Get a Clue

Fun book. Breanne has had a really bad day. She got left at the altar for the third time and decided her only option was to escape by going on her pre-paid honeymoon alone. A turbulent flight with unpleasant seatmates and lost luggage just adds to the stress. She arrives at her destination in the midst of the blizzard of the century to discover that there is a sexy man taking a shower in her room and claiming that it's his room.

Cooper is a vice cop who has reached the end of his rope. His plan for this vacation is to eat, sleep, and maybe find a couple of snow bunnies to spend some time with. The last thing he needs is a crazy woman claiming the room is hers. But he's willing to share the room...

I loved the first meeting between Breanne show more and Cooper. Him all wet and soapy in the shower, giving Breanne quite an eyeful, and her wielding the only weapon she could find - a bright pink, glow in the dark vibrator. There are sparks between them right away, but both are determined to resist. Cooper is not relationship material. He feels that his job and the effect it has on him is death to anything lasting. Breanne has sworn off men after her latest disaster. But while the minds are saying no, the bodies and hearts have different ideas. A platonic sharing of the bed turns into a hot make-out session before either is really awake, setting the scene for what's to come.

Things go from bad to worse when Breanne discovers a dead body. The weather being what it is, the murderer has to be someone currently in the house. But who? Shelly, the sweet and petite cook? Or Dante, the butler who looks like a street thug? Maybe Lariana, the knockout maid or Patrick, the inept handyman? The storm knocks out the power, and as Breanne and Cooper look for clues, things just don't seem to add up.

I liked Breanne and Cooper, though I will admit that Breanne had her truly flaky moments. One moment she seemed to be holding up well, and the next she was panicking in the dark. Her attraction to Cooper was strong, but she was really stubborn about her no new men rule. Her internal conversations were pretty funny as she would remind herself to stay away from him, even when she was in his arms. Cooper was pretty terrific. His burn out was real, but when the body was found, his inner cop stepped up. I loved his determination to protect Breanne, even when she was driving him nuts. I liked the development of their relationship. Cooper accepted what was happening much faster than Breanne did. He wanted to see where it would lead and sometimes got frustrated by Breanne's pulling away. Breanne is freaked out by the way Cooper makes her feel. She isn't sure how to deal with it, so she tries pushing him away by claiming what they have is just sex. I liked how Cooper finally confronted her about it and told her how he felt. Her epiphany takes a little longer but is quite satisfying when it comes.

The mystery of the dead body is both simple and complex. Each of the staff members has both means and motive, but none of them really seem the type to commit murder. There are some pretty funny moments as both Breanne and Cooper look for clues and get caught in some awkward situations. The resolution came with an unexpected twist that was heartwarming and heartwrenching at the same time. show less

This was a cute romance with a touch of mystery. Breanne Mooreland is off on her honeymoon alone since her groom left her standing at the altar. This is her third broken engagement and she's decided to give up men forever.

However, when Breanne arrives at her honeymoon destination in the middle of the snowstorm or the century, she finds Cooper Scott already in the honeymoon suite. Things get worse from there. The power goes out, the staff is weird, and Breanne discovers a dead body in the wine cellar.

Cooper is a cop who had quit his job after burning out, but he is still investigating this crime. Only everyone except Breanne and himself are very suspicious characters. Between falling in love with Breanne and dealing with the crime, his show more time is full.

Breanne is falling for him too but is in major denial about any possibility that this is more than a vacation fling. The sex scenes are hot and frequent but convincing Breanne that they are more than a fling is an ongoing problem.

I liked Breanne's quotes from her Palm Pilot that began each chapter. The Palm Pilot being the only indication that the book was written in 2005. The romance was interesting. The mystery was also interesting and kept the plot moving. show less

Take the heat and sizzle from an episode of DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, mix it in with the mystery from MURDER, SHE WROTE, then stir it together with a dash of the exotic from SIX FEET UNDER and what you have is Jill Shalvis's romantic-mystery-comedy, GET A CLUE. The current installment in the "Wicked" Women Whodunit series, this book is sure to make you laugh, pant, and cheer-all at the same time.

Breanne Mooreland is having a really bad day. Left standing at the altar, she decides there's only one way to get over the embarrassment of being jilted-go on her honeymoon and rack up as many expensive charges as she can on Dean "the lying rat monkey's" credit card. But the day that started out bad is about to get a lot worse, when she's forced to show more endure the airplane flight from hell, loses her luggage somewhere over Timbuktu, and arrives at the mountain lodge only to be snowed in by the mother of all blizzards. Then, finally entering her expensive and all-ready-paid- for-by-Dean-and-filled-with-erotic-gift-baskets honeymoon suite, she finds a naked man standing in the shower. Her shower. A man who, for all intents and purposes, has absolutely no intention of vacating the suite-with or without Breanne's permission, and whether or not she decides to stay in the suite with him.

