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Sophie Katz Murder Mystery #6
Vanity, Vengeance And A Weekend In Vegas
Sophie Katz, bestselling mystery writer and amateur sleuth, has just discovered that Anatoly, her sexy Russian P.I boyfriend of six years is actually married to the daughter of a Russian mafia boss. Devastated by his betrayal, Sophie banishes him from their beautiful San Francisco Victorian home.
Desperate to distract their friend and pull her out of her depression, Dena and Marcus spirit Sophie away to Vegas for a “fun filled weekend” at a Sex Toy Trade Show. But bigger trouble awaits in Vegas. Anatoly is there; his beautiful Russian wife is there; and so is a dead body stuffed into a closet. And to make matters worse someone has gone out of their way to implicate Sophie in the murder. Sophie’s completely over her head and when a mysterious man offers her help she’s tempted to take it. But who is he and whose side is he on? It's also clear that whoever the bad guy is he would have no problem killing Anatoly, and although she may want to kill him herself, no one else is going to hurt Sophie's man.
Desperate to distract their friend and pull her out of her depression, Dena and Marcus spirit Sophie away to Vegas for a “fun filled weekend” at a Sex Toy Trade Show. But bigger trouble awaits in Vegas. Anatoly is there; his beautiful Russian wife is there; and so is a dead body stuffed into a closet. And to make matters worse someone has gone out of their way to implicate Sophie in the murder. Sophie’s completely over her head and when a mysterious man offers her help she’s tempted to take it. But who is he and whose side is he on? It's also clear that whoever the bad guy is he would have no problem killing Anatoly, and although she may want to kill him herself, no one else is going to hurt Sophie's man.
291 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 2, 2012
44 people are currently reading
1259 people want to read
About the author
Kyra Davis
29 books1,521 followersNew York Times bestselling author of JUST ONE NIGHT, DECEPTIVE INNOCENCE, the Sophie Katz mysteries, SO MUCH FOR MY HAPPY ENDING and the upcoming DANGEROUS ALLIANCE, JUST ONCE MORE and JUST ONE LIE (July 28th, 2015).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews
July 11, 2012
If you take this book for what it is, you'll enjoy it. It's mindless, with a weak plot and storyline and one-dimensional characters who, somehow, throughout seven books in this series don't manage to grow or change very much. However, the story is still interesting and still fun enough to hold your attention. I finished it in less than 10 hours (gotta love summer vacation!). But, there are some MAJOR flaws with this book. Firstly, it is evident that no one with any publishing or editing background read this book. The typographical, spelling and formatting errors were so numerous that oftentimes it took away from the story. There were verb tense errors, spelling errors, misuse of words and flat out fake words (such as the repeated use of an ISB drive instead of a USB drive!). At one point in the book, the text size changes and stays that way for the next 3 or 4 pages until the chapter changes. It is clear that this book was only marginally proofread. This book also wasn't as interesting or as good as the other books in the Sophie Katz series. If another Sophie Katz book makes its way to market, will I read it? Probably. But, will I feel compelled to buy it the moment it comes out? Nope. And, if it's as poorly written as this one? Then I'll be done with Sophie Katz for good.
August 19, 2018
Vanity, Vengeance and A Weekend in Vegas by Kyra Davis is the 6th book in the Sophie Katz Mystery series. Mystery writer Sophie Katz Murder Mystery series. Mystery writer Sophie Katz discovers that her boyfriend of 6 years is married to a Russian mafia bosses daughter. She takes off to Vegas with her friends to drown her sorrows only to find him also there with another woman who later she finds shot dead. This is the first book I have read in this series and found it a little confusing and slow. There was no real investigation and it was confusing as to why Sophie became involved at all, and a bit unbelievable that the various cartels and organisations would take so much interest in her.
