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Chainsaw Jane
Nobody knew how and why Jane Dzhugashvili, a small and wrinkled Russian psychic, had landed in Noliar. Addicted to cigarettes, vodka, and curse words, she had firmly rooted herself into the old PA town like a stubborn old vine.
When Dorothea Sishy disappears, two NYPD detectives turn to her for help, for when it comes to unbreakable police cases, Chainsaw Jane is the one to crack them. Reading her Tarot cards, Jane maintains that Dorothea's head will be found in Central Park North, her torso at the bottom of Central Park Lake, her legs in the East and West Village, and her arms somewhere in the Upper East and Upper West Side. What's more, Jane is adamant one of the widow's many lovers is responsible for butchering her body.
The murder case gets too close to home when Cruz, Jane's best friend, also goes missing. It's evident there's a link between the events, and if something isn't done fast, Cruz will end up dead, too. The clock is ticking, and one of the detectives is about to make a fatal mistake.
It's guaranteed readers will be gripped by the drama, captivated by the colorful cast of characters, and swept along with the plot as this compelling story unfolds. All in all, Chainsaw Jane by Marie-Jo Fortis is a thrilling, unpredictable, and nail-biting ride.
When Dorothea Sishy disappears, two NYPD detectives turn to her for help, for when it comes to unbreakable police cases, Chainsaw Jane is the one to crack them. Reading her Tarot cards, Jane maintains that Dorothea's head will be found in Central Park North, her torso at the bottom of Central Park Lake, her legs in the East and West Village, and her arms somewhere in the Upper East and Upper West Side. What's more, Jane is adamant one of the widow's many lovers is responsible for butchering her body.
The murder case gets too close to home when Cruz, Jane's best friend, also goes missing. It's evident there's a link between the events, and if something isn't done fast, Cruz will end up dead, too. The clock is ticking, and one of the detectives is about to make a fatal mistake.
It's guaranteed readers will be gripped by the drama, captivated by the colorful cast of characters, and swept along with the plot as this compelling story unfolds. All in all, Chainsaw Jane by Marie-Jo Fortis is a thrilling, unpredictable, and nail-biting ride.
304 pages, Paperback
First published March 4, 2013
1 person is currently reading
16 people want to read
About the author
Marie-Jo Fortis
2 books23 followersBecause she fell in love with an older man who lived in the United States, Marie-Jo Fortis had to face tremendous familial opposition and machinations. But she did cross the Atlantic with her guy, faith in the future and little more than the clothes on her back. As a result she got the 3 M: marriage, Maïa (the daughter) and a small menagerie.
Ah, and a Master’s in English lit that came a few years after studying at l’Ecole du Louvre and La Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris. Her work has been published nationally and internationally in Freedom International, Poésie Première, Talus & Scree, and other periodicals. She also founded Collages & Bricolages, a literary magazine she edited for fifteen years.
Chainsaw Jane germinated from a couple of simple facts. She loves mysteries, for one. And she knows a tiny sixty-something woman who trims her own trees with a chainsaw. Plus, she reads Tarot. These elements led to the character of Chainsaw Jane. From that, a whole novel fermented.
Ah, and a Master’s in English lit that came a few years after studying at l’Ecole du Louvre and La Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris. Her work has been published nationally and internationally in Freedom International, Poésie Première, Talus & Scree, and other periodicals. She also founded Collages & Bricolages, a literary magazine she edited for fifteen years.
Chainsaw Jane germinated from a couple of simple facts. She loves mysteries, for one. And she knows a tiny sixty-something woman who trims her own trees with a chainsaw. Plus, she reads Tarot. These elements led to the character of Chainsaw Jane. From that, a whole novel fermented.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 23, 2017
I feared the worst, but this is actually an entertaining spoof. It is not as corrosive as it could have been, but I did smirk and guffaw at regular intervals throughout the book. Not to take too seriously, but amusing nonetheless.
May 16, 2013
Chainsaw Jane by Marie-Jo Fortis
Jane Dzhugahvili is visited by Julie Hoffman and Detective Hercules Leek from the NYPD. They visited Jane for a Tarot reading to get information regarding a woman who has disappeared. The department, in the past, has come to believe in the dependability and reliability of Jane’s readings and have no reason to believe this time will be any different.
Jane practically raised Julie and her friend Zoe Zimmerman. As it appears Jane might be in danger, Julie sends Zoe to convince Jane to stay with her in New York until Julie’s case is solved. Jane, being stubborn, won’t want to leave her home in the best of circumstances, but now her best friend has disappeared as well.
The characters are likeable, though easily forgettable. The villain seems to be selected somewhat as an afterthought, with little initial information provided to tie him in to anything of note or otherwise provoke reader curiosity.
