I Still Miss My Man but My Aim Is Getting Better [Hardcover]

Sarah Shankman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1996

Finishing her waitressing shift and preparing for Songwriters' Night at the local country music club, promising singer Shelby Kay Tate becomes the unknowing target of an obsessive stalker.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This departure from Shankman's popular Samantha Adams series (He Was Her Man) doesn't deliver on the promise of its clever title. There are plenty of laughs in the outrageous, rhinestone-studded story of Shelby Kay Tate, a Nashville waitress hoping to make it big in country-and-western music, but they don't add up to humor. Aiding Shelby in her quest are Patsy Angel, the ghost of Patsy Cline; Ann King, a crusty old lady with an ear for music; and Jeff Wayne Capshew, a police officer who, unbeknownst to him, is Patsy Angel's agent on earth. Jeff Wayne's mission is to protect Shelby from her ex-husband, Leroy Mabry, who is determined to win her back or, he determines later, to murder her. Tossed in jail for assaulting Shelby, Leroy meets Mac McKenzie, an unstable fellow who, encouraged by the evil angel Rahab, leads the gullible Leroy on a crime spree once they're out on bail and plans to enliven Shelby's important club appearance with a pistol-packin' showdown. Shankman's story lacks the central puzzle mystery readers expect. Instead, it offers a large cast of weapons-toting, mean-spirited loonies and enough coincidences to round off a Dickens novel. It's easy to see why Jeff Wayne, faced with one of the book's armed crackpots, says, "I cannot freaking believe this." Author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The unusual title, a lyric penned by aspiring country song writer Shelby Kay Tate, immediately grabs the reader's attention. The saucy and ambitious Tate combats the machinations of a gullible, possessive ex-husband; a loquacious con artist; and a smitten policeman-all of whom involve her in acts of violence. Wild and crazy characters, a humorous approach, and a heightened sense of drama result in unforgettable entertainment. Anyone choosing the latest from the author of She Walks in Beauty (Pocket, 1991) certainly cannot go wrong.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 257 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books; First Printing edition (April 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671897519
• ISBN-13: 978-0671897512
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,527,597 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Case of the Country Cutes, May 16, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (glendale, ca, usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Still Miss My Man but My Aim Is Getting Better (Hardcover)

I bought this book on the strength of the title - and I still have to admit, it's a killer title. However, when I got to the point in the story where an angel was directing the plot, I almost put the book down and left it there. I should have. Shelby Kay is a terrific character. She doesn't need an angel to see her through the crises in her life. This is the first time I've read anything by Sarah Shankman and I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. But Sarah, honey, remember what they taught you in English 101 about "deus ex machina"?????? There is no need to cheat the readers like this. Give us Shelby Kay without the insiped angel angle and we'll love you all the more.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The title was a winner--too bad the book isn't, June 20, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: I Still Miss My Man but My Aim Is Getting Better (Hardcover)

I'm a daughter of the South, and oh, how I wish I could give this book a glowing review, but it's a few leis short of Hawaii, folks. Now I believe in angels, but I don't believe that real people become angels after they die. Since that's a major underpinning of the story line here, it's a real problem for me. The plot? Even for a work of fiction, it's awfully convoluted. And either no one in this group is terribly bright--except for the mobster guy who manipulates LeRoy--or I've been away from Nashville too long. Too much of the characterization is cartoonish--especially that of the cop's girlfriend. Granted, there's hypocrisy in any religion, but Christians--especially the fundamentalists--have become the last group in America that it's OK to hold up for ridicule. If she'd been made a shucking, jiving black woman, critics would be calling for Ms. Shankman's head on a platter. Shelby Kay is a good character, though. I admire her courage in leaving her no-good husband and pursuing her dream. Maybe Patsy Angel can help her find a better class of people to hang around with if there's a sequel. But frankly, I'd rather see Samantha Adams again. .

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shankman's got Suth'rin in her bones, December 18, 2000

By 

"huangpo" (Oakland, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Still Miss My Man But My Aim Is Getting Better (Pocket book series) (Mass Market Paperback)

When I say that Sarah Shankman has done a Carl Hiaasen in this book, I don't mean she's copied him in any way. She's an original. But she, like Mr H and almost no one else, understands that particularly curious form of logic, aspiration, and reality in which southerners live, a world view which northern and western folk think of as "insanity." Angels and devils figure prominently in what we call their mythos and they (southerners) call their lives. Strange forces abound. And get this clear -- this is not a case of Ms Shankman using these extra-normal events to drag one bit of plot or another in by its hiney -- my admiration is because she understands how these events figure into the lives of those wonderful people. And unlike Hiaasen's people, some of Ms Shankman's people are actually admirable, although venality certainly abounds. I have enjoyed all the previous Sam Adams books, but this one goes into a whole new level. I can tell from reviews (all positive) whether or not the writer has ever lived in the south and seen it from an outsider point of view. Those who haven't quibble about some things. Those who have lived there in that way read this book and laugh and say, "That's what I mean, that's what it was, that's what I was trying to put my finger on." Thank you, Ms Shankman. You're welcome to come to my house for dinner any time.