Customer Reviews

Vows, Vendettas and a Little Black Dress

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just finished Vows, Vendettas and a Little Black Dress. This series has been a fun distraction from the distress of real life and political craziness that surrounds us, and this new book was in no way a disappointment. For a couple of days I holed up with Sophie and her band of eccentric, difficult and ultimately lovable friends and forgot to check the daily news. Reading one of Kyra Davis' books is like a vacation. I end the book with a bit of sadness that it is over, but I'm refreshed and re-energized. I look forward to the next installment of this wonderful series. I have also read Davis' stand alone novel, So Much For My Happy Ending. It was very good, and although fun, definitely had a more serious message. I hope to see this author write other kinds of books. She has a novel voice and an interesting perspective.

What a ride following the investigation with Sophie as she's determined to find the person who shot Dena and ruined Mary Ann's big news. What I liked most about this book are the characters, especially Marcus and Leah, and all the twists and turns that the author had in place that lead to the killing surprise. This was a very good read and I can't wait to read book six.

Sophie Katz is at it again! In the first few pages, Mary Ann tells Sophie and Dena about her engagement. Before they can celebrate, Dena gets shot in the back, can no longer feel her legs, and the Doctor's think she may never walk again. As the story unfolds, Sophie and Anatoly both try to discover who shot Dena, although both go at it in different ways. The emotions are high, and the suspense is so thick you can almost cut it with a knife. All the characters that we have come to know and love are in the book, and the writing is, as always in Kyra Davis books, fast paced and thoroughly enjoyable!

Everything seems fine and dandy in Sophie Katz life. Her latest book is a best seller. Her boyfriend Anatoly has basically moved in. And her best friend just announced her engagement. Then in the blink of an eye, Sophie's world isn't so peaceful. Her other best friend Dena is shot. In true Sophie fashion, she delves into investigation mode.

As usual, Sophie gets herself into humorous situations. Kyra Davis wrote another entertaining light book with the right amount of seriousness. The story flows, but don't expect anything deep. Katz fans will shake their head at Sophie's antics and try to solve the mystery too.

Although this is the fifth in the series, you won't be lost if you haven't read the others. However, I always suggest reading books in order. I recommend them all. Here is the complete order below:

* Sex, Murder & A Double Latte
* Passion, Betrayal & Killer Highlights
* Obsession, Deceit & Really Dark Chocolate
* Lust, Loathing & A Little Lip Gloss

Vows, Vendettas and a Little Black Dress captures the very essence of the city of San Francisco and exposes its readers to a true "melting pot" of human quirks and hang-ups........everything from kinky sex and sensual escapades to friendship and fairy tale weddings courtesy of an unconventional and eclectic cast of characters.

Our protagonist, Sophie Katz is an impulsive, half Jewish half black mystery writer who surrounds herself with an inner circle of wild and crazy humanity. There's her independent, sexy and secretive quasi-boyfriend, a P.I. named Anatoly; her best friend Dena, the owner of a local sex shop catering to toys for naughty girls and boys, her sister Leah , a wannabe wedding planner, and Mary Ann the bride-to-be whose upcoming wedding is the catalyst for murder, mayhem and some nutty antics (can you say squirrel homicide with a straight face).

The book takes amusing little pot shots at some of today's television programming with references to the likes of Alex Trebek and Kate Gosselin and shows like Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives. Particularly entertaining are the witticisms that begin each chapter like "If you're married by a judge and your husband later breaks his marriage vows, can he be prosecuted for perjury?".......OR ......" I like to hang out with secretive and dishonorable people. Their flaws are a perfect compliment to my superiority complex".

This book is not deep nor is it enlightening, it is just a bit of fluff that tends to be as light and frothy as the frapaccinos' from Starbucks that Sophie favors.

This is the first "Sophie Katz" novel I've read, yet I've "read" all of the books in the series. How can that be? All the previous titles in this series, I've enjoyed via Audible downloads; "Little Black Dress" is the first "in print" version I've read, and I've found it to be a different experience.

