All He Saw Was the Girl by Peter Leonard
Very fast paced action about a few college aged guys who travel overseases, get in trouble while attending college there.
End up in prison for a few days and because of one of the boys father career they are released.
Women play a big part in the plot as well as Mafia and gangs. Mistaken kidnapping and so many more events shape this into a great read.
Would make a really cool movie as there is so much action. Love the locations as they are decrsibed in every detail so you know exactly what corner of the street they are at.
So many scenarios take place, great read.
Received this review copy from The Story Plant and this is my honest opinion. ( )

At the beginning of the book I did not understand how the author was going to connect everything together. Two different cities, a handful of people and at the time it seemed like two different plots. However the author brings it all together for the reader. The author has readers hopping around the world, from the USA to Italy. This book will keep the reader entertained and wondering what is happening next.



I loved how the author included several different mafias in this book. This is not just an average read. The author keeps the readers mind occupied. If you are looking for a fast pass crime/mystery book for a weekend read then check this book out.



The cast of characters are Chip who is a US senator’s son, McCabe who is on a scholarship in Rome, Sharon a bored wife who wants some adventure, Joey who is a thug in the mafia, and Ray an ex-secret service agent.



Chip and McCabe are on a semester tour in Rome. Chip is this young adult that has an attitude that he should get the royal treatment no matter what he does, including having his crimes overlooked. McCabe is good friends with Chip but takes a lot of the blame for Chip’s mistakes.



Sharon is just bored with her marriage. She cannot remember the last time she had sex with her husband. She meets up with Joey and thinks it is a dream comes true. She wants to have the cake and eat it also.



Joey is a thug in the mafia. This is not known during the first part of the book. He has this carefree attitude and wants everything he cannot have. He has



Ray is Sharon’s husband. During the beginning of the book the reader might think Ray has a totally different career. He sounds like he is just burned out of everything in his life at the moment.



The cover makes me think of a James Bond movie. I can see Sean Connery or Roger Moore as Ray. However we all know that 007 was never married so that little bit in the book would have to be changed. The title fits this book perfect. The last thing the guys saw was ‘The Girl’. Granted it was not the same girl but it was a girl.



If you have followed my blog for more than a day or so you will know that I cannot write a detailed review without giving away spoilers. I always stop before that happens. Well here is the stopping point. Sorry.



Thanks for a great read Peter. ( )

Disclosure: I received a free eGalley for an honest exchange for an honest review which will be posted July 21st, 2012 (for the book tour hosted by Partners in Crime Tours)

Two narratives ... two cities ... both intertwining to provide a suspense thriller that is one heck of a roller coaster ride!

William McCabe and Charles "Chip" Tallenger III are American exchange students studying abroad at Loyola University in Rome, Italy. McCabe is from Detroit, Michigan, and is on an academic scholarship, while Chip is the spoiled rich son of U.S. Senator Charles Tallenger II from Greenwich, Connecticut. While out partying one night, Chip and McCabe steal a cab and end up locked up in Rebibbia, a hardcore Italian prison, where they cross paths with a violent street gang with mafia ties. A case of mistaken identity leads to one of the boys being kidnapped by the street gang which included a beautiful Italian girl, the ransom is paid and the boy plots to avenge the street gang and reclaim the ransom money.

Meanwhile in Detroit, Michigan, Sharon Vanelli is a lonely wife of an absent Secret Service agent, who goes to bars and seeks the company of other men. Sharon meets Joey "Swinging Joey" Palermo, a mafia lieutenant and enforcer for the Corrado mob family. Sharon and Joey's affair is soon discovered by Sharon's husband, Ray Pope. When Joey tells his father "Joe P," an underboss in the Corroda mob family, about his relationship with Sharon, and that her husband is a Secret Service agent, Joey is sent packing to Italy to stay with his uncle, Don Carlo Gennaro, who is the head of the Rome mafia, until the coast is clear. Ray is determined to track down his missing wife. Sharon follows Joey to Rome, so Ray travels to Italy where the fun is just about too begin ...

What will happen when these two narratives and cast of characters intertwine and collide in Rome?

All He Saw Was The Girl is a fast paced action packed suspense thriller that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat. The author masterfully weaves a story with two intertwining narratives in alternating chapters, that easily transports the reader between Detroit, Michigan and Rome, Italy. This complex suspense thriller has enough drama, action and twist and turns that will keep the reader engaged and turning the pages to see what will happen next. I found it fascinating how the author takes the two narratives and intertwines them in a satisfying climatic fashion.

The author has created a strong cast of characters that are realistic and complex. Their different personalities and entertaining interactions are intriguing, and the author does a great job of flowing from one character to another, engaging the reader to keep up with all of the characters. What I liked best is how the author keeps the reader guessing how all the characters fit into the two intertwining narratives, until ultimately they come together to mix it up in the backstreets of Rome.

Author Peter Leonard has provided the reader with a richly detailed and tour-guide description of the beautiful ancient city of Rome, Italy. His descriptions of the famous landmarks and tourist attractions, along with a street map worthy description of the locale, easily transports the reader to Rome, where they can visualize the tantalizing sights and sounds of the city. I absolutely loved his style of describing settings in this novel, it is simply phenomenal.

I had previously been introduced to Peter Leonard's writings when I read and reviewed his novel Voices of the Dead, which I thoroughly enjoyed. When I was given this opportunity to read and review All He Saw Was The Girl, I was hoping that this novel would provide the same kind of suspense and action that I had read in the previous novel, and I can honestly say that this novel has exceeded my expectations and then some! I look forward to reading many more of his novels in the future.

If you are looking for a novel that is full of drama, suspense and enough action that volleys you back and forth from one end of the globe to the other, then All He Saw Was The Girl is the one for you! This is one suspense thriller that is a must read, you won't be disappointed!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book by the author in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tours.

http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com/2012/07/all-he-saw-was-girl-by-peter-l... ( )

This was an unexpected hit for me. After a slow start -- in which I kept picking up and putting this one down -- around page 80 I suddenly got sucked in, and I found Leonard wasn't doing a standard double cross crime tale.

Initially confusing -- there's about three story lines that eventually come together -- I got hooked by Leonard's breezy writing style and slightly sarcastic style. Quip-y action flick, all popcorn and soda, this was a perfect beach read.

Charles 'Chip' Tallenger III, spoiled son of a US senator, and his roommate William McCabe, scholarship student from Detroit, are doing a semester abroad in Rome. When Chip steals a taxi and crashes it, he and McCabe are arrested and bailed out by Chip's father. Local newspapers misidentify them in a photograph, and low-level Mafia thugs decide to kidnap who they believe to be the senator's son for some quick cash. Back in Detroit, Sharon Vanelli, married to a Secret Service agent, starts an affair with 'Swingin' Joey Palermo, a Mafia thug who, needless to say, is stunned when he discovers Sharon's federal connections. These twists occur early on in the book and I thought I knew where the story was headed, but Leonard pleasantly surprised me. There's some double crossing, and poor life choice decision making, some thrilling chases and shudder-inducing fight scenes. Throughout it all is a kind of sardonic humor, no one quite black-and-white, but amusingly gray, and once the story clicked for me, I found myself racing through this one.

And oh, the ending. It's so ludicrous and odd, but darkly hilarious, and I ate it up. A super satisfying, sugar-buzz of a read. ( )