December 6, 2020
Sophie Katz is a mystery author who a few times has ended up involved in some murder mysteries of her own. The book kicks off with an old foe calling from prison to inform her that Anatoly, her boyfriend of six years has a wife. While he claims he married for a green card he also conveniently did tell her that his wife is the daughter of a Russian mafia boss. After ending the relationship Sophia is in need of a pick me up and her friends decided to take her to a sex toy convention in Vegas for the weekend.
Part romance, part mystery and plenty of humor this is a fun read. Sophie has a crazy group of people around her between her somewhat prudish sister Leah, her fabulous friend Marcus, firecracker Dena, and hopeless romantic Mary Ann.
And Sophie is still an amateur sleuth in every sense of the word. Don't expect a highly skilled detective because she makes impulsive decisions with little thought like her bad attempt at breaking into a suspicious fan's house. Or forgetting to grab her gun before running after known criminals. One of my pet peeves about these amateur sleuth mysteries is that the heroine is much smarter than the police. She's not better than the professionals though she holds her own in her own bumbling way.
I listened to parts of this on audiobook in between reading the ebook and it kept me entertained for the weekend.
https://womenofcolorreadtoo.blogspot....
Part romance, part mystery and plenty of humor this is a fun read. Sophie has a crazy group of people around her between her somewhat prudish sister Leah, her fabulous friend Marcus, firecracker Dena, and hopeless romantic Mary Ann.
And Sophie is still an amateur sleuth in every sense of the word. Don't expect a highly skilled detective because she makes impulsive decisions with little thought like her bad attempt at breaking into a suspicious fan's house. Or forgetting to grab her gun before running after known criminals. One of my pet peeves about these amateur sleuth mysteries is that the heroine is much smarter than the police. She's not better than the professionals though she holds her own in her own bumbling way.
I listened to parts of this on audiobook in between reading the ebook and it kept me entertained for the weekend.
https://womenofcolorreadtoo.blogspot....
July 10, 2012
I was really, really disappointed in this book. I had been looking forward to it for a long time (and had been following Davis' FB page for updates).
When it came out...as a self-published e-book...I snagged it.
Davis should have kept her editor; it was CLEAR who was in charge of keeping the characters witty, the action flowing smoothly, and the lines fresh but familiar--and it sure as hell wasn't Davis. I don't know why Davis switched to self-publishing (probably her contract was up and not renewed; it happens), but she fails as an author on her own, without a publishing house to back her.
Fellow readers, I KEEP SEEING THIS. I see successful, enjoyable authors think they can do better in self-publishing and then fail time and time and time again. To make my point about VVaWV:
The book was FULL of grammatical and spelling issues. Sentence structure had fallen off a ravine and couldn't be rescued. Formatting was horrible at best, as if Davis had simply rushed the book off to the "presses", as it were. There were spaces in the middle of names, in the middle of sentences, you name it, there was shitty formatting all around.
Davis noted on Facebook that the formatting errors had been taken care of, and to return the book and redownload. I did. Readers, the SAME formatting issues were still there. After that I threw up my hands.
As for the characters. It was hard for me to get going on this book. The pacing was choppy and the witticisms I had so enjoyed in Davis' previous books were missing. The mystery was...not nearly as complex or fascinating; it was, in fact, annoying and downright boring.
Anatoly's mystery marriage, finally solved, was...a let down. It was annoying and seemed like a desperate attempt by the author to keep her series going.
All in all, unless Davis gets another contract at Red Dress Ink, or another publishing house, I won't be reading, or buying, any more Sophie books. This one was a real let down, and I think professional authors need to leave self-publishing to the kiddies.
When it came out...as a self-published e-book...I snagged it.
Davis should have kept her editor; it was CLEAR who was in charge of keeping the characters witty, the action flowing smoothly, and the lines fresh but familiar--and it sure as hell wasn't Davis. I don't know why Davis switched to self-publishing (probably her contract was up and not renewed; it happens), but she fails as an author on her own, without a publishing house to back her.
