Stephanie Bond

I liked this but I didn't...

Carlotta has returned to work at Nieman Marcus. ..she is caught up in the midst of the theft of a "Lucky Charm" bracelet. She & her M.I.A. father are profiled by the Hottie Cop's new partner as possible suspects in the murder of three women who were found with charms in their mouths.

Wesley is addicted to "Oxy", working "collection" for the loan shark, but skimming off the top, hacking the courthouse pc files, and playing high stakes poker.

The crazy co-worker, show more Michael Lane, who attempted to murder Carlotta in the first book has escaped the asylum and is after her again.

She's still seeing Peter, but always has something else come up...and lies her way out of her dates with him....

Carlotta has proof Wesley is a druggie and refuses to believe the evidence...instead believing Wesley's lies! I mean come on...she knows he stole her painkillers & both refills, leaving her in pain with a broken arm!

And to top it off...someone is living in the spare "closed off" bedroom unbeknownst to her & her brother!

I like:
*Peter
*Hottie Cop
*The "charm" mystery itself
*Most of the mystery story line
*The "Body Movers" part

I Do NOT Like:
*Carlotta's codependent relationship with her druggie brother & the fact she is so Farking stupid & believes his lies while making excuses for his asinine behavior!
*Carlotta leaving Peter in the middle of a date to go pick-up a body
*Wesley PERIOD!
*Carlotta stringing along Peter while having sex with the Hottie Cop

What really ruins the series for me is Carlotta's Totally co-dependent relationship with her brother. She needs to pull her enabling head out of the darkness and stop rescuing her brother. He needs to take full responsibility for his criminal behavior and spend his justly earned time in jail. show less

The thing about Stephanie Bond is that near as I can tell she's writing the same book over and over. Luckily for me, I like that book. In this case, the three women thrown together by circumstance are the "wives" of Ray Carmichael, newly deceased polygamist. Ray's death left them with scandal, no money--since he'd been secretly spending it all--and murder charges. Since just about nobody believes they didn't kill him the wives team up to find out who did and, along the way, find out that show more they're more family to each other than Ray ever was to them. show less

She Did a Bad, Bad Thing
4 Stars

Sweet and mild-mannered Jane Kurtz is a makeup artist who skillfully ensures that others have a perfect appearance, but when it comes to herself she is gun-shy. After a hurtful putdown by her sexy new neighbor, Jane is determined to find her inner wild child. So when she wins the lottery, she flies to Las Vegas for a weekend of sin. Worried about the trouble Jane could get into, Perry Brewer follows his neighbor to Vegas and shenanigans ensue.... will their show more relationship revert back after the weekend is over?

Perry does not make a good first impression on the reader, but he more than makes up for it as the story progresses. It is obvious that he cares about Jane even before her make-over so it is easy to accept that he falls in love with her once he gets to know her even better.

Jane is a sweet and appealing heroine, but not a complete Mary Sue. She stands up for herself when Perry is out of line and comes to realize that she is worthy of love and affection.

The lottery plot is intriguing but remains unresolved as the subsequent books in the mini-series all focus on a different winner. It will obviously take time for all of the issues to develop. show less

This is a cute mystery and there are several threads heading into various mysteries and murders which are satisfactorily concluded . The writing with an at times snarky humor has the story flowing at a rapid pace. These two points make for an enjoyable read.

However, what I see as the main mystery thread the fugitive parents is once again treated as a teaser to keep the reader coming back, and I am tired of waiting so I won't be reading any further in this series.