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Sophie Katz Murder Mystery #3
Obsession, Deceit, and Really Dark Chocolate
Mind her own business? Leave it to the experts? Not a chance.
Sophie Katz's relationship with the irresistible and occasionally insufferable P.I. Anatoly Darinsky is on the fritz when a friend recruits Sophie's investigation skills to decode her possibly two-timing husband's strange behavior. When Sophie shows up in a short, red cocktail dress and her friend's hubby winds up dead, the loveable would-be sleuth can't help but take on the job.
Suddenly plunged into a crazy world of campaign mudslinging, dirt-digging and cover-ups, Sophie begins to uncover some pretty dirty secrets indeed- involving a conservative congressional hopeful's involvement in the Furry community, a group of people who dress up in mascot-size stuffed animal costumes. Sex and politics, wouldn't you know?
Way in over her head as usual, Sophie reluctantly-or not-so-reluctantly- enlists the help of her two-time sidekick and ex-Anatoly. Together they set out to determine who killed Eugene and why, and in the process can't resist falling for each other-again?
Sophie Katz's relationship with the irresistible and occasionally insufferable P.I. Anatoly Darinsky is on the fritz when a friend recruits Sophie's investigation skills to decode her possibly two-timing husband's strange behavior. When Sophie shows up in a short, red cocktail dress and her friend's hubby winds up dead, the loveable would-be sleuth can't help but take on the job.
Suddenly plunged into a crazy world of campaign mudslinging, dirt-digging and cover-ups, Sophie begins to uncover some pretty dirty secrets indeed- involving a conservative congressional hopeful's involvement in the Furry community, a group of people who dress up in mascot-size stuffed animal costumes. Sex and politics, wouldn't you know?
Way in over her head as usual, Sophie reluctantly-or not-so-reluctantly- enlists the help of her two-time sidekick and ex-Anatoly. Together they set out to determine who killed Eugene and why, and in the process can't resist falling for each other-again?
393 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
59 people are currently reading
1576 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 172 reviews
March 19, 2020
This was a quick enjoyable installment in the series, but there wasn't anything that stood out as particularly special about the story. It didn't keep me guessing but I did find myself rapidly moving through the story. Worth the read though and it filled a spot for MarchMysteryMadness.
Where you can find me:
•(♥).•*Monlatable Book Reviews*•.(♥)•
Twitter: @monicaisreading
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Goodreads Group: The Black Bookcase
Where you can find me:
•(♥).•*Monlatable Book Reviews*•.(♥)•
Twitter: @monicaisreading
Instagram: @readermonica
Goodreads Group: The Black Bookcase
January 29, 2021
Just okay🤷🏾♀️
April 28, 2011
★★★★ Obsession, Deceit, and Really Dark Chocolate is the third installment in the Sophie Katz novels. It is a chick-lit mystery with plenty of witty humor and a smidgen of romance. Just my cuppa tea for a break from my plethora of Historical Romances!
Sophie Katz is the heroine in this series and, though she is a successful writer, she finds herself involved in a murder mystery again. This time she is helping out her friend and mentor, Melanie, who thinks her conservative husband, Eugene, is cheating on her. Melanie asks a small favor of Sophie: Make a pass at Eugene and see if he takes the bait.
When Eugene ends up dead by page 17, Sophie steps in to try and solve the “whodunit?” After all, she cannot ask, Anatoly Darinsky, her on-again/off-again P.I. “boyfriend”, as their relation is currently off…or is it? Soon they are both involved in a local political mystery where they are pressing their lips not only together, but closed to suppress their more open-minded viewpoints in front of the conservatives politicians -- or attempt to keep their eyebrows from rising in front of the liberal ones.
All the while, more bodies are piling up! Each chapter posts something from Sophie’s current best seller C’est La Mort. Here are a few jewels:
Sophie Katz is the heroine in this series and, though she is a successful writer, she finds herself involved in a murder mystery again. This time she is helping out her friend and mentor, Melanie, who thinks her conservative husband, Eugene, is cheating on her. Melanie asks a small favor of Sophie: Make a pass at Eugene and see if he takes the bait.
