Customer Reviews

Writ of Execution

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Jessie Potter, a doomed young woman with a secret, and Kenny Leung, one of the more confused characters in fiction this year, leads to a casino jackpot and a need for Nina Reilly, in her seventh outing, to try to make sense of it all. Jessie defines the concept of self-sufficiency, and Kenny defines haplessness, despite his brilliance in the computer field, so their collaboration gives the book a light tone. The courtroom adversaries for Reilly are pretty ruthless, and used to a larger setting than what they find in Tahoe...it is hard to believe that Nina will prevail. Nina's independence, her relationship with her family (played down a little in this book), the spectacular scenery that is Tahoe, and the depressing world of casino gambling all play a role in this novel. Sandy, Nina's irrepressible secretary, is back, and is as feisty as ever.

I'm always fascinated by the concept of sisters who live at a distance (Pamela and Mary O'Shaughnessy) writing a series together. You really can't tell where one begins and the other leaves off, such is the seamlessness of their collaboration. Reilly has been incredibly entertaining in each outing, and although there are some pitfalls in this story, overall, it keeps you enthusiastic, entertained and happy with the outcome.

One issue with the series is the unresolved relationship between Reilly and Paul van Wagoner, her terrific investigator. This book continued the dance that is their life together. I'd like for O'Shaughnessy to resolve this one way or the other, and, at the end, it appears that a resolution may be under way for the next book.....but that is what you say each time you finish a Nina Reilly novel.

A really entertaining and worthwhile series with a great heroine!

Although I had read and thoroughly enjoyed all other novels in the Nina Reilly series, I was disappointed by "Writ of Execution." This novel concentrated less on Nina and more on the client, Jessie Potter, who hired Nina to assist her in collecting on a multi-million dollar slot machine jackpot. I always enjoyed the relationship between Nina and her acerbic secretary, Sandy, as well as Nina's relationship with her son, Bob. Neither relationship was developed or included to any extent in this novel. Paul von Waggoner was an abbreviated character in this book as well, and he's one of my favorites! I eagerly await the next installment in the Nina Reilly series--and hope that Nina receives a warm welcome from Paul when she arrives in Carmel.

This book disappointed me, because I have become so spoiled by the O'Shaughnessy sisters' outstanding previous efforts. I wish I could have given it 3 and a half stars. It's not bad, just unnecessarily confusing.

The plot centers around a young woman who wins the ultimate jackpot on the aptly named Greed Machine, a slot machine at one of Lake Tahoe's casinos. Rather than jumping for joy, however, Jessie Potter seems terrified at her $7 million windfall. And the casino is not that anxious to award her prize either. In no time, Jessie is plucked out of her very private life and into real danger. By the time her case lands in Nina Reilly's lap, the young woman is in danger of losing the money--and possibly her life. And she's not the only one in jeopardy. A pudgy Chinese-American computer geek named Kenny, who happened to be sitting next to Jessie when she won the jackpot, becomes inextricably entwined in her problems.

And OUR problem at this point in the book is that neither Jessie nor Kenny are particularly likeable. It took me quite some time to care about either of them--a necessity in this plot-heavy novel. I was more concentrated on the sub-plot involving a compulsive gambler with a Glock and a murderous obsession with the jackpot he believes is his, not Jessie's.

A further subplot is the ongoing and at this point annoyingly frustrating relationship between Paul, Nina's indispensable private eye and sometime lover, and Nina, still mourning the loss of her husband. Paul loves Nina, Paul wants Nina, but as in all the other books, Nina isn't sure, and Paul can't take much more rejection. He's in for it, though--from Nina arriving in his hotel room, stark naked under her full-length coat--and then at the critical moment changing her mind, to a blithering series of coitus interruptus that began to take on the aura of the Keystone Kops. I found the whole thing annoying and insulting to both characters. This is NOT a Stephanie Plum novel, where that kind of thing happens all the time. t doesn't belong in the Nina Reilly series, and this reader, for one, is tired of it.

The book does pick up speed, however, as we become more involved with Jessie and Kenny, learn their secrets, worry about the danger they are in, and root for Nina to help them both. Near the very end of the book, a triumphant courtroom scene reveals a hidden secret that changes the course of several lives. It's a great ending, a thoroughly enjoyable and believable climax. Unfortunately...the book does not end there. It goes on for several more chapters as we follow the original murderer, still bent on claiming his jackpot. There is so much happening in this quasi-epilogue, it is intensely confusing. Then finally, in two pages, everything is wrapped up in a neat red bow, happily ever after. Except for Nina and Paul and the various murdered people and the murderer himself and the slimy despicable opposing lawyer, the hated Jeff Reisner.

