Lynne Murray (1)

In this fun vampire novel, Sir John Falstaff—the man who inspired Shakespeare’s character—is a six-hundred-year-old vampire, still the rotund lady’s man and boon companion. Our main narrator is a forty-something therapist, Kristen Marlow, treating young Mina when they find out they’ve both been dating Hal Roy. (Like Shakespeare’s Prince Hal, see?) Frustrated by his unmet desire for eternal life, Hal inadvertently awakes “the Others,” who begin to menace Kristen, Mina, and show more their new friend Bram Van Helsing.

Dracula characters mingle with Shakespearean characters and new creations. The Others are legitimately terrifying and Sir John is fun. show less

Jo Fuller is called upon to investigate an organization providing information about an organization which helps pregnant women. It has applied for funding from her philanthropic boss. Just as she begins her assignment, she witnesses the exposure of a body stuffed into a wine barrel.
I expected the book to focus on the investigation into the death of the man in the barrel. Unfortunately, it’s main objective seems to be delving into the pornographic movie industry. While the murder show more eventually does get solved, it is by confession, not by detective work. The investigation of the organization was a bit better, but not much.
As the book makes very clear from the beginning, Jo Fuller is a large woman who is very comfortable in her own body. Several other characters are also happily living within their own large frames. I have read many books where the main character was not white, not Christian, not straight, or who had mental problems. In none of them was their situation (in this case fatness) mentioned several times in every chapter. It made me feel that the author was pandering to a specific target audience and didn’t know when enough was enough. Her points that “When a woman Thelma’s size makes an adult film, it makes a different kind of statement....Many people seem to assume that fat people are asexual” are important but can get lost in the overkill.
Author Lynne Murray briefly raises some other issues: gentrification of neighborhoods, how people see women (“When we see a naked woman, we look for her figure flaws.”)
The book was well-constructed and I liked most of the characters. Murray has a gift of words (“The October weather was sunny–Indian summer in San Francisco–but I had brought my own fog of yearning.”) and a subtle sense of humor (“Was I making a fool of myself over a man? Probably. Hey, everyone needs a hobby.” “”Raoul, the cat who could say his own name.”)
There were also a few inconsistencies: In one place two characters driving separate cars are briefly in the same car.
Had there been more information about the detective work and an attempt to treat peoples’ body side as an observation rather than a battering ram, I would gladly have given a higher rating.
This book was a free Amazon download. show less

I enjoyed some of the author's books from a different series, so I gave this one a try. Some great descriptive writing and clever phrases kept me interested in the story. I liked the main character, Ingrid Hunter, to whom things seem to happen. The story evokes some disturbing reflections on how and why some women seem to be victimized repeatedly in bad relationships. A few inconsistencies detracted from the writing. For example, when Ingrid meets Wanda, her first view of her is through a show more 'security window' in a real estate office. Nevertheless, Wanda is described right down to her trousers tucked into glossy black boots. This story was not 'great,' but not a total waste of my time, either. show less

A nicely done cozy mystery with a plus-sized protagonist who doesn't put up with much.