When Eugene ends up dead by page 17, Sophie steps in to try and solve the “whodunit?” After all, she cannot ask, Anatoly Darinsky, her on-again/off-again P.I. “boyfriend”, as their relation is currently off…or is it? Soon they are both involved in a local political mystery where they are pressing their lips not only together, but closed to suppress their more open-minded viewpoints in front of the conservatives politicians -- or attempt to keep their eyebrows from rising in front of the liberal ones.
All the while, more bodies are piling up! Each chapter posts something from Sophie’s current best seller C’est La Mort. Here are a few jewels:
People expect so much from the individuals they bear a fondness for. That’s why I focus my energy into being as disagreeable as possible.Kyra Davis’s series has funny and witty dialogues with a daily vernacular that makes it flow. I have the next one, Lust, Loathing and a Little Lip Gloss, all lined up!
Without the lies I am uncomplicated and uninteresting. My bullshit gives me depth.
As awful as this sound most of us do not want to live among the mentally ill. That’s why we try to keep them all in Washington.
March 5, 2020
Sophie gets an odd request from her friend and mentor, Melanie O’Reilly, and feels compelled to help her out. Melanie, who is married to Eugene who is involved in a political campaign, suspects her husband of infidelity. She asks Sophie to try to seduce him to see if he is eager to take the bait, so to speak. Fortunately, Eugene O’Reilly proves to be an honest man, unfortunately, he is shot and killed in a drive-by shooting just minutes after parting ways with Sophie. Feeling sorry for her friend and determined to keep her ex-boyfriend, Anatoly (a private investigator) from getting the case, Sophie decides to play detective again.
Sophie discovers multiple suspects and signs that point to some sort of cover up related to the political campaign Eugene was involved in. Of course, while searching for clues and trying to find the killer, Sophie herself starts getting odd threats and unwittingly attracts the attention of the very man she set out to avoid, Anatoly.
Can Sophie catch the killer without getting killed herself? Will Sophie and Anatoly patch up their relationship, or just annoy each other? The wit and humor was again driving the story and keeping me entertained.
Sophie discovers multiple suspects and signs that point to some sort of cover up related to the political campaign Eugene was involved in. Of course, while searching for clues and trying to find the killer, Sophie herself starts getting odd threats and unwittingly attracts the attention of the very man she set out to avoid, Anatoly.
Can Sophie catch the killer without getting killed herself? Will Sophie and Anatoly patch up their relationship, or just annoy each other? The wit and humor was again driving the story and keeping me entertained.
January 31, 2020
The audio for this one was pretty fun and exactly what I needed. Some parts of the story were ridiculous but I was still engaged. It's the perfect blend of the female PI series I used to read with a bit of romance.
July 18, 2017
Ugh. This might just be the worst mystery novel I have ever read. The heroine, Sophie, is vapid in an especially irritating 90's cliche way (actually this whole book is drenched with so many 90's cliches that only the 9-11 references convinced me it was published in the 2000s). She spends much of the book far more worried about her relationship with off-again, on-again boyfriend Anatoly than about the mystery. (Their relationship issues are resolved by Anatoly "getting" a celebrity reference that she had earlier used and finally accepting that she actually wants what she says she wants from their relationship. In the middle of the night, in a conversation that Sophie initiates. One is left to wonder when exactly he had this epiphany and when he was going to bring it up.) She has "an army" of friends that she guilt trips and manipulates into doing whatever she needs at the moment, even if it violates their ethics, and is never shown to reciprocate. She always doesn't seem to talk to them when she doesn't need anything (hence a three-peat of a conversation in which Sophie's supposedly-super-close-friend-that-she-wants-to-ask-for-a-huge-favor doesn't know that someone close to Sophie has recently died.)
The airy chick-lit tone works well enough for the early portions of the book, but it just stupid for the internal narration to be tossing off one-liners about frappucinos while the heroine is supposed grieving. The chapter quotes from the book-within-a-book range from mildly clever to cringe-y, and the furries....
