This book should come with a warning: Leave your sense of credibility at the cover.Even though much of the plot is a little unrealistic, I still enjoyed this slice of fast paced chicklit. Cranky Agnes is hosting her goddaughter’s wedding and is trying to hold her life together when someone tries to kidnap her dog and murder her. Enter the Hitman: dark and dangerous, Shane was sent to protect Agnes but soon finds out she can wield one mean skillet and doesn’t need much protecting. The supporting cast comes and goes with good zingers and pithy one-liners, but Agnes’ column excerpts at the beginning of each chapter were my favorite and usually left me in stitches. So, not too much substance, but still a good ride. ( )

I enjoy Jennifer Crusie's novels a lot, but adding the Bob Mayer's violence to a witty romance is just creepy.

I'm not sure what made me like this book. It just moves really, really fast and it's interesting without being totally confusing. You can just feel Agnes' emotions. It was funny, sad, angering, worrying, everything! I found it highly entertaining, and I'd definitely recommend it. 4 out of 5 reasons I'm glad I have nothing whatsoever to do with rich people. They're crazy! ( )

Agnes and the Hitman is a quirky but enjoyable blend of romance and violence—Agnes, a food writer with anger management issues, is trying to organise a wedding against all odds while falling in love with Shane, a hitman with a complicated past. It's a fast-paced book, which works in its favour, pulling you along so you don't really have time to notice its flaws too much. I believe that Mayer wrote all the scenes from Shane's viewpoint, for example, and he's markedly less competent than Crusie when it comes to characterisation. Silly, verging on the ridiculous at times, but still a lot of fun. (And I think features maybe the second non-white character I've ever seen in a Crusie novel? A little stereotypical, but still present, which I suppose is a step up.) ( )

I have bought this book about 3 times and given it out each time. I LOVE it! Crusie and Mayer are amazing together both of the books they have written together are worth it. They have a little bit of everything you want it is. It's like reading a movie. ( )

Very cute, enjoyable read. ( )

Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer make a good team. There is a lot of action, as well as the requisite romance--okay, sex--that Crusie incorporates. I really enjoyed that the female protagonist is older (40ish) and has a job that is well integrated in the storyline. As she's a syndicated columnist who writes about food and life. The plot was plausible, though, like Shakespeare, the end has a piling up of bodies. Well... Honestly, there are dead bodies throughout. It's a good, quick read. ( )

Let me start by stating that this is not a bad book. Well. It's not a terrible book, anyway. I like Jennifer Crusie, but the Crusie/Mayer duo thing is not exactly to my liking. I only read fluff when my brain calls for it, and I, Prude Queen, found some of the language vile, the sex scenes were...well...vile...and the situations were unrealistic in a very laughable way if you could only find the humor in it. I didn't appreciate that people kept dying in Agnes's kitchen. Wait...was that supposed to be funny? I didn't particularly care for much of the book, truthfully.

I gave the book three stars because there was a lot of promise to the book. Strip away some of the ridiculous mafia talk and kung-fu techniques and you'd quite possibly have a decent little book with a Southern flavor. I didn't hate the book but I had a hard time pooh-poohing all of its flaws. They were too vast to count or ignore.

Still, it's fluff, and my brain says that all fluff novels are gray in the dark. ( )

I'm not a big Jenny Cruisie fan, but I surprised myself by loving this book. Maybe it was the Bob Mayer factor, or, more probably, the combination of the two. The romance wasn't a surprise, but it was very well done and this felt less like a traditional romance than I expected. I especially enjoyed the "hitman" character, Shane. ( )

Agnes Crandall is a cook who is about to start a catering service in her childhood dream house with her fiancé. But suddenly everything goes wrong: people show up and try to shoot her and kidnap her dog, and the mob seems to be involved. More than once, the day - and Agnes' live - is saved by Shane (no last name) who is a hitman for a mysterious organization...
Comprising everything that happens in this book in a few sentences would be impossible. There's just too much happening. Even if this is a cliché, this book is wild, wacky and wonderful. I really like Agnes. She has a lot of self-respect and self-esteem, which is something that other romance novel heroines are seriously lacking. She also takes charge of her life rather than waiting for things just to happen. I also like Shane, despite his horrible job. And words can't describe how funny this book is. It made me chuckle and giggle and sometimes laugh out loud. Go and read this, you won't regret it. ( )

I love this book. I have reread it at least 3 times. The story is funny and the characters are wonderful. ( )