In reading this fifth novel in the series, I found myself missing the expert narration of Gabra Zackman, who voices all the characters flawlessly in the audio versions of Kyra Davis' books. She brings Sophie's Russian boyfriend to brilliant life with her spot-on rendition of Anatoly's Russian-accented English and the banter between characters becomes all the more memorable, due to Zackman's talented voice.

Nevertheless, Davis continues to provide an entertaining whodunit and Sophie, true to form, bulldozes her way into harrowing situations while attempting to find out who did the dastardly deed. The mystery is solved...well, all the mystery except that of Anatoly's past. That mystery still looms large; the last page certainly promises that the next book in this series will be anxiously awaited by Sophie Katz fans.

I don't usually include any comments about the cost/economics of a book in my reviews but felt I had to mention it in this instance. I was frankly stunned at the retail cost of this paperback: $13.95! Amazon has it listed at less ($10.04), but this still seems a bit much considering the fact that this is a "cheap" paperback, i.e. thin cover, glued binding and coarse, newsprint-like paper that offers less contrast to the print than better quality papers. I will give the publisher kudos for allowing Amazon to offer the Kindle version at a reasonable discount to the print version. Still, the fact that numerous other mystery series novels are available in the mass market paperback size for $6.99 to $7.99 makes one wonder about paying almost double that for this book.

Bottom line: if I had to buy this book, rather than receive it as a Vine offering, I would probably have passed and waited to either find it used or have used one of my monthly Audible credits to get the audio version. The one choice I wouldn't have considered is not reading it at all...Sophie Katz is just too much fun to ignore, especially the audio versions.

I was eagerly awaiting the next installment in the Sophie Katz series, and I was not disappointed! I downloaded the audiobooks and Gabra Zackman is the perfect voice for feisty Sophie and her cast of supporting characters. Housework, errands and drives fly by when these books are on my iPod. Sophie's friends and family, who are as crazy and interesting a group as you'll ever encounter, stay true to form, there were some true laugh-out-loud lines, and the overall effect was immensely entertaining! I can't wait for the sequel. Keep up the good work, Ms. Davis, Sophie and friends are still fresh and fun!

This was the first Sophie book I read, but I must say I enjoyed it. If you've never read the others I can assure you that it's easy enough to jump in and get the gist of the characters and find out what's going on. This book is light-hearted and does exactly what it's meant to: provides hours of entertainment away from the world. Fans of the author will no doubt be pleased, and newcomers will enjoy it as well.

I have read all of Davis' books and her Sophie Katz novels are one of my favorite series of this nature. I think what I like most about them is that they don't take themselves too seriously. Davis isn't out to revamp your idea on what books like this can do, she is entertaining us...and entertain us she does!

Sophie Katz is an author (though that takes a back seat)living in San Fransisco with her devoted boyfriend Anatoly. Life is good, her latest book is a NYT bestseller, and one of her best friends recently announces her engagement. But this is Sophie, and life can only stay 'perfect' for so long. While celebrating Mary Ann's engagement, Sophie's other best friend, Dena is shot in the back. Life is turned upside down for our heroine and her friends. Dena might not ever walk again, and that doesn't sit well with Sophie, neither does the idea of leaving the investigation up to the police.

Sophie plows head first into her investigating, and along the way we meet-Chrissie the ultra conservative prude that has it out for Dena. Kim, Jason and Amelia-Dena's boyfriends and THEIR other girlfriend, Rick-Mary Ann's stalkerish ex and Fawn his odd new girlfriend. Who fired the wounding shot? Was that bullet really meant for Dena? Will Sophie dig herself into another hole? (Of course she will!)

Davis writes with a humor that I haven't found in too many books recently. She is relevant without trying to hard, she is witty without resorting to potty humor, and her characters are believable and relateable. You can read this book as a stand alone, but then you would miss all the fun of the first four books.

If you are looking for a smart, hilarious, entertaining read I can't recommend this book enough!

I have read all of Kyra Davis' works, and I think this was my favorite!! The characters were crazy, but the book was both funny and suspenseful -- and the funny parts made the crazy plot easier to stomach. (Always easier when the whole thing is ridiculous!) And I LOVED the ending! I am really looking forward to the next one. I do, however, miss the old cover art. Bring it back!!