This is a book in which the plot of an entire mystery hinges on a grown woman who is a novelist and a grown man who is a private detective who both live in San Francisco having literally never heard of a furry.
The author tries to make up for it by having other characters react to them as if they have been living in a cave, but still. (Also, I could be wrong, and I am certainly not going to google it, but I was under the impression that furries usually have a single "fursona" that they identify with. I really didn't think a furry would dress as different animals on different occasions) Also, I was completely in agreement with the killer when he accused the heroine of being "the stupidest woman I have ever met." The only way the mystery was resolved was because the killer came to her apartment and ranted at her. She would literally never have solved it otherwise. She wasn't even close.
It was mildly amusing how judgmental Sophie and her friends were of everyone and everything, and then would have moments when they remembered they were supposed to be tolerant liberals and not use words like "depravity." But that's about as much as this book has to offer.
The airy chick-lit tone works well enough for the early portions of the book, but it just stupid for the internal narration to be tossing off one-liners about frappucinos while the heroine is supposed grieving. The chapter quotes from the book-within-a-book range from mildly clever to cringe-y, and the furries....
This is a book in which the plot of an entire mystery hinges on a grown woman who is a novelist and a grown man who is a private detective who both live in San Francisco having literally never heard of a furry.
The author tries to make up for it by having other characters react to them as if they have been living in a cave, but still. (Also, I could be wrong, and I am certainly not going to google it, but I was under the impression that furries usually have a single "fursona" that they identify with. I really didn't think a furry would dress as different animals on different occasions) Also, I was completely in agreement with the killer when he accused the heroine of being "the stupidest woman I have ever met." The only way the mystery was resolved was because the killer came to her apartment and ranted at her. She would literally never have solved it otherwise. She wasn't even close.
It was mildly amusing how judgmental Sophie and her friends were of everyone and everything, and then would have moments when they remembered they were supposed to be tolerant liberals and not use words like "depravity." But that's about as much as this book has to offer.
October 3, 2018
It’s not everyday that you’re asked by your former mentor to try and seduce her husband. And it’s not everyday that he picks that night to get shot, leaving his would-be seductress as a witness to murder.
Sophie Katz thought she had seen- and written - enough violent crime to last at least a few months, but obviously she was wrong. Now, considering herself an amateur sleuth, she feels compelled to get to the bottom of another murder. One that her sexy-Russian-P.I of an ex is investigating, too. Great.
This was a nice murder mystery, though some parts may bother those who are on the prudish side. I enjoyed it about as much as the previous two books. Nothing extraordinary, but light and amusing enough for an easy read.
Sophie Katz thought she had seen- and written - enough violent crime to last at least a few months, but obviously she was wrong. Now, considering herself an amateur sleuth, she feels compelled to get to the bottom of another murder. One that her sexy-Russian-P.I of an ex is investigating, too. Great.
This was a nice murder mystery, though some parts may bother those who are on the prudish side. I enjoyed it about as much as the previous two books. Nothing extraordinary, but light and amusing enough for an easy read.
November 2, 2011
I'm only giving this book one star because I can't give it zero. I only finished it because I was reading it on my ereader and if I didn't finish it, the book would sit there, open, every time I turned the reader on.
I really enjoyed the first book in this series. Didn't enjoy the second one as much and absolutely hated this one. I hated the way Johnny was written (do men really 'gush' when they talk?), I hated the way Sophie said things like "It sooo is not!" when she was arguing with Anatoly, I hated the politics, I felt embarrassed for the book whenever Sophie's obsession with Starbucks was mentioned, but what I really hated the most was Kyra Davis's use of 'koala bear'. To make a character continually correct another character's use of 'Frisco' instead of 'San Francisco', I feel it's a bit ignorant to refer to a koala as a bear. There's a whole song about how they are not bears at all. A little bit of research would have cleared that right up.
I won't be reading anymore of this series (not just because of the koala bear debacle).
