Melissa K

I'm a fan of Roberts and red wine, so this was a dream read. It's vintage Roberts (glossy people and settings, sex plus suspense, quick pace), so anyone looking for deep characters, semicolons, or the meaning of life should cork this bottle up and take a drink of Henry James instead. (But beware, you'll be sipping for a lot longer...) Fans of Roberts won't be disappointed. Fans of the vine will like it too--pair it with a chilly night, a fireplace and a nice glass of Pinot Noir. Mmmmmm.

Much of this book takes place either in the water, on a Caribbean island, or on a yacht. Combine that with romance, intrigue, mythical mystery, and lots of good-versus-evil action (all of which resolve neatly in the end), and you've got a recipe for a good vacation thriller. (As long as you don't mind a little blood and guts along with your pina colada.) If you enjoy Nora Roberts's Independent Woman Heroines (doesn't need a man, doesn't want a man, especially not--well, OK, as long as you're here, interested, rich , and gorgeous), then you'll like the main character here. But be prepared. To put up with. Some very. Choppy. Style.

Just turn off your instincts that go "no way that would happen" and enjoy. I smiled a lot while reading this, always a good sign. At one point I laughed out loud (her family scenes are hilarious--I still chuckle when I think about the scene involving her grandma and the stun gun). This is the first Stephanie Plum book I've read, and it definitely made me want to pick up another one. If you like Sue Grafton's alphabet series, you'll like this. It's Grafton with more romance and humor.

I picked this up for its setting--the Caribbean--because I was headed there. It was a good enough beach read: interesting characters, several lovely passages, some deep thought (nothing too strenuous), but I kept feeling like I'd already read the "big moments" of character realizations ten minutes earlier. I enjoyed the least likable characters the best because they weren't so tediously thoughtful. Perhaps it was because I was reading from a lounge chair, sipping a cocktail and taking snorkle breaks. My favorite parts were tiny bits of character description or dialogue that made me laugh, and opportunities were plentiful, what with all the alcohol and scantily-clad leisure time in the Caribbean. (I'm talking about the characters, not myself...I think.) Overall, it was enjoyable, if not remarkable.