Whew! It's exhausting just writing the review. Again, I love anything the O'Shaughnessys write, but this book is the weakest in the series so far. I hope it's an anomoly!

I've read everything by the sisters writing as Perri O'Shaughnessy, and this story was not as good as past works. If you like this author though, I still feel the book is a worthy read. My expectations of the storyline were a little higher than what I was presented with. It also took a little longer for this story to grab hold of me, but it finally did. I definitely enjoyed seeing the other side of the gambling industry, and was quite taken with Jesse's and Kenny's individual plights. The Nina and Paul saga, however, is becoming annoying, which you'll see when you read it.

I really enjoyed the latest installment in the series of Nina Reilly. This was a quick fast-paced read from the moment Jessie Potter wins the the biggest jackpot ever from a casino. I love Tahoe and this series takes me back there everytime. Jessie has her secrets and hires Nina to help her collect her money without exposing her true identity. Unfortunately many people don't want to see Jessie ever get her money. From a cold-blooded killer to the wormy lawyer Jeff Reisner there are many who want to keep the money out of Jessie's hands. And once again as a side-bar we wait patiently for Nina to realize what a find she has in Paul van Wagoner. Can't wait for the next installment in this very exciting and entertaining seires.

WRIT OF EXECUTION begins right where MOVE TO STRIKE ends, and all I was left with when I finished was a big `huh?'.

In the latest in the Nina Reilly series, Ms. Reilly helps a jackpot winner who does not wish to be identified because she is afraid of being found by her harasser. If this were the only primary story in this book I would probably had given it a higher rating. However, Perri O'Shaughnessy also includes in this book a casino fraud, a personal secret her client is hiding, a mystery illness, an unstable killer and gambler who wants what is "rightfully his", a teenage boy suffering from leukemia and finally, Nina's relationship with her detective, Paul Van Wagoner.

There were too many things going on with this story that at the end I did not care how everything turned out. I probably would have more empathy with the leukemia patient if he did not appear only sporadically in the book.

Will this book deter me from reading the next O' Shaughnessy book? Probably not. Their other books are still good. I strongly recommend INVASION OF PRIVACY and MOTION TO SUPPRESS.

Nina Reilly seems to have a singular talent for finding trouble, or rather, for letting trouble find her. Just when Nina is ready to take that next step on the road to getting on with her life following her husband's death, to moving on to a new life with long-time paramour Paul, trouble comes knocoking on her door in the form of a scared but tough young girl with a somewhat befuddled and entranced programmer trailing after her.

The O'Shaughnessy sisters come back with another winner starring single mom Nina Reilly. In the now-familiar setting of Lake Tahoe, Nina's has a client with a unique problem: Jessie has won the lottery, but is unwilling to give her name or social security number to the media or even the casino. Once Nina starts digging into Jessie's past, it becomes clear that there Jessie was right to be concerned... and that she may have made some new enemies along the way.

A good read, though some of the byplay between Paul and Nina may be getting a bit repetitive. However, I think that anyone who's read the previous Nina Reilly books will enjoy this one, and those who haven't may want to go read the back catalog prior to reading Writ of Execution, as there is some character interaction that would certainly benefit from knowing the history behind it.

Perri O'Shaughnessy gets better very year. This novel had an original idea, and complex characters. It starts out with a secret, and doesn't let you go until the very end. Nina continues to be a remarkable lead character, and this time you really feel like you got to know her better. I reccommned this to everyone who enjoys a little mystery, and a good courtroom drama. This book will not disappoint. I just hope she writes for many years to come.

I feel like I was set up after the ending of the last book when the rendezvous between Nina Reilly, lawyer extraordinaire and Paul von Wagonner, private investigator and white knight, was cut short by the new case in Writ of Execution. After keeping these two apart for so long and then finally having them see into each others hearts, I was looking forward to at least one night of no bickering. Unfortunately, that was never the intent of the Shaugnessy sisters. Even worse, the background characters, especially Sandy, Nina's secretary, were hardly in the story line at all. We were exposed to more of Reisner's dirty dealings, but what else is new. I will definitely wait for the next book to come out in paperback to see what happens to Paul and Nina in the next installment. I will never again waste that much money for that kind of disappointment.

I had never read perri o'shaughnessy until i picked up 'writ of execution' at a library sale. I was a third or so the way thru when i looked at the back cover to see if there was a bio, as i began to suspect this might be a female writer. to my surprise, 2 females. sisters! I was drawn in to this book by the charactors, and layers of mystery surrounding each one. From the slot machines to the court room, including personal difficulties unrelated to the mystery. wonderful balancing act. Definitely a charactor driven book, i can't wait to read another. I love finding gems like this thru serendipity.