I really enjoyed the first book in this series. Didn't enjoy the second one as much and absolutely hated this one. I hated the way Johnny was written (do men really 'gush' when they talk?), I hated the way Sophie said things like "It sooo is not!" when she was arguing with Anatoly, I hated the politics, I felt embarrassed for the book whenever Sophie's obsession with Starbucks was mentioned, but what I really hated the most was Kyra Davis's use of 'koala bear'. To make a character continually correct another character's use of 'Frisco' instead of 'San Francisco', I feel it's a bit ignorant to refer to a koala as a bear. There's a whole song about how they are not bears at all. A little bit of research would have cleared that right up.
I won't be reading anymore of this series (not just because of the koala bear debacle).
June 16, 2020
More murder with a touch of naughty fun en route
July 24, 2023
First and foremost, revenge plots never go well. In the previous two, Sophie has turned to her faith and traditions to cope and to strategize. Here save for numerous scenes of eating sweet foods to counter the bitterness of the situation, she otherwise ignores things that worked for her in the past.
The second problem is mystery's heavy reliance on kink shaming to move the plot forward. Obsession, Deceit, and Really Dark Chocolate reads like a Bay Area based homage to The Killings at Badger's Drift by Caroline Graham (1987), despite being 20 years younger.
The third problem with this volume is the author's complete disregard for East Bay geography. An extreme version of the San Francisco resident is one who can't imagine life outside of the city's bounds. Here, though, Sophie is supposedly investigating things outside of San Francisco but the author forgets that Alameda County exists and puts Livermore into Contra Costa County. She also has the myopic view that the Bay Area doesn't extend beyond the Caldecott tunnel. I would argue that cities serviced by BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) would be by definition, in the Bay Area.
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2023/comm...
The second problem is mystery's heavy reliance on kink shaming to move the plot forward. Obsession, Deceit, and Really Dark Chocolate reads like a Bay Area based homage to The Killings at Badger's Drift by Caroline Graham (1987), despite being 20 years younger.
The third problem with this volume is the author's complete disregard for East Bay geography. An extreme version of the San Francisco resident is one who can't imagine life outside of the city's bounds. Here, though, Sophie is supposedly investigating things outside of San Francisco but the author forgets that Alameda County exists and puts Livermore into Contra Costa County. She also has the myopic view that the Bay Area doesn't extend beyond the Caldecott tunnel. I would argue that cities serviced by BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) would be by definition, in the Bay Area.
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2023/comm...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 26, 2025
This was really more of a 2.5 star read for me but since I can't leave half stars I rounded my rating up to a 3 because it seems unfair to rate it a 2.
This book was written in the 2000s, which wasn't that long ago, and I hate to say it has not survived the test of time. There were some jokes and references to pop culture that most people wouldn't get even if they were alive back then because some of the people and events weren't really all that significant. Also some of the rhetoric is outdated. I remember a time when people didn't call others out for making jokes about race or sexuality. Thankfully those days are gone. There were numerous times throughout this book that Sophie threatened Anatoly by claiming she would take some kind of action to convince others that he was a homosexual (i.e. informing gay staff at a coffee shop that he was gay or writing his name and phone number on the wall of a bathroom at a gay club). These threats, unlike any of the other ones, always made Anatoly give in to whatever Sophie was asking for because God forbid if anyone ever thought he might be gay. That was not ok.
Another problem I had with this book is Anatoly. It's been a while since I read the first 2 books in the series but I don't remember Anatoly being as big of a jerk as he was in this book. He was overbearing, controlling, condescending, hyper masculine, and just flat out rude. He talked about how bad Sophie's writing skills were even though she's an author. He let himself into her home without her consent. Checked her voicemails without consent. Followed her around town. And he was constantly telling her all the things she was incapable of doing without his help. It was written as if it was supposed to be endearing and a sign of how much he cared for and wanted to protect Sophie but he just came across as a misogynistic jerk to me. Sophie could do way better.