Fellow readers, I KEEP SEEING THIS. I see successful, enjoyable authors think they can do better in self-publishing and then fail time and time and time again. To make my point about VVaWV:
The book was FULL of grammatical and spelling issues. Sentence structure had fallen off a ravine and couldn't be rescued. Formatting was horrible at best, as if Davis had simply rushed the book off to the "presses", as it were. There were spaces in the middle of names, in the middle of sentences, you name it, there was shitty formatting all around.
Davis noted on Facebook that the formatting errors had been taken care of, and to return the book and redownload. I did. Readers, the SAME formatting issues were still there. After that I threw up my hands.
As for the characters. It was hard for me to get going on this book. The pacing was choppy and the witticisms I had so enjoyed in Davis' previous books were missing. The mystery was...not nearly as complex or fascinating; it was, in fact, annoying and downright boring.
Anatoly's mystery marriage, finally solved, was...a let down. It was annoying and seemed like a desperate attempt by the author to keep her series going.
All in all, unless Davis gets another contract at Red Dress Ink, or another publishing house, I won't be reading, or buying, any more Sophie books. This one was a real let down, and I think professional authors need to leave self-publishing to the kiddies.
March 6, 2012
I've been a big Kyra Davis fan for many years and have been waiting for this book to come out since about a day after Vows, Vendettas, and a Little Black Dress (the previous in the series) was released. I followed as the author split with her publishing company and felt her way through the ins and outs of self-publishing. I bought a copy of Vanity... as soon as it was available on Amazon.
I devoured this book just as I have with her others and loved getting back into Sophie's world. The story was tight, fast-paced, and entertaining, but the copy-editing was atrocious. I have to wonder if Kyra's departure from her publishing company also left her without an editor. I found several issues of subject/verb disagreement and the wrong word was used several times (hear/here, alter/altar). There was also a strange formatting issue in the middle of the book where the font changed. Hopefully these were just growing pains of a trusted author making her way in a new world of self-publishing.
I devoured this book just as I have with her others and loved getting back into Sophie's world. The story was tight, fast-paced, and entertaining, but the copy-editing was atrocious. I have to wonder if Kyra's departure from her publishing company also left her without an editor. I found several issues of subject/verb disagreement and the wrong word was used several times (hear/here, alter/altar). There was also a strange formatting issue in the middle of the book where the font changed. Hopefully these were just growing pains of a trusted author making her way in a new world of self-publishing.
March 9, 2020
Good!!!
I love me some Sophie Katz!! Always finding trouble and has a bunch of awesome friends. Plus, and uptight sister who cracks me up!! Starting number seven, I love the Sophie adventures!!
I love me some Sophie Katz!! Always finding trouble and has a bunch of awesome friends. Plus, and uptight sister who cracks me up!! Starting number seven, I love the Sophie adventures!!
January 12, 2018
Really good book for a quick and fun read. I really like this series as a quick diversion from other more serious books that I am reading. The characters are all really fun and enjoyable. The story line has some twists that are unexpected and some that are predictable.
July 3, 2016
I had a couple of problems with this one, but mostly it was the printing of it. It was different than the other books and there were a bit of spelling mistakes. I mean I obviously have like loads of spelling mistakes constantly but that's me. I did like the story and I loved Sophie at some parts but at others I didn't see the same Sophie as the other books. But it did have some really great moments (as I posted in two updates some quotes I loved) and I was happy to see all the characters again plus some good new ones. I don't know if I wish the series continued after this one, which as far as I know there isn't a next book, because I am worried if there were more it would start lacking but at the same time I wish there was more because I love the characters.
4/5
4/5
March 6, 2012
Yet again Kyra Davis delivers a real winner and doesn't disappoint!! The book was a real page turner with tons of action and, in my opinion, the fastest paced Sophie book to date. I really hope we get to see more of Sophie in the future!!