Additionally, there was little mystery to the novel and few suspenseful moments. The phrasing was clunky and often annoyingly repetitive. For example, Hoffman’s partner, Det. Leek was repeatedly referred to as “feline,” not once or twice, but over and over throughout the novel. Given this isn’t a shifter novel, this word use became very tiresome.
Fortis has strong potential and will certainly create a series from some of these characters that will scream to be heard.
This novel was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review (part of the ongoing Goodreads Read for Review program).
Jane Dzhugahvili is visited by Julie Hoffman and Detective Hercules Leek from the NYPD. They visited Jane for a Tarot reading to get information regarding a woman who has disappeared. The department, in the past, has come to believe in the dependability and reliability of Jane’s readings and have no reason to believe this time will be any different.
Jane practically raised Julie and her friend Zoe Zimmerman. As it appears Jane might be in danger, Julie sends Zoe to convince Jane to stay with her in New York until Julie’s case is solved. Jane, being stubborn, won’t want to leave her home in the best of circumstances, but now her best friend has disappeared as well.
The characters are likeable, though easily forgettable. The villain seems to be selected somewhat as an afterthought, with little initial information provided to tie him in to anything of note or otherwise provoke reader curiosity.
Additionally, there was little mystery to the novel and few suspenseful moments. The phrasing was clunky and often annoyingly repetitive. For example, Hoffman’s partner, Det. Leek was repeatedly referred to as “feline,” not once or twice, but over and over throughout the novel. Given this isn’t a shifter novel, this word use became very tiresome.
Fortis has strong potential and will certainly create a series from some of these characters that will scream to be heard.
This novel was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review (part of the ongoing Goodreads Read for Review program).
February 16, 2017
I like the cover and the name of the book and also the title character. The character is certainly memorable—a chain-smoking Russian woman, alleged to be related to Stalin, whose favorite word seems to be “fooked.” She apparently has a problem with squirrels in her attic—at this point, I’m not sure whether that’s a metaphor or not. So, she buys a chainsaw—hence the name and trims all her trees so that there are no branches. Come to find out that Jane reads tarot Card and helps the police find the missing. They bring a missing woman case, and Jane foretells its whereabouts. The author starts losing me when she insists on interjecting her political views about hunting and the Second Amendment into the narrative to wit: “Another fuckhead who mistook his gun for his dick.” That’s quite a visual imagery the author creates—talk about painting a word picture. My advice to the author and any other anti-gun zealot out there: Don't like guns? Don't buy one. Don't like the Second Amendment? Move to France. It looks like she took my advice on the latter. I’d be happy to debate the reasoning for the 2nd amendment with anyone, especially the author, any day of the week. Spoiler alert, it’s not about hunting, but that is one acceptable outlet for it. The trouble with writing about political views in a narrative is that you risk alienating some of your potential audience. If you're fine with that, have at it. There are a few minor grammatical issues, but it’s not bad enough to be distracting. The characters in the book are quirky, and it occurred to me that it’s fine to have quirky characters if there is a point to them and if their quirks aren’t off-putting, i.e. a woman who has a pet rat as a companion—yeah, she would not be riding in my car.
It’s an easy read, but there is not enough about the book to make it a truly interesting read for me. Admittedly, I’m an old duffer and set in my ways, and it may well appeal to a younger and more feminine audience. I give the book a healthy three stars. Give it a try, you might like it.
It’s an easy read, but there is not enough about the book to make it a truly interesting read for me. Admittedly, I’m an old duffer and set in my ways, and it may well appeal to a younger and more feminine audience. I give the book a healthy three stars. Give it a try, you might like it.
October 22, 2016
Well I'm definitely in the minority on this one. I greatly disliked Chainsaw Jane and had a difficult time trying to wrap my head around why cops (or anyone for that matter) would deal with Jane. She was verbally abusive and rude to everyone. Sure she's a psychic but I've never heard of a psychic that was that accurate and had such details from a tarot reading. Everything turned out to be exactly as Jane said and not once did she stumble, stutter or guess. All in all, totally unrealistic.
The dialogue was stilted and the characters (other than Jane) were one dimensional. And what was up with the gynecologist who was also a plastic surgeon. Really? Seemed kind of opportunistic to me.
The author could seriously use the services of an editor to help with grammar issues, sentence structure and proper word usage. Heck one small paragraph used "granted" to start three consecutive sentences. I would imagine as this author gets a few books under her belt, the writing will improve. I'll check her out again in a few years.
The dialogue was stilted and the characters (other than Jane) were one dimensional. And what was up with the gynecologist who was also a plastic surgeon. Really? Seemed kind of opportunistic to me.
The author could seriously use the services of an editor to help with grammar issues, sentence structure and proper word usage. Heck one small paragraph used "granted" to start three consecutive sentences. I would imagine as this author gets a few books under her belt, the writing will improve. I'll check her out again in a few years.