Now the phone is dead, the electricity is out, there's only the one house for the two of them, and there's a dead body in the attic. There's also a man who looks like a member of a motorcycle gang claiming to be the butler, a missing manager, a sexy maid, and a handful of other nefarious characters running around the house-and no one seems to know what to do or how to do it.

Now naked guy, aka San Francisco Detective Cooper Scott, is feeling desperate. Not only is he unbelievably attracted to Breanne, his houseguest, but now there's a dead body to attend to, a missing manager to find, and suspects to question. Breanne's honeymoon-all ready minus the groom-isn't shaping up to be much of a vacation, and Cooper's determined to keep her safe. And it doesn't have anything to do with the pink vibrator in their suite-really.

Jill Shalvis has penned another winner, an exciting mix of action-adventure, police procedural, wickedly funny whodunit, and steamy romance. You can't go wrong picking up a copy of GET A CLUE-but don't blame me if you're disappointed when the story is over. show less

When Breanne Mooreland is left at the alter, she takes the honeymoon by herself, but the honeymoon suite is already occupied by Cooper Scott, an undercover vice cop who is so burned out that he needs a getaway to help him decide what to do with his future. Before they can decide who will stay and who will go, a snowstorm strands them and the dead body of Edward, the manager, is found in the wine cellar. With all of the employees under suspicion and no way to leave, Cooper decides to step in and try to solve the case, but his attraction to Breanne keeps getting in the way.

Get a Clue is a very light romantic suspense with quirky characters and a cute romance. The two leads are very likable, but each is dealing with life altering trauma. show more Many of their problems, however seem fairly easy for them to overcome. Some of the dialogue in this story is cringe-worthy and the humor forced, taking some of the fun from a plot that is obviously meant to be more of a romance than suspense. Most of the characterization is weak and the mystery is easily solved, but the story does have it's moments and the steamy scenes are well written. Overall, Get a Clue would be enjoyable to read in front of a cozy fire or on a warm beach. show less

Every once in awhile I pick up a romance and give it a try, because I'm sure as popular as the genre is there must be some out there I'll enjoy. I'd been meaning to try Jill Shalvis' work for awhile when I was doing some librarian work and stumbled across Get a Clue. It seemed perfect for me to try: a romance built around a murder mystery in the middle of a snow storm.

Verdict: Eh, so-so. I liked all the characters a lot, the mystery was actually pretty good, the setting fantastically created. The sex scenes were steamy. But the main character, Breanne... I got thoroughly tired of reading her declarations of "no more men" while simultaneously jumping into Cooper's arms, or bed, or climbing him like a tree, or pulling him into a show more convenient closet. I have a low tolerance for hypocrisy and she was drowning in it.

I'll definitely read Ms. Shalvis' work again though; there was definitely enough to like to try again. show less

Get a Clue
3.5 Stars

Breanne Mooreland has had the worst day of her life. Her fiancé left her at the alter, the airline lost her luggage and there is a strange yet sexy naked man in her honeymoon suite. To top it all off, Breanne stumbles on a dead body and the sexy stranger is a cop ...

The quirky characters, steamy romance and modest mystery make this a surprisingly entertaining read.

Breanne and Cooper have amazing chemistry and their scenes together are hot and spicy. Nevertheless, their instalove romance requires a healthy dose of suspension of disbelief and Breanne is often clingy and freaks out at the slightest provocation. Cooper, on the other hand, is simply gorgeous.

The secondary characters are endearing although their constant show more sexcapades make the resort seem more like a brothel. Once the murder victim is discovered, it becomes difficult to see any of them as a killer, which makes the resolution predictable.

All in all, a cute read for anyone in the mood for something light and fun. show less

Breanne Mooreland decides to go on her honeymoon alone after being left at the altar. Unfortunately for her, she encounters a large snow storm that shuts down the entire town. Cooper Scott was in serious need of a vacation so his brother makes him reservations & wouldn't you know it, he gets booked into the honeymoon suite. Breanne arrives to find a man in her shower, no electricity (she is afraid of the dark) and some wacky staff who pop up one at a time over the evening. This book takes you on a adventure of murder, crazy things happening, hook ups, & finally everything coming together in a surprising way. I loved Breanne & Cooper but I also got attached to the staff with all of their quirks. You will enjoy this book as it is fun to show more read. show less