August 14, 2023
Book wise, this book is a fun light beach read. I imagine that if I thought about it, the plot would fall apart, so I'm going to just move on. If you enjoy silly capers with two-dimensional characters where the regular people insert themselves into something to do with the Russian mafia and never call the police at any moment even when they find a dead... woops, there I go thinking about it. Whatever, the sex toy convention was funny, and Leah vs. the octopus was hilarious.
When I first tried to buy this book, no bookstore had it so I had to buy it used, and I got the cover that's shown here. The book was so weirdly formatted that it looked fake, and I couldn't deal, so I went to Ebay and bought what I thought was the "real" book because it looks like all the other novels (it has a roulette wheel on the cover and a woman in a black dress tossing a gun off to the side, and the title font is the same as the first four, but not the 5th one). Having read some reviews of this book now, I feel like the cover pictured is the self-published version, and then the one I have is a 2017 reissue or something? Mine says "copyright 2017, first trade paperback edition 2012." I don't understand book publishing at all but if any of the reviews are correct, and the author is just sending these manuscripts off to the ether to be published instead of having an actual publishing company with editors and stuff, it explains the random typos (widow for window, patrician for partition, wtf) and the fact that this book lacks the bite of the previous novels. Editors are kinda important, people.
When I first tried to buy this book, no bookstore had it so I had to buy it used, and I got the cover that's shown here. The book was so weirdly formatted that it looked fake, and I couldn't deal, so I went to Ebay and bought what I thought was the "real" book because it looks like all the other novels (it has a roulette wheel on the cover and a woman in a black dress tossing a gun off to the side, and the title font is the same as the first four, but not the 5th one). Having read some reviews of this book now, I feel like the cover pictured is the self-published version, and then the one I have is a 2017 reissue or something? Mine says "copyright 2017, first trade paperback edition 2012." I don't understand book publishing at all but if any of the reviews are correct, and the author is just sending these manuscripts off to the ether to be published instead of having an actual publishing company with editors and stuff, it explains the random typos (widow for window, patrician for partition, wtf) and the fact that this book lacks the bite of the previous novels. Editors are kinda important, people.
August 2, 2025
I'm going to try again and read this series. So far, I've read 6, dnf 2 and still have one left to read, and mostly enjoyed them and they are always a light read especially when I need a book after a serious one. Also, to be honest, I wanted to get this off my shelf! Her titles are always so long and complicated that I can never remember them! I guess that's creativity.
This time Sophie is in Las Vegas, with her friends Marcus and Dena (and then later Mary Ann), trying to get Sophie out of her depression when she finds out that her boyfriend of 6 years Anatoly, is married and to a Russian mafia woman too. They go to a sex toy trade show since Dena owns a shop catering to this. This should be fun. But guess who's there too? Of course there's a murder as always and she's implicated. Also, there's a puppetry show called "Puppetry of The Penis" that's there. Don't ask for the details.
This book is about Anatoly and the Russian mafia too. It's a little complicated for my "little" brain sometimes but I get the idea mostly.
Not sure if it's the Vegas location or the sex toy trade show but when she meets back up with Anatoly (sorry, spoiler here, but you probably will have figured that out), the graphic scene (or sort of) may be a little too sexy for some or may not be.
Not sure if this is considered an ARC since it doesn't state it but yet it doesn't have a pub date either inside. Anyway, the errors are atrocious. Peeks instead of "peaks" and some others too.
A fast 2 day read for me.
This time Sophie is in Las Vegas, with her friends Marcus and Dena (and then later Mary Ann), trying to get Sophie out of her depression when she finds out that her boyfriend of 6 years Anatoly, is married and to a Russian mafia woman too. They go to a sex toy trade show since Dena owns a shop catering to this. This should be fun. But guess who's there too? Of course there's a murder as always and she's implicated. Also, there's a puppetry show called "Puppetry of The Penis" that's there. Don't ask for the details.
This book is about Anatoly and the Russian mafia too. It's a little complicated for my "little" brain sometimes but I get the idea mostly.
Not sure if it's the Vegas location or the sex toy trade show but when she meets back up with Anatoly (sorry, spoiler here, but you probably will have figured that out), the graphic scene (or sort of) may be a little too sexy for some or may not be.