November 25, 2013
This is a fun read, part mystery but also part life-story. The title character is a character, all right, and her background slowly unfolds through her own words, through her actions, through what she values and fears. The mystery itself is fairly standard, but it’s Chainsaw Jane that makes this story unique and special.
The author has a talent for description. It’s almost best to read the descriptive passages quickly, getting a feel for it rather than trying to parse every word. Imagine it like a TV show with many quick pans and zooms. It’s a series of impressions, a montage. In the end you’ve got an in-depth idea of what things look like and how they’re laid out, as well as for each of the characters.
Now, you’ve really got to suspend disbelief here. First of all, no police officer or detective would EVER drag a psychic with them to interview critical suspects and witnesses, and allow her to interrogate them. They’d blow their case. When the visions get more specific, they get less believable, too. In some places, the interpolation of characters’ internal monologues and details interfere with the action, and it’s easy to lose track of what’s going on. In some places it’s also difficult to keep track of whose eyes you’re viewing the action through, and it seems to switch around with little notice. And finally, it’s difficult to understand the decisions of a couple of the characters: why would they suddenly stop trusting the people they’d been working with and go off on their own?
But all in all, despite the unlikeliness of some of the situations, I enjoyed this book. It’s well done and Chainsaw Jane is a person who’ll stick in my memory. Recommended not only for mystery and crime buffs, but also for literary fiction fans.
The author has a talent for description. It’s almost best to read the descriptive passages quickly, getting a feel for it rather than trying to parse every word. Imagine it like a TV show with many quick pans and zooms. It’s a series of impressions, a montage. In the end you’ve got an in-depth idea of what things look like and how they’re laid out, as well as for each of the characters.
Now, you’ve really got to suspend disbelief here. First of all, no police officer or detective would EVER drag a psychic with them to interview critical suspects and witnesses, and allow her to interrogate them. They’d blow their case. When the visions get more specific, they get less believable, too. In some places, the interpolation of characters’ internal monologues and details interfere with the action, and it’s easy to lose track of what’s going on. In some places it’s also difficult to keep track of whose eyes you’re viewing the action through, and it seems to switch around with little notice. And finally, it’s difficult to understand the decisions of a couple of the characters: why would they suddenly stop trusting the people they’d been working with and go off on their own?
But all in all, despite the unlikeliness of some of the situations, I enjoyed this book. It’s well done and Chainsaw Jane is a person who’ll stick in my memory. Recommended not only for mystery and crime buffs, but also for literary fiction fans.
May 1, 2013
This is not a book I would have picked up, thinking, “Oh, this sounds interesting.” However, having read it, I can honestly say I liked it. It was a strange story, but strange in a good way.
It took me some time to get into story because early chapters are heavily laced with backstory but as it progressed, I became more and more engaged in the tale. It is a straightforward story without a lot of twists and turns, yet Fortis plants her clues subtly. Although I did figure out the evildoer about halfway through the novel.
Chainsaw Jane is a character – very over-the-top in her eccentricities. Other characters, too, are unique without being stereotypes or so corny they are pastiches. Readers need to read names of some characters and places carefully to catch humor the author has inserted.
All the characters delivered terrifically funny lines at one time or another and Fortis provides fresh takes instead of tired clichés in her descriptions.
A few minor nits to pick:
Some places I had to read carefully to follow which character was speaking.
Jane’s constant use of fook (and other character’s use of its correctly spelled version) became tiring after while.
The cop dialog didn’t ring quite right, especially between Leek and Julie. It wasn’t bad, just not quite on the money.
I noticed quite a few typos, punctuation errors, and some layout errors, like lines of dialog that should have been in their own paragraph.
Would I like to read more of Chainsaw Jane’s adventures? Yes.
It took me some time to get into story because early chapters are heavily laced with backstory but as it progressed, I became more and more engaged in the tale. It is a straightforward story without a lot of twists and turns, yet Fortis plants her clues subtly. Although I did figure out the evildoer about halfway through the novel.
Chainsaw Jane is a character – very over-the-top in her eccentricities. Other characters, too, are unique without being stereotypes or so corny they are pastiches. Readers need to read names of some characters and places carefully to catch humor the author has inserted.
All the characters delivered terrifically funny lines at one time or another and Fortis provides fresh takes instead of tired clichés in her descriptions.
A few minor nits to pick:
Some places I had to read carefully to follow which character was speaking.
Jane’s constant use of fook (and other character’s use of its correctly spelled version) became tiring after while.
The cop dialog didn’t ring quite right, especially between Leek and Julie. It wasn’t bad, just not quite on the money.
I noticed quite a few typos, punctuation errors, and some layout errors, like lines of dialog that should have been in their own paragraph.
Would I like to read more of Chainsaw Jane’s adventures? Yes.
July 2, 2013
In "Chainsaw Jane", readers are introduced to a talented author and an interesting array of characters. Sadly, it doesn't deliver everything that the opening chapters, and the confident/comfortable writing style of Fortis suggest is possible.
I Loved:
the setup for the story
Jane Dzhugashvili and some of the novel's other interesting inhabitants
the feeling of place that I got from Noliar as seen through the characters' eyes
I Didn't Love:
the relationships (and sometimes the dialog) between the main cast of characters
the "mystery" (I knew 'whodunnit' almost instantly, and waited for a twist that never came)
the author's transitions between segments of action/story and from place to place, which felt awkward and jerky
I look forward to reading more from this author, but can't help feeling that this novel would have benefited from more beta-reading and editing, which could have helped with a few weak elements of the story and characters.
Marie-Jo Fortis and I are authors who met online, agreed to read each others' books, and to render honest reviews.
Jamie Sheffield
I Loved:
the setup for the story
Jane Dzhugashvili and some of the novel's other interesting inhabitants
the feeling of place that I got from Noliar as seen through the characters' eyes
I Didn't Love:
the relationships (and sometimes the dialog) between the main cast of characters
the "mystery" (I knew 'whodunnit' almost instantly, and waited for a twist that never came)
the author's transitions between segments of action/story and from place to place, which felt awkward and jerky
I look forward to reading more from this author, but can't help feeling that this novel would have benefited from more beta-reading and editing, which could have helped with a few weak elements of the story and characters.
Marie-Jo Fortis and I are authors who met online, agreed to read each others' books, and to render honest reviews.
Jamie Sheffield
May 27, 2013
I was looking for a great read and this fast paced page turner is it! I highly recommend this intelligent and contemporary whodunnit. A clever mix of sleepy small town America with the fast pace of New York that shows the world we live in is a lot smaller and way more connected than we know and sometimes like to believe. The author's clear characters are compelling and the story is filled with humor, mystery and intrique with a good dose of horror and the macabre. I especially appreciated the moments of subtle and beautiful descriptive writing that transcends the form. The no nonsense main character, clairvoyant Chainsaw Jane spews foul language aplenty while successfully carrying the story with cigarette, vodka, strong coffee and sex toy in hand! Love the mix of Russian, French and Cuban characters. Love any reference to Ionesco's and his play Bald Soprano. Pick up or download and enjoy!
December 30, 2013
This book was a little bit of everything. The author did a great job of combining humor, mystery and a little bit of suspense. Fortis created a great read if you are looking for a fast paced mystery book. It was intriguing to see how she incorporated a fortune teller to an investigation, but she did it and did it well.
The character Jane was in my opinion hysterical. You were never sure what was going to come out of her mouth, but as I read on I looked forward to her little sarcastic comments.
The supporting characters were funny as well. From the investigators to the funny Latino neighbor the book did not disappoint.
I recommend this book if you are looking for mystery with a bit of Humor.
The character Jane was in my opinion hysterical. You were never sure what was going to come out of her mouth, but as I read on I looked forward to her little sarcastic comments.
The supporting characters were funny as well. From the investigators to the funny Latino neighbor the book did not disappoint.
I recommend this book if you are looking for mystery with a bit of Humor.
June 21, 2013
I loved this crime thriller even though not quite a whodunit more of a why- and how- dunit. This book was witty and Intelligently written. I loved the characters. I have a feeling we will be seeing more of Jane, Julie, Zoe and co.
A missing persons becomes a gruesome murder and when the conventional methods don't get results in steps Chainsaw Jane. Jane is a plain talking psychic whose tremendous insight may be the only clue detectives have to save a life.
A fresh, new voice in crime thrillers I look forward to more from this author.
A missing persons becomes a gruesome murder and when the conventional methods don't get results in steps Chainsaw Jane. Jane is a plain talking psychic whose tremendous insight may be the only clue detectives have to save a life.
A fresh, new voice in crime thrillers I look forward to more from this author.
May 30, 2013
SO FAR I LOVE IT AND I THE MAIN CHARECTERS ARE SO BRILLANT MARIE JO IS A TALENTED AUTHOR AND I CAN REALLY RELATE TO THE WHATS GOING IN THE BOOK. i finshed the book about 20 min ago and i must say i love the charecters and she
talks about the decective role in book . The setting is perfect and it s not
to hard to follow and i would recommend it
talks about the decective role in book . The setting is perfect and it s not
to hard to follow and i would recommend it
August 1, 2013
I enjoyed this book immensely. Suspenseful and entertaining, never a dull moment. I cannot wait to see additional books by this author. Thumbs up.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews