a.k.a. Shelia Weinstein: A Novel of Crime [Hardcover]

Pat Jordan (Author)

Book Description

Series: Otto Penzler Books | Publication Date: July 2003

Without looking back, casting a bad marriage and going-nowhere stage career behind her, forty-something Sheila Mackenzie, nee Ryan, took a lover, discovered crime, embraced danger, and reinvented herself under an alias in a.k.a. Sheila Doyle. Tough, wild, and sexy, she returns for another excursion into a steamy south Florida underworld of Orthodox Jewish hit men and lesbian pimps in this hard-boiled, hotly paced sequel. Sheila and Bobby Squared, her devilishly magnetic Cherokee from North Carolina who dances in strip clubs when he’s not running guns or drugs, again hitch up with Bobby’s shady business partner Sol Bilstein, as well as a flamboyantly gay black hairdresser, Sampson de la Plaine (a.k.a. Reggie Johnson)—this time for a heist that very quickly goes bad, deadly, and dangerous. Indeed, the ruthless and menacing Angela Scarpetti—also known as Angel Scot or, more familiarly, the White Witch—and Neanderthal hit man Billy the Bear prove to be foe enough to transform the recklessly passionate Sheila Doyle into a harder, colder, more formidable Sheila Weinstein.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this nasty Florida underworld romp, the sequel to A.K.A. Sheila Doyle (2002), Jordan's antiheroine, the former Sheila Ryan, must deal with unfinished business from her previous illegalities before she can reunite with her lover and partner in crime, Bobby Squared. Opportunity soon presents itself when a gay black hairdresser crosses their path and provides them with inside information that could lead to one of the biggest scores in their career. Sheila uses her training as an actress to transform herself into the divorced Sheila Weinstein, who manages to master her inhibitions in order to join a stable of high-priced escorts who work for the White Witch, a lesbian gangster. Unfortunately, cliched characters walk through a predictable and slow-moving plot against a perfunctory Florida backdrop. Sheila and her crew aren't even competent thieves; having gained an initial victory over the White Witch, these "experienced pros" don't even consider that their adversary might seek retribution. Jordan devotes most of his energy to depicting oral sex better suited to a pornography magazine than, as described in the press release, "A Novel of Crime." Numerous popular-culture celebrities also come in for gratuitous insults. Callous violence only adds to the unpleasantness. Leonard and Hiaasen fans are advised to steer clear.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf (July 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786711914
• ISBN-13: 978-0786711918
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,487,120 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars An Awful Caper Book, That Could Have Been Good, December 6, 2003

By 

Marcia S. Tallent (Maryville, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: a.k.a. Shelia Weinstein: A Novel of Crime (Hardcover)

The characters in this book have no depth and are morally bankrupt. It is difficult for a reader to care what happens to the venal lot of them.

In this novel the female protagonist was raped by and forced to perform oral sex on a person not of her gender preference. Her lover and male cohort react to these atrocities with little effect. The only convincing descriptions of human affection in this book are reserved for dogs!

This caper yarn could have been good, with character development of an emotional nature and a deletion of woman bashing (in one case with a dildo) scenes and comments.

This book was awful, I stopped reading ten pages from the end so I don't even know how it all wraps up. Who could care? My mind has been defiled.

It is sad a group of smart people can write, edit and then publish something like "a.k.a. Sheila Weinstein".