Not sure if this is considered an ARC since it doesn't state it but yet it doesn't have a pub date either inside. Anyway, the errors are atrocious. Peeks instead of "peaks" and some others too.
A fast 2 day read for me.
May 19, 2020
Should I have given myself a time buffer between Sophie Katz books? Most likely. But after the cliffhanger the last book gave us, I really couldn't help myself. I just needed to know what was going to happen to Sophie this time around. And boy howdy, was it a lot.
This book didn't so much have a mystery as it did have a conspiracy. And it was excessively convoluted. By the time all was said and done, I was barely sure I'd kept the facts straight. Somehow, I managed.
With each book, the circumstances become more and more dire. And the situations Sophie finds herself in become more and more ridiculous, though no less dangerous. How she hasn't been killed yet is an absolute surprise to me, but I'm certainly glad she's pulled through as many times as she has.
I am definitely giving myself a break from this series for a while, though. There is only so much gin I can drink to cut through the absurdity before the words stop being coherent.
This book didn't so much have a mystery as it did have a conspiracy. And it was excessively convoluted. By the time all was said and done, I was barely sure I'd kept the facts straight. Somehow, I managed.
With each book, the circumstances become more and more dire. And the situations Sophie finds herself in become more and more ridiculous, though no less dangerous. How she hasn't been killed yet is an absolute surprise to me, but I'm certainly glad she's pulled through as many times as she has.
I am definitely giving myself a break from this series for a while, though. There is only so much gin I can drink to cut through the absurdity before the words stop being coherent.
August 25, 2021
Vanity, Vengeance, and a Weekend in Vegas by Kyra Davis is the first Sophie Katz book I have read. I think it’s number 6 in the series, though, and it probably wasn’t the best book to start the series with. I felt like I lost a little bit not knowing the background of Sophie and Anatoly’s relationship, because they were having major relationship issues in this book. I’m not the biggest fan of Anatoly and that might be different if I had started the series with book 1.
All that said, this was my introduction to Sophie Katz and I’m happy to say that I am now a fan. I really enjoyed Sophie as a character, even if she made some very questionable choices, and I love that she herself is a mystery writer, although that doesn’t really come into play much in this book. There were many laugh out loud moments throughout the book and that was exactly what I was looking for. I enjoyed this book and plan to read more Sophie Katz books as soon as I can get my hands on them.
All that said, this was my introduction to Sophie Katz and I’m happy to say that I am now a fan. I really enjoyed Sophie as a character, even if she made some very questionable choices, and I love that she herself is a mystery writer, although that doesn’t really come into play much in this book. There were many laugh out loud moments throughout the book and that was exactly what I was looking for. I enjoyed this book and plan to read more Sophie Katz books as soon as I can get my hands on them.
January 5, 2018
Though the last two of the series that I read (Books 3 and 5) were predictable, though still cute and funny, this one was really good and had more twists and turns.
Maybe this is the reason I'm not in a relationship, but I would have dropped Anatoly a long time ago. Sophie seems to want to constantly want to make their relationship work when he gives very little to the relationship and her piecemeal. The final straw of the information she was told at the end of the last book would have been the straw that broke the camels back for me. Don't care what he had to say about it.
But this book was really fun. I liked all the intrigue and her funny friends.
Maybe this is the reason I'm not in a relationship, but I would have dropped Anatoly a long time ago. Sophie seems to want to constantly want to make their relationship work when he gives very little to the relationship and her piecemeal. The final straw of the information she was told at the end of the last book would have been the straw that broke the camels back for me. Don't care what he had to say about it.
But this book was really fun. I liked all the intrigue and her funny friends.
March 20, 2018
Look, this isn't the most believable series to begin with. It requires quite a bit of suspension of disbelief from the beginning, but that's the case with many cozy mysteries, and it doesn't usually bother me.
