Jeni Decker

I loved this book. Whenever I am asked if I have a favorite book I say no because there are so many I love. Now I have a book I can call a favorite. Reading Waiting for Karl Rove you will feel right there with Kat and Jeni. This book will make you call up your best friend and rope her into a road trip, (even if she did set your hair on fire – she apologized). You will laugh so hard you may tinkle, (if you are prone to this, wear Depends or put one of those puppy training mats under you). Carve out a block of time, and order food because once you start the trip you will not want to stop. This book will be the most fun you have had on the road, (with the bonus of not getting lost, sleeping in the Bates Motel, eating bad food or getting tasered and being hauled off to the pokey).… (mehr)

I loved Waiting For Karl Rove and was eagerly awaiting for the sequel. It has arrived and I was not disappointed. The freakishly funny adventures of Kat and Jeni continue... this time in Vegas. I would recommend reading Waiting or Karl Rove first but if you haven't you will still enjoy this sequel. Special Agent Lebowski is back and strangely I find myself drawn to him. On the trail of Kat and Jeni is The Masked Avoider, a suspected serial killer who is hunting his ex, Cristi. Special Agent Lebowski has been assigned to establish the connection between Kat, Jeni and The Masked Avoider. Reading this book is fun in the sense of being Alice and falling down the hole to 'Deck-No ville'. A place where I can clearly hear Jeni Decker screaming, "Where the h**l is the Prep H?!" and Kat films her desperate hunt, the FBI is recording and a serial killer is intrigued. The authors are not afraid to laugh at themselves, (or anyone else), and this makes for many ridiculously funny scenes. Whether you were thinking of going to Vegas or you just need to get away from your loving but needy family for a couple of hours, read this book. It will make you appreciate the psychos in your family, (after all they aren't writing tell all books featuring their crazy adventures that all your friends would read).

Hmm. I have started adding a for those who want to know line here to warn of any language, sex, etc. For this book let's just say not for the easily offended or anyone sense of humor challenged. Everyone else grab a drink and get on board for a trip to Deck-No Ville.… (mehr)

REDACTED is a thoroughly researched and pretty interesting look at a 1983 unsolved murder in the small town of Reed City, Michigan. (Full disclosure: I grew up in Reed City, but moved away in the 60s.) Author Jeni Decker admits right up front that she is not a "true crime writer," which shows in her style - sassy, uncensored and passionate. Such a style tends to be incongruent with her subject - the grisly murder of a beautiful young woman, a wife and mother. Although a relative newcomer to Reed City, Decker is obviously very invested in her subject, and is equally passionate about the growing backlog of other unsolved crimes, most notably rape and murder, and not just in Michigan, but all over the country. Her passion and her reportorial instincts often draw her far off-subject. For example she spends an inordinate amount of time exploring the small-town politics, shoddy hiring practices, personal peccadilloes and scandals of 1980s Reed City, naming names, which will certainly not endear her to longtime residents of the area who knew these people. She is particularly explicit in her details of the sloppy mess that was made of the initial murder investigation, the way the crime scene was irreparably compromised by inept city and county police. And that's commendable. Her attention to the embezzlement of city funds by a longtime city employee, however, is not.

Bottom line: Jeni Decker is a competent writer with a voice all her own. And she does a service by bringing the facts of this unsolved murder - bungling and all - back into the public eye. But, because of those perhaps unnecessary digressions on other community sins, the book - IF it is read at all - will certainly be controversial. Which may not be a BAD thing. But will the hurt feelings, or hard feelings be worth it? I must admit that my Reed City roots probably bias my opinion. That said, I'll recommend the book, but with reservations. (three and a half stars)

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, REED CITY BOY… (mehr)