This was an enjoyable enough book - that is, I got through it and I found the ride fun. It wasn't really what I was envisioning it to be, though, probably because of the influence of Bob Mayer. I had thought it was going to be a romance, but it turned out to be much more a humorous Mafia caper.Perhaps because the characters are, quite frankly, unbelievable, I didn't manage to get terribly involved in their lives. Part of it may be the fact that I've never been to the South, never lived in a town smaller than Lincoln, NE, and never planned a wedding. Nevertheless, throughout I kept wanting to see the sets, see the people. There wasn't much description of the house Agnes lives in - and the house is as much of a character as any of the people!Nevertheless, I didn't have to feel deep affection for any of the characters to find their situations humorous and their lives fun to experience for a little while. I recommend this book to anyone who'd like an enjoyable, fluffy read. If you're looking for a straight-up romance, perhaps not so much, but if you're looking for a caper novel, full speed ahead. ( )

This was an enjoyable enough book - that is, I got through it and I found the ride fun. It wasn't really what I was envisioning it to be, though, probably because of the influence of Bob Mayer. I had thought it was going to be a romance, but it turned out to be much more a humorous Mafia caper.Perhaps because the characters are, quite frankly, unbelievable, I didn't manage to get terribly involved in their lives. Part of it may be the fact that I've never been to the South, never lived in a town smaller than Lincoln, NE, and never planned a wedding. Nevertheless, throughout I kept wanting to see the sets, see the people. There wasn't much description of the house Agnes lives in - and the house is as much of a character as any of the people!Nevertheless, I didn't have to feel deep affection for any of the characters to find their situations humorous and their lives fun to experience for a little while. I recommend this book to anyone who'd like an enjoyable, fluffy read. If you're looking for a straight-up romance, perhaps not so much, but if you're looking for a caper novel, full speed ahead. ( )

http://olvasonaplo.freeblog.hu/archiv... ( )

When someone tries to steal her dog and dies in the process, an ex-mob friend of Agnes' decides she needs protection and calls in his nephew for help. His nephew is Shane, a hitman for a secret government agency who now has to protect Agnes as well as conduct his latest hit. It's not easy for Agnes either - she's trying to host a wedding for her best friend's daughter with opposition on all sides, and the killers who keep showing up (not to mention the flamingos) are not helping.
I quite liked this, mostly because I liked Agnes, who is fond of hitting people with frying pans. It does switch between the male/female pov which isn't my favourite thing, but I think this has improved since the authors' last collaboration.

quick, fun read. although the plot is completely unrealistic, it's got it all: love, action, friendship, betrayal, and the mob ( )

http://hollybooknotes.blogspot.com/20... ( )

Like all of Crusie's (and Crusie/Mayer's other collaboration) books, ( )

Spicy romance, a smart heroine, a gorgeous guy and food. (Oh and a few dead bodies too!) What more could a girl want? One particular scene on the dock is well worth lingering over!

http://www.lonelymountain.net/books/s... ( )

This was typical chick-lit with a cooky sense of humor. Overall I really liked the novel because Agnes is not your typical chick lit heroine in that she doesn't do that bit of wallowing in self pity at the beginning. She takes care of most of her problems herself...which usually means she wallops the person in question with a frying pan (her weapon of choice). The relationships between the mob people are a little hard to follow, can't really pinpoint why but don't read this too quickly or you'll end up confused. I also like the fact that the sex scenes between her and the hit man are sexy AND realistic (not perfect). I think fans of Janet Evanovich would enjoy this. ( )

Cute and fun for what it is. About one of the most irritating audiobooks I've ever listened to, especially when they change the tone quality for a character's thoughts (I keep having to turn up the volume for those).
In the end, I liked it more than I thought I would. ( )

Much better than Crusie and Mayer's first collaboration.

Agnes is settling into her new house and preparing for her best friend's daughters wedding. Unfortunately, there's a body in her basement, and people keep trying to kill her. Shane is a retired hitman, sent by his uncle to protect her. hijinks ensue. ( )

Jenny Crusie is my go-to-gal for happy, fun romance. I never feel guilty reading her books, or dumb, or shallow, which can't be said for a lot of other romance novels out there. Agnes and the Hitman was better than the first Crusie/Mayer collaboration-- I enjoyed the characters more and thought the plot, while stil far-fetched in a Hiaasen kinda way, came together better. ( )