Until this book. Things have gotten wacky in the past few installments, but this one takes the cake with a plot that involved the RUSSIAN MAFIA. And a MEXICAN MAFIA. And our intrepid amateur sleuth somehow being able to hold her own with them. REALLY?!
I was enjoying this series quite a bit in the beginning, but this was a total dud for me.
Until this book. Things have gotten wacky in the past few installments, but this one takes the cake with a plot that involved the RUSSIAN MAFIA. And a MEXICAN MAFIA. And our intrepid amateur sleuth somehow being able to hold her own with them. REALLY?!
I was enjoying this series quite a bit in the beginning, but this was a total dud for me.
June 20, 2018
Sophie, Dena, and Marcus embark to Vegas for both a get-a-way and to mend Sophie's broken heart feom finding out that the love of her life Antoly is married and that is how all the trouble starts in Sophie's life.
This a beautifully written and a good comic relief as we watch all of them stumble through the chaos of what is life.
This a beautifully written and a good comic relief as we watch all of them stumble through the chaos of what is life.
March 1, 2019
Read on Kindle. This was another fun read from this series, with a decent amount of my favorite character (Marcus) thrown in, but I wasn’t very into the mafia storyline and had a hard time following it, so I didn’t enjoy it as much. The book was a little sloppy at times and there were several misspellings and grammatical errors; it really needed another round of editing. One more book to go!
February 4, 2018
Awesome
This is my first time reading a mystery book by this author and I have to say that I truly enjoyed the book. Now I am excited to go back and read the first five books. Ms Davis has found her a new fan of her work.
This is my first time reading a mystery book by this author and I have to say that I truly enjoyed the book. Now I am excited to go back and read the first five books. Ms Davis has found her a new fan of her work.
March 9, 2018
This is my first Kyra Davis or Sophie Katz for that matter. I just picked it up because I wanted to try a different genre in Audible. Totally avoidable! Neither the mystery nor the chick lit vibe worked for me.
January 14, 2019
This was a really good story and characters Really like the way the writer writes the stories part romance alot of mystery some funny parts too you wouldn't want to miss. Want more books by this author. Really enjoyed Would recommend this to all my friends, Want more
February 21, 2019
Loved it!
I absolutely love this series and they kept getting better and better. This was my favorite one so far. I’m going to check and see when the next one will be out because I can’t wait to read it!
I absolutely love this series and they kept getting better and better. This was my favorite one so far. I’m going to check and see when the next one will be out because I can’t wait to read it!
February 9, 2021
It's been many years since I read the earlier books. I was concerned I wouldn't remember what was going on. Not an issue! While I couldn't dredge up specifics, the author provides enough reference points to remind you without being heavy handed with a recap. 4.5 stars from me!
February 18, 2021
Over the top hilarious fun - I love a zany book like this. It had mob connections and twists and tons of one-liners; a group of characters that is a blast; non-stop action and humor- and some romantic bits, too. It was just a totally comforting read to lose myself in.
December 26, 2024
4.25 stars
I love this series so much. This book is not 5 stars because it took Sophie a long time to realize what was going on with Anatoly. I also feel like Dena and Sophie did not have a reconnection, it kind of was just resolved. I wish they had a conversation or something.
I love this series so much. This book is not 5 stars because it took Sophie a long time to realize what was going on with Anatoly. I also feel like Dena and Sophie did not have a reconnection, it kind of was just resolved. I wish they had a conversation or something.
May 8, 2017
It bums me out that she hasn't published a new book in this series for 5 years. I put off reading the last two hoping a new one would come out in the meantime.
September 13, 2017
Very funny. Love her books... Laughed out loud
January 6, 2018
This might be my favorite one in the series so far. The Russian Mob and puppetry of the penis? Sign me the fuck up!
January 15, 2018
While the plot went a little off the rails, this was probably my favorite of the Sophie Katz stories.
August 6, 2018
I love me some Sophie Katz. It's an easy and mindless read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews