J. J. Henderson

Lucy Ripken is a photographer in her mid 30s, living in a loft in New York on the corner of Broome St and Broadway with her dog Claud. When Patricia's phone call comes she is ready for some human contact. Patricia has met a wonderful man, a Gulf War Vet, a self-made millionaire. Patricia is one of New York's beautiful, chasing a glitzy New York life, millionaires in particular. From the moment Lucy meets Patricia's latest, she feels he is not to be trusted. He appears to know all the right show more people, but all Lucy's instincts are screaming danger. And then when Patricia is killed by a drug overdose, she is sure that he is behind it all.

From the beginning, I felt perhaps this was a "younger person's" book, well, younger than me anyway. But the depiction of New York nightlife was absorbing. Lucy is engaged by a magazine to take photographs of a new night club with Russian connections and overtones. This assignment eventually helps her track down Patricia's killer.

I noted that this is the 5th in the Lucy Ripken series, so there was obviously some pre-history that would have added to my enjoyment of the book. Lucy's personal life is cleverly advanced by other events, and so her character is not quite the same at the end as it was when the story started. show less

Lucy Ripken is asked to co-write for a TV Reality show called X Dames which will challenge a bunch of ladies in a particular sport, winner getting $25,000. Each show will feature different women in different sports. In the finale the winners will compete in something they are all not familiar with, to be determined. The story revolves around the pilot which will feature surfing in Mexico. However, one of the surfers dies during the challenge and Lucy is sure it was murder. This is an unusual show more plot with lots of twists and turns. I'm not sure I cared for any of the characters enough to want to read more of the series. I would read a scene that was well done and the next scene would be a cliché or so unbelievable. Just not worth the time to find others. show less

A freelance photographer in New York is sucked into a scam with pre-columbian art that spans two countries and people from completely different worlds. This fun read is complete with bad guys and good beaches. The author throws in some pretty deep themes but keeps it light and fun for most of the book.

Interesting book. Doesn't exactly qualify as a cozy since there were some sex scenes that, while they weren't explicit, were a bit graphic. Still, it was a good story, well written, although one that seems to be directly tied to previous books in the series. I read this one to fulfil a reading challenge, but I might read the earlier ones if I come across them.