The story itself was ok though over the top in its ridiculousness and completely predictable.
This book was written in the 2000s, which wasn't that long ago, and I hate to say it has not survived the test of time. There were some jokes and references to pop culture that most people wouldn't get even if they were alive back then because some of the people and events weren't really all that significant. Also some of the rhetoric is outdated. I remember a time when people didn't call others out for making jokes about race or sexuality. Thankfully those days are gone. There were numerous times throughout this book that Sophie threatened Anatoly by claiming she would take some kind of action to convince others that he was a homosexual (i.e. informing gay staff at a coffee shop that he was gay or writing his name and phone number on the wall of a bathroom at a gay club). These threats, unlike any of the other ones, always made Anatoly give in to whatever Sophie was asking for because God forbid if anyone ever thought he might be gay. That was not ok.
Another problem I had with this book is Anatoly. It's been a while since I read the first 2 books in the series but I don't remember Anatoly being as big of a jerk as he was in this book. He was overbearing, controlling, condescending, hyper masculine, and just flat out rude. He talked about how bad Sophie's writing skills were even though she's an author. He let himself into her home without her consent. Checked her voicemails without consent. Followed her around town. And he was constantly telling her all the things she was incapable of doing without his help. It was written as if it was supposed to be endearing and a sign of how much he cared for and wanted to protect Sophie but he just came across as a misogynistic jerk to me. Sophie could do way better.
The story itself was ok though over the top in its ridiculousness and completely predictable.
February 16, 2017
The series gets better the more we get to know the characters. It wasn't lacking anything prior to this book, we just know everyone better. Sophie's relationship issues with Anatoly get more interesting, but I like how neither of them become pining, moping, emotional teenagers about it. Sophie's one liners, her group of friends and her curiosity to solve a mystery is what makes this series so awesome.
November 10, 2008
I'm kind of lukewarm on this one, the first two were more entertaining I think. I still liked it, and will read the next one, but of the three so far, this one isn't my favorite.
December 11, 2017
Furries! Politicians! Plushies! I mean, what more could you ask for?
December 19, 2017
I knew it was him! After reading the first book in this series, I’ve come to pay attention to the underrated characters. I’m hoping the next book is a little less obvious.
November 6, 2023
Didn't care for all the political talk, ugh.
April 2, 2019
I wasn't as keen on this Sophie Katz adventure as I have been the previous two. While I did enjoy the book overall, I found a lot of the "murder mystery" aspect to be way too convoluted.
Sophie is no stranger to putting herself in danger. She tends to throw caution completely to the wind and throw herself head-first into a "favour for a friend" or a case in order to avoid her other troubles. Avoidance isn't exactly the healthiest method, but hey, I get it, I avoid shit all the time. And then it comes back to bite me. Just like it comes back to bite Sophie. (Something we both should probably work on.)
Sophie at least gains self-awareness this time around. Which comes in the form of a rather huge and emotional conversation with her sister. I was disappointed to see so little of Leah this time around. After everything that happened with her in the last book, I was hoping for a more thorough "Look where she is now!" portion, rather than the few lines we got. Hopefully we'll see more of her next time.
As for the case itself. It was one hell of a wild ride. It took a lot of twists and turns, following everything felt a little like whiplash. Piecing it all together wasn't necessarily too complicated, but everything going on around the case made it exceedingly complex. Which, of course, meant everything ended in more or less a giant disaster. But who doesn't love a good disaster?
The big twist comes right at the end, ensuring that the next book is going to be extremely high tension for Sophie. Hopefully we see more character growth from her. What makes Sophie so approachable as a character is that she is human and flawed, and she realizes she has these flaws. She doesn't necessarily want to work on them all at the moment, but she's growing. And that's pretty great in my books.
Sophie is no stranger to putting herself in danger. She tends to throw caution completely to the wind and throw herself head-first into a "favour for a friend" or a case in order to avoid her other troubles. Avoidance isn't exactly the healthiest method, but hey, I get it, I avoid shit all the time. And then it comes back to bite me. Just like it comes back to bite Sophie. (Something we both should probably work on.)
