Hung-up

In this early collection of mainstream fiction, Harlan Ellison looks at the violent subculture of the punk, the addict, any person who finds themselves of the underside of life. Mr. Ellison has gone underground as a member of a street gang, among other jobs, and his experiences ring through in every story. HE pulls no punches, and the cumulative effect brings a truth to these urban fables.

I thought the book really helped me.

Farley Mills has started a new discount dry cleaners which begins to undermine Mandy Dyer's business. Mandy doesn't mind fair competition, but Farley is passing out coupons to his establishment right on Mandy's doorstep. As Mandy is pondering what to do about it, Farley's body is found on the premises of Dyer's Cleaners. Mandy has an obvious motive and one which the police seize on immediately. In self-defense, she decides to start her own investigation. After some checking around, Mandy discovers that several of her employees have motives for the murder. One by one, she tries to investigate each of the suspects until she discovers the guilty party, only in time for her own life to be threatened. Johnson is a good writer and this second book is a good addition to the series.

I thoroughly enjoyed her second book. She seems to be getting better with each book. I look forward to her next.

After reading this book, I went out and got as many Mandy Dyermysteries as I could find. Characters are likeable and humorous, and theplot was intriguing. As a fan of Sue Grafton's style of realistic characters and interesting plot twists, I'm looking forward to reading more by this author.

Why is this book bad?
It is bad because the characters are not interesting.
It is bad because the situation is not plausible.
But most of all it is bad because of the writing.
The paragraphs are all short.
Most paragraphs are no more than two sentences long.
Holly Jacobs writes short paragraphs because she wants to make her book dramatic.
She has to make her book dramatic with short paragraphs because the plot is dull and the characters are caricatures.
If you like to read funny books about single women who find love, there are plenty of other funnier books for you to choose from.
Don't bother with this one.

I was very upset that the Duets line was stopped and had decided to avoid the new Flipside line since it was less of a value. However I decided to make an exception for Holly Jacobs since she is one of my favorite authors. I am so glad I did. Hung Up On You is yet another funny, romantic, and slightly naughty book by Holly Jacobs. The characters are interesting and well developed. The concept is fresh and the characters are lovable enough that you can't help but care about them. The setting is a little shallow compared to some of her previous books, but do you really read a romantic comedy for the back drop? I know that I don't. I'm glad I read Hung Up On You and I hope you do the same.

Adrienne Kelly wants hot, wild, abandoned sex, but she will not be getting any from her fiancé, whose focus on a wedding date does not include nooky. When Ari's graduate thesis, "The Effects of Telephone Answering Systems on Psychological and Physical Well Being" gets published by Psychology Forum, she should be celebrating. Instead, a rag magazine picks up the article, transforming it into a slam on the telephone answering machine industry. As a result, her status conscious fiance decides they should take a break from each other and her dream job is withdrawn.

Then Simon Masterson, owner of SimonSays, a company that develops business-answering systems, personally takes Ari to task for downgrading the telephone answering business. His company's latest invention, called Cindy, was expressly designed to reduce stress and be user friendly, but with bad press like Ari's article, Cindy may be obsolete before release. So he demands retraction of Ari's theory and attempts to hire her to evaluate his new system in exchange for helping her out with her latest family crisis.

Author Holly Jacob's flair for creating wildly amusing tales dazzles in HUNG UP ON YOU. Opposites attract with outrageous fun and hilarity as Jacob creates a cast of characters that will keep the reader in stitches over their antics, even as the serious undertone will cause readers to identify with the effect of stress. A wonderful distraction from a frantic day, readers of HUNG UP ON YOU will be confessing to be hung up on Jacob's sparkling talent for creating witty tales and sizzling chemistry. Very highly recommended.