Dying in Style (Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper, Book 1)

Book Description

Mystery shopper Josie Marcus's report about Danessa Celedine's exclusive store is less than stellar, and it may cost the fashion diva fifty million dollars. But Danessa's financial future becomes moot when she's found murdered, strangled with one of her own thousand-dollar snakeskin belts-and Josie is accused of the crime.

Customer Reviews:

Mysterious fun!.......2007-03-07

I loved this book. It's an original who-dun-it with a main character that will have you laughing the whole way through. Very well written and attention grabbing from the get go. I will definitely be reading more!

A wild and wacky story that was fun to read!.......2006-12-26

A book set in the world of upscale shopping malls holds a certain glamour and appeal for this shopaholic reader who like the main character, can only dream of owning such luxury items! The story and mystery-solving process was rather over-the-top at times, but that's what made this such a fun book to read.

Not her best work.......2006-08-25

I loved the Dead-End Job series, and couldn't wait to read more from Elaine Viets, but this book was a major disappointment. Elaine could have done so much better with the storyline, and left out about 100 pages of filler. Imagine having a heated discussion with your mother and all of a sudden yelling "GBH". Everyone stops what they are doing and saying and gives a "Great Big Hug". Gag me.
The premise of the book was good, but there was too much time spent on dialog with Josie's mother, which went over and over the same things. If I wouldn't have been on an airplane with only the 1 book to read, I probably would have set it aside and reached for something else.

Review of the Mystery Shopper..........2006-07-18

In the 1st book in the Mystery Shopping Mystery series, we meet Josie Marcus, a single-mom with a career in the mystery shopping field. As a mystery shopper, Josie is sent to visit many types of businesses, and then rates their service without the store knowing that she is rating them. She goes to restaurants, discount stores, and high-end retailers to evaluate the courtesy of the sales-staff, the cleanliness of the store & restrooms, and to make sure that certain products are in-stock. Normally, she is able to stay undercover with the use of various disguises, and she is able to submit her reports anonymously. This all changes the day that she is assigned to visit the very posh stores of Danessa Celedine. Danessa designs and sells her own upscale handbags, and her stores are in the process of being sold to Creshan Corporation for millions. Creshan hires Josie's mystery shopping company to shop the stores, and Josie must visit each of the three locations twice over two days. When she gives them a poor rating, she knows that a bad report could prevent the sale of the chain to Creshan. However, she always gives a fair, honest report, and is shocked when she is confronted by Danessa herself the day after the reports are submitted. Threatening a lawsuit, Danessa demands that Josie be terminated for filing a fraudulently negative report. When Danessa and her boyfriend, Serge, are found dead the next day, Josie becomes the prime suspect. Josie works hard to solve the case before she is thrown into jail, or even worse, loses the family and the job she loves.

This book offered an interesting premise. I read a lot of cozy mysteries, and I happily picked up this book when I saw that the main character was a mystery shopper. Having been a mystery shopper myself for several years, I was interested to see how the author would handle this unique job. I thought that the mystery shopping aspects of the book were pretty accurate (although most shoppers do not dress in disguises, to my knowledge), and the job offers several possibilities for upcoming books in the series. I do agree with several other reviewers, however, in the fact that a lot of the dialogue and the information in the book seemed excessive, and not completely relevant to this story. At times, the mystery and story seemed to bog down a bit, and I found myself skipping a page here and there. However, I like the concept and the characters enough that I will read future books in the series to see how it develops.

The next book in the series is called "High Heels are Murder". Enjoy!

Mystery Shopper Finds A Mystery.......2006-06-11

Josie Marcus has an unusual job, Mystery Shopper. She does this everywhere, from the highest class shops to the local chicken joint, she checks out their service, their cleanliness and if they're making the proper sales pitches for any specials that the business is offering.

You would think this would be both fun and easy, but as anyone who has ever gone shopping knows, you can run into some really bad service, and if someone figures out you're the mystery shopper it could prove dangerous.

It was after doing a shopping trip to Danessa Celedine's shop that all the trouble started. It was bad enough that the shop wasn't as pristine as it was supposed to be and that the sales clerk was rude, but after turning in her report Danessa herself shows up threatening to sue Josie for the bad report. (She's trying to sell her business to a large corporation and a bad review could kill the whole deal).

It gets worse when her weasel of a boss takes Danessa's side and wants to lay her off. But all this becomes a moot point when Danessa ends up dead, strangled in her own shop. Surprise, Josie seems to be the top suspect to the police.

Just because she threatened to kill Danessa and the belt that she was strangled with only had Josie's fingerprints on it should make her top suspect. Then Danessa's boyfriend is found poisoned in their palatial home.

With all eyes on her, Josie decides she better do some investigating on her own, or her nine year old daughter Amelia will be visiting her on weekends at the prison.

Highlights:

Mystery shopper is an interesting and very different type of job for the heroine to have. I like the descriptions of Josie actually doing her job.

Josie is an interesting character, she lives with her mother and daughter Amelia.

Amelia, cute but not irritating and very smart. At times she appears smarter than her mother.

As in her other books, the dialogue is great and you get a real feel for the characters.

Lowlights:

I don't know if the author is not able to write a good relationship for her heroine's or she really thinks all men are lying, cheating creeps, but as in her two previous series, none of the men in this book are interesting. In her Francesca Vierling series, the boyfriend is nice but she destroys the relationship for no reason and what was supposedly a happily married cop in the first book turned out to be a lying, cheating rat in the second. In her dead end job series, Helen's husband lied and cheated on her and then got alimony when she divorced him, her first boyfriend in Florida turned into an insane stalker and Phil the pothead turned out to be boring and not very sensitive when he became a real character and not just the guy no one ever saw. Of course in this series, her daughter's father turned out to be a lying bum. And everyone else, from the cops, to her best friends husband to everyone in the neighborhood is cheating on their spouses. Josie's two choices of men are Stan - who might as well wear a sign that says "NERD" around his neck and Josh, who owns a coffee shop. Josie finally thinks he's working up to ask her out when all he's doing is asking if she would read his unpublished novel.

Costume changes. I don't know why you have to change what you look like or wear to go mystery shopping. Isn't the point to see how they serve everyone. And I don't believe any company would want you to go mystery shopping at their place of business dressed up like a hooker. Everyone, including her daughter is embarrassed at how she is dressed, and tells her, but for some reason Josie thinks this is the way you have to dress to check out a Chicken Place.

Overall this is a fair read. Considering I didn't like the first book in both of her other series, I'm expecting this to get much better as it goes along.

I thought the mystery itself was a little boring, but Josie's detective work was very interesting to read.

Josie is an interesting enough character that I do want to get the next book in the series.

Average customer rating:

Saucy

A Kinder, Gentler Hemmingson?

Not very sexy

Designed for rereading
The Classics Professor: Create Your Own Erotic Fantasy (Create Your Own Erotic Fantasy)
Michael Hemmingson , Michael Hemmington , and Mary Anne Mohanraj
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Big Night Out: An Adventure Where You Decide the Outcome

ASIN: B0002Z00K8

Book Description

Readers call the shots in these titillating original books, written by premier erotica authors, which allow you to live out your most uninhibited erotic fantasies.

The Classics Professor is a beautiful woman at a prestigious New York university whose cold professional façade masks a powerful eroticism. Dr. Wendy Lake wants to seduce you, and a disastrous relationship has left you vulnerable to her advances. You're fascinated and intimidated. When the affair becomes dangerously intense, you'll have to decide whether you will submit to all her perversions, such as attending pansexual orgies in midtown; escape the pressure through a fling with a nubile university co-ed; or drop out of graduate school altogether.

Customer Reviews:

Saucy.......2004-12-09

This book intrigued me because I was looking for an adult choose your own adventure. It certainly was adult. Warning: Do not read this book if you have trouble reading very explicit material. Anyway, I didn't think I would care for it as much as I did. I kept thinking I would just put it down and start reading it again later, but I could wait to see where each decision took me. Some things I didn't like to hear about, but some things were very exciting to read. Read this book if you are interested in expoloring what turns you on. You might be surprised!

A Kinder, Gentler Hemmingson?.......2003-09-07

Did Hemmingson's editor finally tame him? But I see this is a stgory by him and a book by another well-known erotica writer. I have a feeling we may see "story by" Hemmingson on TV sit-coms next!

The book was fun, though. A fun read, like a game.

Not very sexy.......2003-06-20

Avoid this one - Hemmingson is normally a better writer than this. Not very sexy, or interesting.

