Sofie Metropolis [Hardcover]

Tori Carrington (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 19, 2005

On her wedding day, right before the ceremony, right there in the Greek Orthodox church, Sofie Metropolis discovered her groom and her maid of honor in each other's arms. Sofie took this as a sign, and since then, she's been doing her best to confound her own, and her family's, expectations.
First, she is no longer waiting tables at either her father's or her grandfather's dueling Greek restaurants in Astoria, Queens. Second, she kept the engagement ring (the garbage disposal choked on it) and all the wedding presents, including the small apartment building that was a gift from her parents. It's not easy to collect rent from an eccentric group of tenants that includes a trio of lackadaisical business school students and a nice little old Jewish lady who plies Sofie with ethnic delicacies, but at least Sofie has a roof over her head. And her ex-fiance's recliner in the living room.
Sofie also has a new career, thanks to uncle Spyros's detective agency. Okay, so far, the cases haven't been all that exciting-mostly, Sofie's been tracking down lost pets and cheating spouses-but at least she's in control of her life. And even Sam Spade had to start somewhere.
Then Sofie's mother's best friend, Mrs. Kapoor, who seems to dose everything, even tea, with curry, reports that her dog has been stolen. Sofie must drop everything to search for the meanest mutt on the face of the earth . . . .
The agency's usually unflappable office manager comes to Sofie in terror because the neighborhood "vampire" has disappeared, replaced by his even creepier nephew . . . .
Tailing a wayward wife, Sofie is caught in a shoot-out and is rescued by Australian man-of-mystery Jake Porter, who might be a bounty hunter and who definitely gets Sofie's engine started . . . .
And what is Jake Porter doing in the middle of Sofie's adultery case anyway, and why is the cheating wife now on the run?

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Sofie Metropolis:

"Sexy, suspenseful, and flat-out hilarious: that's my kind of book. I loved Sofie Metropolis!"-Karen Robards, New York Times bestselling author

"Sofie Metropolis is the Greek Nancy Drew and makes me wanna be both when (and if) I grow up."--Jill Conner Browne, New York Times bestselling author and THE Sweet Potato Queen

"Sexy and provocative. Sofie Metropolis, P.I. is Everywoman ... and a whole lot more!"
--Carly Phillips, New York Times bestselling author

"Smart, snappy, and so original you won't be able to put it down."-Lori Foster, New York Times bestselling author

"Sexy, exciting, laugh out loud fun. If you love My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Stephanie Plum, this is definitely the series for you!"--Christine Feehan, New York Times bestselling author

Praise for the Novels of Tori Carrington:

"Tori Carrington is an unparalleled storyteller with an imagination that is absolutely matchless. These authors are extraordinary and have a true gift for putting their own special brand on anything they touch."--Rendezvous

"A smash hit! Don't miss this one! These characters sizzle and have a chemistry that turns their weaknesses into strengths. A real winner!"--Romantic Times Bookclub (4 ½ stars) on Just Between Us

"Laced with intense emotion, humor, and some of the sharpest dialogue ever written."
l--Rendezvous on The P.I. Who Loved Her

"Tori Carrington's latest, Red-Hot and Reckless, is an edgy, erotic fantasy nicely balanced by solid conflict and strongly-drawn characters."--Romantic Times Bookclub

"This author sure knows how to create convincing characters with real life drama. The highly potent emotionalism of all the characters adds to the powerful chemistry between these two, making for a dynamically charged sensual tale that's good for more than one read."
--Rendezvous on Forbidden

"[A] masterful blend of eccentric characters [and] spiraling suspense."--Romantic Times Bookclub on Where You Least Expect It

About the Author

Tori Carrington is the pen name of Lori and Tony Karayianni, who have published more than 25 novels with Harlequin and Silhouette. They have received the Romantic Times Bookclub Reader's Choice Award and have twice been nominated for the Romance Writers of America's RITA Award.
Lori and Tony Karayianni live in Toledo, Ohio, but travel frequently, both to Greece and around the US.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; First Edition edition (May 19, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765312409
• ISBN-13: 978-0765312402
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,587,923 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tori Carrington is the pen name of nationally best-selling, award-winning authors Lori Schlachter Karayianni and Tony Karayianni. Their over 50 published novels include titles for Harlequin Blaze, Temptation, Signature Series and Silhouette Special Edition, and their hardcover comedic-mystery series Sofie Metropolis, PI. For more info, visit http://www.toricarrington.net, http://www.facebook.com/toricarrington http://www.myspace.com/toricarrington and http://www.twitter.com/toricarrington

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Greek spin on Stephanie Plum - not necessarily a good thing..., July 5, 2005

By 

R. Koehn "compulsive shopper" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sofie Metropolis (Hardcover)

When I purchased this book, I thought it would be similar to the Stephanie Plum series - in fact, I think that's why this book was recommended to me. However, I wasn't expecting it to be close enough to Janet Evanovich's series that it borders on unoriginal rip-off. But, that's what this is - a rip-off.

The parallels between the Plum series and this book are too many to count, but to name few:

1) Both leads work on the fringes of law enforcement (bounty hunter v. private investigator).

2) Both leads have sexy foreign "helpers" who send mixed romantic signals.

3) Both leads have a penchant for stumbling into gun fights or other dangerous situations.

4) Both leads have eccentric families and mothers who think they don't eat enough.

5) Both leads, at one time or another, live in an apartment building with a cast of wacky characters that add color to the story.

6) Both leads have a cheating husband (soon-to-be husband in Sofie's case) in their pasts.

And these are just a few of them - if only a couple of similiarities existed, SOFIE METROPOLIS would just be reminiscent of ONE FOR THE MONEY (and others). Instead, the author has decided that just changing minor details of the store is enough to keep readers interested. The author even has Sofie reading an Evanovich book in the story! Come on!

Now, to the rating - I'm giving it 3 stars. I happen to like the Plum series, so I'm not surprised that this book was recommended for me. And since I've made my way through 10 or so of those books, I obviously have some dedication to the genre. I found SOFIE METROPOLIS generally enjoyable - once I discovered that this book could have just as easily been titled Stephanie Plum Goes Greek or Beta for the Baklava, I stopped getting as distracted by the similarities and could get into the story.

Bottom line - not the worst thing I've read, but nowhere near the best. If you're looking for a fresh perspective on the comic female investigator genre, look elsewhere. If you're biding your time until the next in the Plum series is available, this isn't a bad choice.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Stehanie Plum clone from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, August 10, 2005

By 

Austen Fan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sofie Metropolis (Hardcover)

Where to start with the similarities? Stephanie caught her hubby with his pants down "in flagrante" on the kitchen table, Sofie caught her fiance in the church w/the maid of honor. Stephanie has a mysterious Cuban (?) hunk who shows up at odd moments, Sofie has a mysterious Australian hunk who shows up at odd moments. Stephanie has a wacky family featuring a short, wacky grandma, Sofie has a wacky family featuring a short, wacky grandpa. And on and on.

Is it enjoyable? Only if you haven't read any of the Evanovich series and haven't seen the Wedding movie. Otherwise, you'll be wondering why no one has sued for plagarism.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A big fat Greek motormouth, April 10, 2006

By 

N. Bonner (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sofie Metropolis (Hardcover)

Like the other reviewers, the first thing I noticed about this book were the uncanny parallels to Stephanie Plum. Janet Evanovich must be very flattered--it's the only reason I can think of that she hasn't sued the authors. Then I tried to enjoy the book by pretending I had not read Stephanie first--and I still didn't like it.

The challenge of writing in the first person is that you have to move the action along while narrating it. Sophie Metropolis never shuts up long enough to get anywhere. The book is essentially a long monologue about her Greek family, Greek food, her sexual urges and her cheating ex-fiance. She is supposed to be a private eye, but she spends very little time actually investigating anything. Most of the time she is talking, talking, talking about her favorite subject--Sophie Metropolis. Even when she does begin to actually do something, like make a move on Jake Porter--the Australian version of Ranger--she interupts herself with another digression. The fiance cheating in the church five minutes before the wedding got tired, too. One telling establishes how she became a private eye, abandoning a stellar career as a waitress. By the third or four repeat, I must admit I sided with Thomas the Toad. He probably found someone who shut up now and then.

This could have been a cute spoof. I mean, how many PI's investigate the neighborhood vampire? But each incident leads to another detour. In the end, I just got lost and gave up. I can't believe this writing team got a contract for a second book in this series. One Sophie Metropolils is too many.