Unzipped [Paperback]

Lois Greiman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 31, 2005

ANALYZE THIS.…

Chrissy McMullen has made a career leap, all the way from slinging drinks at Chicago’s most notorious nightclub to dispensing psychotherapy from her sleek new practice in L.A. Even if she can’t quite shed her too-loud, too-curvy alter ego–or the brawling family that insists on claiming kinship. So when her most famous client, buff football star “Bomber” Bomstad, starts chasing her around her desk and getting, well…unzipped…Christina gets just a little miffed–until Bomber has the bad manners to drop dead at her feet.

Enter Jack Rivera, a no-nonsense detective with a grim attitude and a great butt, who’s determined to prove this cocktail-waitress-turned-shrink was engaging in some very unethical behavior. Persuading Rivera that she’s not a murderer isn’t going to be easy. Plunging headfirst into a city full of people in need of some serious therapy, Chrissy will have to use all her street smarts, a good deal of sex appeal, and a little love to clear her name–and cancel an appointment with a killer.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Wholly—and sometimes heavy-handedly—full of froth, this first contemporary romance-mystery from Greiman (who's better known for historical romances like Seducing a Princess) introduces an unusual heroine:Christina McMullen, a veteran cocktail waitress turned professional psychologist. Chapter one promises madcap mayhem. By the end of it, Chrissy has become the prime suspect in the murder of impotent celebrity football player Andrew "Bomber" Bomstad, who had come to Chrissy for counseling. An open bottle of wine on Chrissy's desk—and convincing evidence, exposed through Bomber's unzipped jeans, that the doctor had cured his problem—is enough to persuade hunky police detective Jack Rivera of Chrissy's likely guilt. Unfortunately, neither the plot nor characters develop much beyond this point. Jack remains unconvincingly convinced of Chrissy's guilt; she blunderingly tries to prove her innocence—period. And there's virtually no exploration of Chrissy's past, family or friends to suck readers in. Still, for a summer vacation read, simple sexy sport may well be just what the doctor ordered.
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Review

“Lois Greiman is a modern day Dorothy Sayers.  Witty as hell, yet talented enough to write like an angel with a broken wing.”–Kinky Friedman, author of Ten Little New Yorkers

“This is an amazingly good book with tons of twists and turns.  And it's funny.  Chrissy's internal thoughts are hilarious, as are the situations she gets herself into.  Plus, the sexual tension between Chrissy and Rivera spices things up but never detracts from the pacing.  Greiman has put out a winner that will hopefully become a series.”–Romantic Times, Top Pick 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Dell (May 31, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440242622
• ISBN-13: 978-0440242628
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #656,643 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny new mystery, August 26, 2005

By 

Dawn Dowdle "Mystery Lovers Corner reviewer" (Lynchburg, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Unzipped (Paperback)

Christina "Chrissy" McMullen is a psychologist in California. Ex-football player and celebrity Andrew "Bomber" Bomstad is one of her clients. He is, that is, until he drops dead in her office. He'd come to Chrissy for help with his impotency problem. The police believe she killed him because there is an open bottle of wine in her office and evidence, in his unzipped jeans, that he had been cured of his problem. Things are not what they seem, but Chrissy can't make police detective Jack Rivera see this. He just keeps hounding her to tell him why she killed the Bomber.

Chrissy ends up asking an acquaintance from her cocktail waitressing days, an acquaintance she'd rather forget, to help her get some information on the Bomber because everything she's being told since his death doesn't match with what he'd told her when he was alive.

I like the way Chrissy plays with Rivera's name to get to him. She knows she didn't kill the Bomber even though the police think she did, so she sets out to figure out who did. This puts her in some sticky situations that are very funny.

I laughed out loud almost every time I picked this book up to read more. I found it hard to put it down. I just wanted to keep reading. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can't wait to read the next one. Chrissy is a hoot and a fun amateur sleuth. There is a love interest as well which kept me wanting to read more to find out what would happen.

I highly recommend this book and can't wait for the next one. I want to see what trouble Chrissy can get into next.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best I've read in a long time. Laughed out loud!, July 21, 2005

By 

MamaLovesToRead (Iowa, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unzipped (Paperback)

This is the most entertaining book I have read in a long, long time. Her "thoughts to herself" had me laughing out loud so often my husband demanded I read some of the paragraphs out loud. They were pictures for the mind's eye. If I take time from my horrendously busy schedule to read, I want to have a good time doing it and feel happy afterward. This book was perfect. Great dialog. Funny situations. Steamy but believable. Things that could really happen ... many have, to me. Self doubts that any woman has. A down to earth coctail waitress who has worked her way through college to a private practice, she works hard to look totally sophisticated but still runs on her blue collar knowledge at heart. She is a strong woman but this author doesn't take it too far. She doesn't make her try to be so independent that she just looks stupid. I get so frustrated with authors who make the heroine want to be established as so independent from her hero that she makes absolutely moronic choices putting everyone in danger.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get UNZIPPED now!, May 31, 2005

By 

Marie O (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unzipped (Paperback)

I could not put this book down. Christina McMullen is a 30-something cocktail-waitress-turned-psychologist. The story begins when her client, former football pro "Bomber" Bomstad, chases Christina around her office seeking "therapy" and drops dead. In walks hunky detective Jack Rivera, whose prime suspect is Christina. I got a kick out of Christina's efforts to maintain an outwardly professional manner, which stood in sharp contrast with her still-a-cocktail-waitress train of thought. Christina's internal dialogue and her intentional trouble using Rivera's name kept me grinning. The unfolding mystery, the suspense and the sparks flying between Christina and Rivera kept me reading.

It's fun. It's light. It's a page-turner. So go ahead... get Unzipped. You'll enjoy it!