 |
|
Title: Now You Die
ISBN: 0778322289
Author:
Christiane Heggan
Publicate Date: 2005-11-01
Publish: 2005-11-01
List Price: $6.99
Average Customer Rating: 4.0
Format: Mass Market Paperback
 |
|
|
|
|
Amazon Lowest New Price: $0.01
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $0.01
Amazon Merchant Price: $6.99
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Customer Review: |
|
1: Now You Die
When Zoe Foster stumbles across the dead body of Lola Malone, she immediately runs to call 911. She is stunned when the police arrive to find that the body has disappeared. When the police seem to believe that Zoe is mistaken about just what she saw, Zoe becomes determined to find out exactly what has happened to Lola.
Using her cartoon character, Kitty Floyd, Zoe tells the story as she hunts for clues and keeps her readers enthralled. Only, now there is a killer who is out to keep Zoe from discovering the truth. This brings her right back into her ex-husband's, Rick, life. Rick and Zoe's marriage only lasted two years, but they both have unresolved feelings and Rick is determined to protect Zoe from a killer who has targeted Zoe to keep her quiet.
Now You Die is a romantic suspense that, unlike Christiane Heggan's other books, is stronger on the suspense than the romance. However, this by no means detracts from the excellent 'who done it' mystery. Zoe's search to find out exactly what happened to Lola keeps the story moving, while her interactions with the intriguing secondary characters add dimension to an already well written mystery.
Although, I quickly wanted Rick and Zoe to find their way back to each other, I still yearned for a stronger romantic plot. But, the suspense lover in me found that I was held enthralled trying to figure out exactly who the villain was. Romantic suspense readers who are looking for a story that will keep you guessing should definitely add Now You Die to their "to be read" lists!
Melissa
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed
|
2: False advertising!
Despite the false advertising, there are some things I liked about NOW YOU DIE.
Cartoonist Zoe Foster is a likable character. Like the heroine of her cartoon strip, Zoe is a feisty woman who doesn't take any crap, especially from a potential boyfriend who gets fresh; she knees him in the `nads.
The cartoonist angle is not just a gimmick. Author Christiane Heggan is able to follow through by having Kitty Floyd, Zoe's P.I. heroine, investigate a case similar to the one she's pursuing.
The "real" case involves a body Zoe stumbles across. She calls 911, but when she returns to the scene, the body is gone. The police are skeptical, but since the dead woman is a lounge singer working for her ex-husband, he's willing to help her, as are the police eventually.
There is also a romantic triangle involving her ex-husband Rick Vaughn (Night club owner named Rick? Wonder where she got that from.)and police detective Joe Santos, who just won't settle for being just friends.
Heggan adds a father (with mafia connections) Zoe never knew she had who arrives on the scene when somebody takes a shot at Zoe. A fan is also sending Zoe scary e-mails.
My problem with the book is that it was advertised as a mystery. I got it from a mystery book club. NOW YOU DIE is a mystery of sorts, but the emphasis is on romance. Zoe has been wearing her hair in a braid ever since her divorce six years before, but when Rick says he likes her hair down, she ditches the braid. She also "melts" in his arms one too many times.
I will be dropping my membership in that book club. I'm always on the lookout for a good mystery writer, and I'm not likely to find one if I keep tripping over the romance/mystery genre. Lawrence Block, Ed McBain, Stuart Kaminsky and Robert Clark can compete with what passes for serious literature these days. Some editors may think a romantic plot thread is necessary, but one of the greatest amateur sleuths in literature (Miss Marple) managed to do without one.
|
3: A romance novel with a major twist - It is a good story too!! :)
I picked this book up on a whim and was very pleasantly surprised. The first chapter drew me in and the characters were deep enough to keep it interesting. The main folks almost had a Dean Koontz feel to them (that would be a good thing).
A few sidebar stories and strong friendship/romance themes never quite let me forget that it was first and foremost a romance, but I think I could make a habit of reading Ms. Heggan if her plotlines are all as good as this one.
One very nice point about this book is that anyone can read it. By that I mean that I do not recall any sections I would not want my fourteen year old reading (Yah - I know... I am a prude :)).
If you like interesting stories about intelligent, headstrong, pretty girls, you should like this book. I definitely recommend!
All the best,
Jay
|
4: A Worthwhile Read-What Did Happen to Lola Malone?
The book opens right away with Lola Malone, who is strangled right away and left by the dumpster dead. Then when Zoe Foster, cartoonist, happens to see the body and run for help, it's too late. When The authorities arrive at the scene, the body is mysteriously gone.
The police look at Zoe with raised eyebrows, and dismiss the case finding nothing there. But Zoe determined to solve this strange mystery, digs until she finds out what really happened to Lola. One of the ways she goes about it, is to make her cartoon character Kitty Floyd, tell the story and find clues for the missing Lola.
Of course this doesn't happen without repercussions-there is a killer out there indeed, and much closer than Zoe would have ever thought. She and her ex-husband Rick come back together to solve the case-without Zoe getting killed in the end. Is the killer "Lonesome Me," who has been writing scary comments about Zoe's cartoons in the daily paper? Or is it someone else whom she never would have thought possible? You must read and find out!
|
5: Good Read
Zoe Foster is a cartoonist for a publisher in New York. She lives in a loft that she and her best friend renovated. She has been divorced for six yrs from Rick. Her cartoon P.I.,Kitty Floyd has begun to take off. Zoe is a fiesty, mouthy, redhead just like her character in the strip.
Rick, her ex-husband, is a former marine who owns and runs a local nightclub. He seems to be protective, dedicated, and somewhat still in love with his former wife.
On the way home from the Christmas Party, Zoe finds a dead woman in the alley. But by the time she summons help and returns with the police, the body is gone. Undaunted by the refusal of the police to believe her, she sets out like her intrepid creation and starts to investigate on her own.
Surprisingly the trail leads to her ex. The identity of the unknown body is a singer from Rick's club. Even with the help of Joe Santos, a policeman, who is in love with Zoe, she finds the going tough. But as A leads to B she gets more involved, and when a sniper takes a shot at her, Rick and Joe are determined to protect her, even from herself.
Full of twists and surprises, the novel holds our attention very well. I enjoyed the read.
|
|
|
|
|
