Jessica needs a bit of character development. Her fear of commitment is frustrating. If I were Nick I would move on. The story line is out of touch with reality. What movers and shakers would just allow a stranger in their lives? Then to have that stranger snoop around their homes undetected???????? ( )

The series is definitely getting better than my first impression of them. Its still not as thrilling or as well written as some of my other favorite sleuthing character books, but not bad. ( )

2006 ( )

http://hollybooknotes.blogspot.com/2007/08/summer-reading.html ( )

I liked Cynthia Baxter's first book because the characters were interesting and different from most of the "cozy" characters. This book, however, just annoyed me. There's absolutely no growth in the characters...Jessica is still non-commital and nosy, Nick still hangs on waiting for her to grow up. The idea that someone is just "interested in murders" is ridiculous. Jessica has absolutely no connection to the murdered man and only the most tenuous of relationships with the dog allegedly responsible for the accident that caused his death.

And then there's the setting. Ms. Baxter is supposedly a native of Long Island. Yet she repeatedly says the Norfolk police are in charge of crimes in the "East End." That would be Suffolk county, not Norfolk county. And why make up the "Bromptons?" Just call it the "Hamptons" and be done with it. Spend a weekend out there researching the street names and the types of restaurants, shops, etc and then make it real. You don't need to use people's names to make something realistic.

Plus, people who guard their privacy don't let total strangers hang around them and ask prying questions, even if that person is a vet. People who love their animals as much as the characters in this book have a great deal of loyalty to the vet who cares for them. They certainly aren't apt to just open right up to a new one. Just because someone likes animals, doesn't make them automatically trust someone else who likes animals. ( )