Sophie at least gains self-awareness this time around. Which comes in the form of a rather huge and emotional conversation with her sister. I was disappointed to see so little of Leah this time around. After everything that happened with her in the last book, I was hoping for a more thorough "Look where she is now!" portion, rather than the few lines we got. Hopefully we'll see more of her next time.
As for the case itself. It was one hell of a wild ride. It took a lot of twists and turns, following everything felt a little like whiplash. Piecing it all together wasn't necessarily too complicated, but everything going on around the case made it exceedingly complex. Which, of course, meant everything ended in more or less a giant disaster. But who doesn't love a good disaster?
The big twist comes right at the end, ensuring that the next book is going to be extremely high tension for Sophie. Hopefully we see more character growth from her. What makes Sophie so approachable as a character is that she is human and flawed, and she realizes she has these flaws. She doesn't necessarily want to work on them all at the moment, but she's growing. And that's pretty great in my books.
December 22, 2024
Sophie Katz is a mystery writer. Melanie, her friend and former mentor, suspects her husband, Eugene, is having an affair so asks Sophie to put the moves on him at a bar to see if he bites. He doesn't and they end up having a nice chat. Minutes after they leave the bar, he is shot and killed. Melanie knows that Sophie's ex-boyfriend, Anatoly, is a PI and wants to hire him to investigate. Sophie is feeling bitter about their recent break-up so tells Melanie he is too busy and offers to check things out. Eventually Melanie hires Anatoly and Sophie is forced to work with him to stay involved.
I wasn't crazy about this one. I'm not into politics and because Eugene worked for a congressional candidate, there was a lot of talk of American politics, which was boring. It was a convoluted story that ended up involving furries and fluffies. When the whodunnit was revealed, my thought was "HUH?!" ... I wasn't buying it. Sophie's obsession with Anatoly was annoying and she stayed on investigating Eugene's death primarily so Anatoly couldn't which was selfish and juvenile of her considering it's what he does for a living.
This is the third in the Sophie Katz Murder Mystery Series (there are seven books in the series and I read the first two in the last week). It is written in first person perspective in Sophie's voice. It was published in 2007 so is a bit dated ... for example, Kanye West was still relevant and Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins are still together. As a head's up, there is swearing and adult activity.
Blog review post: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2024/12...
I wasn't crazy about this one. I'm not into politics and because Eugene worked for a congressional candidate, there was a lot of talk of American politics, which was boring. It was a convoluted story that ended up involving furries and fluffies. When the whodunnit was revealed, my thought was "HUH?!" ... I wasn't buying it. Sophie's obsession with Anatoly was annoying and she stayed on investigating Eugene's death primarily so Anatoly couldn't which was selfish and juvenile of her considering it's what he does for a living.
This is the third in the Sophie Katz Murder Mystery Series (there are seven books in the series and I read the first two in the last week). It is written in first person perspective in Sophie's voice. It was published in 2007 so is a bit dated ... for example, Kanye West was still relevant and Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins are still together. As a head's up, there is swearing and adult activity.
Blog review post: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2024/12...
October 22, 2024
This one is a little political and a little too long for my taste but it's fast reading at least.
Sophie doesn't want to ask her private detective ex-boyfriend Anatoly (who she hasn't seen in months and tries to avoid but that's hard to do since he lives 3 blocks away from her) with her friend/mentor Melanie's husbands death which Sophie "witnessed" since she wants to get involved in another murder once again.
Mr. Katz (her cat), is always a favorite of mine in her books and her sister Leah and her friends Dena and Mary Ann and my favorite, her hairdresser, Marcus, are once again present.
There are some very funny scenes as always and one was when Sophie was at a spa trying to "interview" someone while getting a wax job on her legs and eyebrows. It was sad though at the same time since the person who is doing it lost her brother to suicide which was integral to Sophie's investigation but she had to do it somehow. There are some interesting sub-plots going on here that got my attention and also with Dena and Sophie.
