Customer Reviews

He Was Her Man (A Samantha Adams Mystery)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In her recent books, Sarah Shankman has turned into a combination of Elmore Leonard, her own brand of anti-Southern-belle-um, with liberal doses of Hiassen thrown in for good measure. It's no coincidence that her heroine, Samantha (Sam) Adams is writing a book called "American Weird". Sam, dumped by her boyfriend, takes off for Hot Springs, Arkansas, where she meets Olive, whose body shortly turns up in the trunk of a splendid classic car that's been buried in the local graveyard. (Yes, the whole car.) Sam teams up with a gangster, a professional Southern belle who makes crystal altars, a foot fetishist, and the female half of a con-artist team join up to out-con the conman and visit justice on the murderer.

This is a fast-paced, very funny (made me laugh out loud at times), and unique book.

It's my first introduction to Sarah Shankman and makes me want to read all her books. She reminds me a bit of Carl Haaisen in style although this is a comic mystery set in Arkansas rather than Florida. The author certainly takes a swipe at Southern pretensions, but it appears written by someone who is poking fun with fondness.

In addition, there's definitely a feminist edge which I liked because it was done with sytle and wit and I liked that the author didn't hit me over the head with it, but made it a integral part of the primary character. The heroine (Samantha Adams) has an inner strenghth which shows through as she deals with adversity with her sense of humor intact.

I understand this is part of a series of "Samantha Adams" books Shankman has written, and I look forward to them ... Sam is a great character, and easy to like and to understand.

. . .I agree with previous reviewer. Sam was NOT dumped. She was scared to make a commitment and Harry decided to move on after she told him she couldn't commit. Did she expect him to just stick around like a puppy dog until SHE decides when and if she can be serious about him?

There is plenty for her to see and do, with or without Harry. A big fancy wedding to attend, a murder to solve, a man with shady connections to flirt with, and, no doubt, some Pepsi to drink. Some of it gets wrapped up this time. . .but there's a "cliff-hanger" ending and as it turns out, Sarah Shankman made her fans wait twice as long as usual for the next book in the series while she worked on and released "I Miss My Man But My Aim Is Getting Better," wherein the best part of the book was the title. Once you've finished "He Was Her Man" just skip "I Miss My Man" and go straight to "Digging Up Momma."

I think that this is my first Samantha Adams mystery, and I should say right off the bat that it is not a bad read. If you like a quick-read mystery with snappy dialogue and a few laughs thrown in, then this is a good book for you.

Personally, while I enjoyed it, I found it at least a little bit too slick and too glib. I felt like the con man element could have been developed out a little bit more (I liked it-- I felt frustrated when it didn't pan out). And unfortunatly the ending felt a little bit too easy.

I will probably read others in the series if I see them available as used books. Mystery fans who like their stories on the cynical/humorous side may find this book appealing.

First of all, let's set the record straight. Sam did NOT get dumped. Her boyfriend pressed her for a commitment. She didn't want to make one. His response was to give her space. What else could the guy do? Stalk her like Leroy does Shelby Kay in "I Still Miss My Man, but My Aim is Getting Better?" I mean, what do you people want??? There. I feel better now. The Samantha series has gotten better and better with each installment. This is the best of the bunch. When's the next one coming out, already???

I think this series is improving with every book