events are just too eerie for Sophie to ignore.

Sophie comments that the person who committed all these acts must have been a genius; I beg to differ. None of the vandalism and murder that takes place in this book is original; Sophie has written about it in the past. I reason that a genius would have come up with his own methods of killing- unless this certain killer is trying to make a particular statement?

Added into the mix is Anatoly, Sophie's new love interest. He seems like a really great guy- but then suspicion falls upon him, and Sophie isn't so sure that he's all that great. She isn't so sure about the integrity of her best friend's new guy either, a vampire wannabe who seems to be a little off the deep end. The other suspect is Andy, a simple young man who works at the neighborhood grocery store.

Sex, Murder and a Double Latte could have been a really great book. The promise is all there: a murder mystery within a chick lit book. But Ms. Davis chose to populate her book with clichéd characters: the gay hairdresser friend, the love interest who grates on the heroine's nerves at first, and the slightly psychopathic mother. This makes for uninteresting reading in many places.

Although the murderer isn't revealed until its almost too late, its pretty obvious from the start who the killer isn't (or have I read too many murder mysteries?) This is a pretty entertaining book if you take it all with a grain of salt: most of this stuff wouldn't ever happen in real life, especially the part about Anatoly and Sophie's budding relationship. In all, this book is witty, though it goes over the top in some places. But regardless, it's a pretty frothy book that many will be able to finish in an afternoon- or less.

Sophie Katz is our heroine: a wise-cracking mystery writer turned victim when scenes from her novels curiously start to mirror her own life. Sure, happens all the time to those hapless mystery writers. When will they learn? Someone would have to have some healthy suspension of disbelief to actually buy the premise, but if that's you, then by all means keep reading.

This is the kind of book that requires little investment in terms of brainpower; it's something that would make waiting for a doctor's appointment bearable. The pace is zippy and there are a few good lines, but on the whole the author tries a little too hard to be funny. And innovative. Each chapter begins with a quote from one of the heroine's fictitious books that added nothing to it and were fairly pointless, but that kind of thing seems to be in vogue now, so can we really judge?

If you like to solve mysteries as you read, you may be disappointed because for the first three-quarters of this story there is no real motive for anything. It's little details like this that turned me off. Only at the end do we find out in Scooby-Doo fashion why things happened the way they did. Okay, not ground-breaking work, but there's plenty of banter and self-deprecating humor to while away the hours. If you're looking to be passively engaged, this is your book.

I thought this was better written than most Red Dress Ink books, though it was definitely low on substance. However, it was fun.

This is the story of Sophie Katz, a woman who is half-black, half-Jewish. Her skin is the color of a double latte, hence the title. (There's no sex in the book, though there's plenty of murder.) Sophie is a writer of murder mysteries, who gets freaked out when a string of incidents from her novels are re-enacted in her city, San Francisco.

The author does a good job bringing out a parade of possible suspects, and no, I didn't guess who the killer was, though I'm new to mysteries, so it may be easy for others to figure it out. The dialogue is snappy and the plot is pretty engaging.

All in all, this was an interesting, fun mystery with some memorable, freaky characters (including a lad who wants to be a vampire).

This is a book that is fun to curl up with, and is hard to put down. The characters are all people that you would love to spend time with, and Sophie Katz, the protaganist is the best thing to come down the pike since Stephanie Plum. She is sassy, witty and utterly delightful...and to top it off Davis writes some killer dialogue.

This is a fun book. Sophie lives in Los Angeles with her cat. She is a young writer, loves Caramel Brownie Frappuccinos, has friends, and a life. The atmosphere of the book (Sophie's cool life) makes it fun. I enjoyed her and her life more than the actual murders and crime. Her life makes a good backdrop to the story. The murders/crime are good reading, too. But I won't say anything else because I don't want to ruin this good book for anyone who hasn't read it.

I saw this book on display at my local Starbucks inside Barnes & Noble. With the kind of day I was having, sex, murder & a double latte all sounded great. So I picked up the book, scanned the jacket and filed it away in my mental reading queue. When I saw Sex again at my local library, I decided to take it home.

The hook is great: a murder-mystery writer is stalked by a fan who is committing killings straight from her book. Loved it. I heart the protagonist, Sophie. And her sex shop employee friend Dena. However, nobody could be as dimwitted as her other friend Mary Ann and I thought making her that stupid was both overkill and unrealistic. But Mary Ann does experience a little growth towards the end, and it's one of my favorite parts. And I hope to see her develop more in the next books.

Like Mary Ann, the book's wittisisms were great, but at times way too much and often unreal. I like my humor as much as the next guy, but sometimes I got the sense Davis was trying too hard.

Sophie is the kind of girl you wanna hang out with at Starbucks while she drinks her Grande Caramel Brownie Frappuccinos. Personally that drink, if it even exists, is way to sugary sweet for me. As is Sex, Murder and a Double Latte. However, there are times when Davis seamlessly addresses race relations along the San Francisco landscape and you are both intrigued and entertained. I wanted more of that. Davis has some fine writing chops, and I wanted her to not hide it, to not dumb it down.

I enjoyed "Sex, Murder..." for light-hearted summer reading. I'm a long time fan of another sassy mystery character, Grafton's Millhone. It was refreshing to see a similar temperment in Davis' Katz with urban/ethnic underpinnings in the story. The book was a tad slow at first and I wondered where it was going. The characters kept me engaged until the story picked up. I was pleasantly surprised at the ending and it was plausible in Katz' world. A minor distraction was the dialog transistion--I often had to re-read dialog to figure out the speaker. Otherwise, I look forward to new adventures of the clever Ms. Katz.