Sex, Lies, and Online Dating

My second Writer Friends series novel, and just as good as I'm In No Mood For Love, so I see now I've read them back to front, but it doesn't matter.

I would rate the novel very similarly, but Book 2 is slightly ahead because the mystery part of this novel is superficial? overwrought? ... does no favour to the story.

Quinn, the detective who says he's a plumber and takes up online dating to find a killer. Lucy, a mystery writer, who says she's a nurse and takes up online dating for research for her latest novel. Quinn is a plain speaker to the point of crudity but it fits, it's part of who he is, from the world he has come from...and for Lucy and the reader, it is part of his appeal. Nevertheless, Quinn comes out with more romantic show more words, in his sincerity and earnestness, than Lucy, despite the fact that she is the wordsmith.

She's attractive, sassy and falls in love very quickly with the unexpected Quinn. I love the way she gives him a go, for something more meaningful and not just at the level of his good looks. In that way she's braver than the average sappy heroine, forced by the author to retreat from a good thing simply for some plot tension - my least favourite kind of copout. Yeh for Lucy. show less

Crap! This book was a fully 5 star book until the epilogue. I feel like maybe some final chapter was left out? Anyone else? Seriously, I HATE it when authors clearly get tired of a book and just stop. Thank god the main story was resolved or I would have been spitting nails.

This book was awesome y'all. A hint of mystery. Some hot chemistry. And a really fun plot. She's online dating for research for her next murder mystery novel--he's online dating because he's an undercover cop trying to find their online dating serial killer. Let the hikinks ensue. It's not "great" literature by any means, but it's a hell of an entertaining read. And the fact that she falls in love with him in about .2 seconds after she gives him a real chance show more doesn't really even bother me. And that's saying something because I detest that plot moving "technique."

At one point many years ago I know I read part of her Chinook series and liked her writing style. I'll be looking for more from Ms. Gibson. show less

Sex, Lies and Online Dating
3.5 Stars

While conducting research for her latest mystery novel, Lucy Rothschild becomes the prime suspect in a series of murders. Quinn McIntyre, the homicide detective assigned to the investigation, finds himself attracted to Lucy despite her lies and his suspicions.

Despite the indications in the blurb, Sex, Lies and Online Dating leans more toward contemporary romance than romantic suspense. The premise of a female serial killer targeting men she meets on the Internet has potential, but is ultimately underdeveloped with a limited suspect pool, insufficient clues and a less than comprehensible motive.

Another thing that does stand out, and not in a good way, is the excessive use of brands such as BMW, Ralph show more Lauren and Starbucks not to mention the abundance of references to popular culture like Maroon 5 and Cold Case Files. This adds little to the setting or atmosphere and actually dates the book unnecessarily.

Nevertheless, Lucy and Quinn’s romance is engaging and they have great chemistry. The build up of their relationship and the conflicts that inevitably arise make this a worthwhile read.

The secondary cast is comprised of Lucy’s quirky writer friends who are interesting enough to continue with the series. show less

I listened to an audiobook of this title. It was predictable in the extreme. As soon as I knew there was a serial killer, I knew exactly who the serial killer was. The roller-coaster relationship between Quinn and Lucy was banal and had me rolling my eyes more than once. I can't keep my hands off him, he's broken my heart, I can't keep my hands off him, he's broken my heart. . . I'm sure I would not have made it half way through this book in print. As an audiobook that I listened to with half an ear while multitasking, however, it was not entirely devoid of entertainment value, mostly due to a decent narrator and some steamy scenes when the protagonist was not whining about being heartbroken.

Rachel Gibson writes funny romances, and in my opinion, she's written a few of the best...and a few of the worst.

So I buy her books, but sometimes throw them at the wall.

My copy of Sex, Lies, and Online Dating isn't dented - neither is the wall or the cat - it's not great, but it's fun, and it has great characters. My major criticism is that in too many respects it's a one idea story - crime writer and cop meet online both doing 'research' and pretending to be someone they're not.

I'm also getting very tired of books that spend too much time trying to sell the author's next book; the epilogue of this one is primarily devoted to the major character of book two in the 'series.' It feels more like a sales pitch than literature.

That show more said, I found the book to be entertaining. The characters are well-drawn, the action moves along fast enough, and the suspense element works. And if you're looking for hot love scenes and fetching pets, Gibson does them equally well. show less

Good little romantic mystery

I kind of wish I could give this story 3.5 stars because it wasn’t 4 star but it was better than a 3 star one. The story was really good and enjoyed the idea of writers all being friends and each writing in a different genre. This makes the whole series intriguing to me.

I like the chemistry between the two main characters. The author did a good job of building the tension between the characters. The story is a little overdone with the whole serial killer mimicking an author’s work. I also like the dual point of view of the book between Lucy and Quinn.

This book was well on its way to a 4 star book except for two things. The first is everyone knows who the villain is as soon as their character is show more introduced. The story basically screams “This is the killer!” and then the main character lost her brain in the last quarter to third of the book. She became a whiny damsel in distress and wasn’t all fitting with her character in the first part of the book. show less

Lucy Rothchild, a murder mystery writer, is working on a new book that features a female serial killer who meets her victims online. In the name of research she decides to do some internet dating with guys with online names like "luvstick" and "bigdaddy182". Quinn McIntyre is a police detective working on a case involving a female serial killer who meets her victims online and kills them using erotic asphyxiation (what a coincidence - just like the plot of Lucy's unpubbed book!) and he creates a persona "hardluvnman" and trolls around picking up women searching for the killer. Quinn and Lucy meet online and agree to a date at the local Starbucks. Both Lucy and Quinn are pretending to be something they're not: she says she's a nurse, he show more says he's a plumber. But they are instantly attracted to each other.

Quinn is convinced Lucy is lying about being a nurse and she seems to know too much about the crime he is investigating. So she becomes his number one suspect. I had a bit of a problem with the scene where Quinn, still suspecting she's a serial killer, tries to lure her into trying to kill him. He has his house wired for sound and video. There was a lot of kissing, groping, sighing and moaning and he brings her to orgasm, all of it recorded on audio tape. He had maneuvered her into the hallway so not all is on video but still it bothered me that a guy would do all that in the name of catching a killer. Before they get to the bedroom, he is called away by a phone call. The real killer has struck again. Lucy is very hurt when Quinn reveals that he suspected her of being a killer. I had a real problem with the fact that Quinn did not GROVEL nearly enough to satisfy me. When Lucy's life is threatened by the real killer, she goes running back into his arms way to easily. Also Lucy had a TSTL moment near the end but I don't totally blame her.

However, I did enjoy the book over all. The sex scenes were yummy and the action was plentiful but did not take over the romance. Just not Gibson's best. (Grade: B-) show less