Designed for rereading.......2003-06-03

Like Kathryn in the City, this is an adult Choose-Your-Own-Adventure. Reading it, you wonder that it took so long for someone to make this, the concept fits light erotica very well.

The story is about a new professor in a new city, with many different diversions and options along the way.

The writing is fun, the choices diverse, and erotica good.

And of course, you can always pick it up again and try something else...

Average customer rating:

Party Receipes

Great Idea Book

Unusual Tablescapes w/ some good-looking "modified for quickness" recipes

Give me a break!

GREAT recipes, "tablescapes" overdone....

Christopher Lowell, The Hassle-Free Host: Super-Simple Tablescapes and Recipes for Stunning Parties
Christopher Lowell
Manufacturer: Clarkson Potter
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Special Occasions | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Party Planning | Special Occasions | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Tablesetting | Special Occasions | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Household Hints | How-to & Home Improvements | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Decorating | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Etiquette | Reference | Subjects | Books
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Christopher Lowell's Seven Layers of Organization: Unclutter Your Home, Unclutter Your Life

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Christopher Lowell's You Can Do It! Small Spaces: Decorating to Make Every Inch Count

Christopher Lowell's Seven Layers of Design: Fearless, Fabulous Decorating

ASIN: 1400047269
Release Date: 2004-09-28

Book Description

For would-be hosts and hostesses, entertainer extraordinaire Christopher Lowell shares his secret for unforgettable parties: the perfect marriage of sumptuous, quickly prepared food and festive decor. Using experience culled from his eclectic career as an entertainer, which has included stints in theater, the art world, and classical music, in addition to his critically acclaimed interior design and lifestyle television programs, Christopher Lowell shows anyone how to turn an impromptu get-together, a cozy dinner, or a wedding reception into an absolutely fabulous soirée. With detailed how-to instructions for creating dramatic tablescapes and recipes for super-simple and tasty meals, Christopher Lowell channels his you-can-do-it approach to party planning.

Peppered throughout the book, invaluable entertaining tips and essential shortcuts transform even the most harried person into a party-planning savant. By creating a simple tablescape such as Asian Zen Squared or Crystal Blue Persuasion, you can turn an ordinary meal of Chinese takeout into an extraordinary evening. Christopher Lowell, the Hassle-Free Host is brimming with countless ideas to turn common household objects into sensational party props. For more ambitious hosts who dare to dabble in the kitchen, dozens of delicious recipes, including Chilled Avocado Soup, Grilled Beef Salad, and Frozen Key Lim Pie with Macadamia Nut Crust are perfect for the fussiest guests and are organized into convenient menu options. Made from mostly on-hand ingredients and time-saving convenience foods, the recipes are fast, adaptable for any number of guests, and completely foolproof. Mix and match them with any of the tablescapes, for any kind of party, in any room of the home, for an endless number of combinations.

Christopher Lowell’s expert advice will keep even the most hesitant host hassle-free and make any party fun, relaxing, and festive, no matter what the occasion.

Customer Reviews:

Party Receipes.......2007-08-24

We bought as a gift having been given a copy...some great ideas..we've tried many..all really good.

Amazon did well too..shipped same day it was ordered online.

Great Idea Book.......2007-03-29

This is a fantasitic, "how to" book on setting a colorful, creative and imaginative table. Not only do you see the end results of the tables, but then step by step instruction on how it was created. The focus is on creativity, and does not how lavish the china.

Unusual Tablescapes w/ some good-looking "modified for quickness" recipes.......2006-01-22

Not sure why I picked this up from the library, we don't really do a lot of entertaining, just family. I DID enjoy looking through this book which had some very interesting and pretty tablescapes. I was surprised about the recipes but some of them actually sound good. I plan on trying them, maybe not for guests, but just because I am always looking for quick recipes. Like another reader said, if you want the real deal, there are great cookbooks out there. Christopher is not a chef!

Like other reviewers, some of the tablescapes were a little over the top, but to me they could easily be toned down. My favorite tablescapes were:
Petal Pushers - clear trough of petals and flowers
Asian Zen - very unusual flowers
Veggie-table chic - but toned down
Tin-talizing Picnic - was very cute.
Grass Roots - very tall, grass-like arrangement

Ummm, I just picked most of his designs. Maybe I like it better than the 3 stars I thought I was going to give it.

Give me a break!.......2005-12-16

With all the wonderful books on the market on entertaining, we have to be subjected to this egomaniac on every page, food out of a can and horrible table designs. Too over the top, too gaudy and waaaayyy too centered on someone who has seen better days. Don't waste your money.

GREAT recipes, "tablescapes" overdone...........2005-08-21

I liked both the recipes and his "party notes" at the beginning of the book--a lot of useful information. The recipes are a good compromise between cooking gourmet and just bringing something from the Costco Deli Section style of entertaining.

The tablescapes--I can see going to all that effort for something very special, like a wedding (if you're doing that in lieu of a gift), but for normal get-togethers they're too much work. For sit-down dinners, I don't know about you, but I like to see the people I'm talking and eating with, not look through a virtual forest, or glassware, or whatever. For a buffet, they might be nice, if you took what he put on ONE table and spread it out over THREE tables--yes, that is how much stuff is on the table....

Even the table ideas I did like looked like they were all geared towards parties where you were being served by waitstaff. There was no room on his tables to pass anything around "family style", which is a concern if that is how most of your dinners are.

Bottom line: It really depends on the type of people you have at your parties/get togethers. If you have Martha-types, they will ooh and aahh and you might get something out of all that work on the tablescapes. If the people you entertain are more practical and down-to-earth, get this book for the recipes.

Product Description

Bettas (Siamese Fighting Fish) are wildly popular with freshwater aquarium hobbyists. This book will provide all the essentials in proper care, housing and feeding of these exceptionally beautiful, spunky fish.

Customer Reviews:

Easily the worst book ever about Bettas.......2005-06-23

This is hardly a book about Bettas but as a previous reviewer noted a very basic aquarium book. As a Betta book it is so vague that it offers very little help or knowledge about Bettas' specific needs. The breeding and rearing the young section is a so vague & generalised that I really wonder if the authors have ever bred any Bettas at all. The food & feeding section is so full of errors & again vagueness that its best to ignore it. The disease treatments are mainly things that even your pet shop doesn't carry. Go to the numerous Betta sites on the web and the many Betta groups on yahoo! & you'll be far better off. Dr. Goldstein's book is light years better than this as is Walt Maurus'. Save your money for those and don't waste it on this one!

Very Basic Fishkeeping Information.......2000-05-12

This book is fine for the person who has little background or experience with aquariums. The vast majority of the book is very basic information about water quality, the nitrogen cycle, choosing a tank, filter, light, substrate and plants...very general aquarium basics. It is very disappointing if you are seeking specific and/or detailed knowledge about bettas. No information at all about tail and color variations, genetics, standards, etc. A better title would be, "Setting Up Your First Aquarium...and you can put a BETTA in there too!"

This is the BEST Betta Book for ANYONE!! :-).......1999-08-04

I just got this book a few days ago, and it is WONDERFUL! It covers everything in GREAT detail such as breeding, diseases and their prevention, and Genetics. A GREAT book out in the market today. So check it out!!! It is a book that seems to have everything anyone would need to know, in one!!!

Book Description

It is well known that the Royal Collection contains an outstanding range of dolls and dolls' houses. The story told here concerns two very special dolls—France and Marianne—which were given to Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret in 1938, when they were, respectively, twelve and eight years old. Intended as a tangible expression of the Entente Cordiale between Great Britain and France on the eve of World War II, the dolls and their trousseaux also acted as a showcase for the French fashion industry and the elegant world of Parisian haute couture.

Faith Eaton, the well-known writer and lecturer on the subject of dolls and doll collecting, here describes the historical events leading up to the presentation of the dolls, their creation in the world-famous Jumeau factory, and the preparation of their vast collection of designer dresses, fur coats, hats, shoes, and miniature accessories. Contributions came from the most prestigious fashion houses of the day, including Lanvin and Cartier, Hermès and Vuitton, and the excellence of their work is clearly seen in the book's specially commissioned photography.

In her final chapter Eaton describes her own delicate conservation work, carried out over the years, to maintain the dolls' original perfection. 70 photographs and illustrations, 50 in color.

Customer Reviews:

Gorgeous Photos of Unique Collection.......2006-08-10

This book has stunning pictures of this whole unique doll clothes collection. Beautiful book to enjoy looking through. Has interest especially for fashion history from the 1920-1930s France.

Barbara

Book Description

Sixth in a series of fun knitting books featuring the adventures of Miss Bea and her pals, this delightful storybook is written and designed to appeal to children aged 1-4, and is filled with engaging photos and beautiful illustrations. Knitting patterns for the garments the characters are wearing are found in the back of the book and feature Rowan yarns. Written with the beginner in mind, these 10 projects feature an easy introduction to edgings and garment details, and include color-coded instructions and clear illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

Miss Bea's Seaside.......2005-06-23

I bought this book because I had the denim yarn and it requires special patterns. Too much of the book is taken up with nonsense. The patterns stretch out over a couple of pps making it hard to keep one's place, and the methods of construction are, to me, silly. Why not make the long dress on round needles for example? I do not think the patterns particularly attractive. Still the denim yarn is practical for small kids and if you want to use it for children, this is the book.

Average customer rating:
Simply French: Painted Furniture Patterns to Pull Out and Trace
Jocasta Innes
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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Painted Furniture Patterns: 34 Elegant Designs to Pull Out, Paint, and Trace

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ASIN: 0517587084
Release Date: 1991-12-31

Customer Reviews:

Nice photos, thats all........2007-09-08

Before saying anything about Senegalese glass painting the author makes clear, quite inaccurately, that Africans have not traditional art. This myth that all African art is for religous purposes is inane when recognizing that European art was also primarily religious. Serving the same purpose, to inspire and impress. Not to mention that much of African art is not solely religious, but royal arts,etc.

The author claims that African art was static and not allowing change and thus not art. For one, it was no more static than Europe was bent on realism (how much more static can u get) and religious or royal scenes. But in fact there are numerous examples of great variation even in the same ethnic group or city) that proves Africans gave way for individuality in its classical art. This ignorant perspective is the view this book is written it.

The author attempts to downplay Senegalese civilization by claiming how horrific it is for them to "sell their African brothers" in the past. Any historian will tell you quickly that the Senegalese, like most Africans, were not selling their brothers, but rival nations. The notion of a black family is as contemporary as one of a white family. It did not exist at that time. During the same time, Whites, like the Venetians, were selling other whites into slavery to North Africans, but it would be propagandist of me to try to paint a false image of them selling their "European brothers". The author knows better, but like a lot of scholarship on Africa, it is vital that the continent be pictured as having "needed European intervention".

But hey, photos of works that are hard to find any other place force me to give it my vote.

Book Description

"At the age of thirty-five, the fashionable Viennese playwright and journalist Theodor Herzl fantasized about the collective conversion of the Jews in a mass ceremony at the cathedral of St. Stephen. By the time he died, a mere nine years later, he had redefined Jewish identity in terms of a modern secular faith and created a national movement which, within less than half a century, led to the foundation of the Jewish state."

So begins Ernst Pawel's remarkable study of Herzl. In The Labyrinth of Exile Pawel restores the vital link between the myth of the founding father of Zionism and the human being and demonstrates that the reality of Herzl's life is much more complicated and far more interesting. Legendary and all too human, Herzl remains one of the emblematic figures of modern times.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting study of Zionism and its first leader.......1999-02-06

Pawel attempts and largely succeeds at placing Herzl and the Zionist movement in its historical and cultural setting. He thoroughly and without sentiment unveils the conflicts and crises that drove Herzl to become the international leader of Zionism. The rise of Jewish nationalist sentiment and the personalities involved in its emergence are well presented. I especially enjoyed the depiction of the Vienna of Herzl's era. I recommend it for readers with an interest in the origins of the Zionist movement and its uniquely gifted leader, Theodor Herzl.

THE LABYRINTH OF EXILE: A LIFE OF THEODOR HERZL

Average customer rating:

THE LABYRINTH OF EXILE: A LIFE OF THEODOR HERZL
Ernst Pawel
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OWXM4A

Average customer rating:

The Labyrinth of Exile: A Life of Theodor Herzl
Ernst Pawel
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus & Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000PW43TM

Average customer rating:

Labyrinth of Exile: A Life of Theodor Herzl.

Manufacturer: 0
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000ICFDW0

Average customer rating:

The Labyrinth of Exile : A Life of Theodor Herzl
Ernst Pawel
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000MUBIIQ

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