It was interesting enough to hold my attention for all those pages but it got a little boring for me with her and Anatoly butting heads and her on and off lust for him and their detailed sex described sort of. I didn't find him sexy or attractive at all. I've read enough Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum books to know that Ranger and Joe Morelli are sexier! LOL
The ending was a surprise to me as always.
Sophie doesn't want to ask her private detective ex-boyfriend Anatoly (who she hasn't seen in months and tries to avoid but that's hard to do since he lives 3 blocks away from her) with her friend/mentor Melanie's husbands death which Sophie "witnessed" since she wants to get involved in another murder once again.
Mr. Katz (her cat), is always a favorite of mine in her books and her sister Leah and her friends Dena and Mary Ann and my favorite, her hairdresser, Marcus, are once again present.
There are some very funny scenes as always and one was when Sophie was at a spa trying to "interview" someone while getting a wax job on her legs and eyebrows. It was sad though at the same time since the person who is doing it lost her brother to suicide which was integral to Sophie's investigation but she had to do it somehow. There are some interesting sub-plots going on here that got my attention and also with Dena and Sophie.
It was interesting enough to hold my attention for all those pages but it got a little boring for me with her and Anatoly butting heads and her on and off lust for him and their detailed sex described sort of. I didn't find him sexy or attractive at all. I've read enough Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum books to know that Ranger and Joe Morelli are sexier! LOL
The ending was a surprise to me as always.
August 23, 2020
This is one of my favourite series, and book 3 continued the streak. I really enjoyed this!
My absolute favourite thing about this series is the humour. The author is very funny, and the sarcastic nature of the humour is exactly aligned to my own sense of humour so I love that about these books. I feel certain Sophie and I could be great friends if she were real.
The plot in this book was also really fun. Without giving spoilers, I will just say that this book confirms what I have always thought about politicians and the political world. As long as you don't still believe politics to be in any way noble, you should enjoy this plot as well.
I also enjoy the supporting characters in this series, who nicely complement Sophie and help out when needed. Sophie's friend Dina in particular always makes me laugh out loud with her perspective and the things she says.
This is basically just an easy to read, enjoyable light mystery series, with well-written, likable characters and interesting murders for them to solve.
Format note: I usually get these books in audio format and the woman who narrates them is excellent. If you like audio books this series is a good one to listen to.
My absolute favourite thing about this series is the humour. The author is very funny, and the sarcastic nature of the humour is exactly aligned to my own sense of humour so I love that about these books. I feel certain Sophie and I could be great friends if she were real.
The plot in this book was also really fun. Without giving spoilers, I will just say that this book confirms what I have always thought about politicians and the political world. As long as you don't still believe politics to be in any way noble, you should enjoy this plot as well.
I also enjoy the supporting characters in this series, who nicely complement Sophie and help out when needed. Sophie's friend Dina in particular always makes me laugh out loud with her perspective and the things she says.
This is basically just an easy to read, enjoyable light mystery series, with well-written, likable characters and interesting murders for them to solve.
Format note: I usually get these books in audio format and the woman who narrates them is excellent. If you like audio books this series is a good one to listen to.
January 4, 2018
I normally love this character and series, and there was much that was extremely funny about the book... But I, seriously, can't understand why it took anyone in this book so long to figure anything out. I knew from the first chapter who the guy who was killed was referring to. I'm also surprised that Marcus didn't get what was happening when Sophie told him about the voice on the phone telling him that the voice said he "liked wearing a Panda suit."
Sophie also, never listened much to what the voice on the phone was actually saying. She was so intent on being snarky and smart mouthed to the voice that she didn't listen to what it was saying and put two and two together.
I can also tell that the character is evolving as the years go by and technology, etc. change. In the earlier books, the character never had her cell phone with her and relied on her answering machine on her home line for messages.
I still love the series and will be jumping to book 5 since I read book 4 a couple years ago.
Sophie also, never listened much to what the voice on the phone was actually saying. She was so intent on being snarky and smart mouthed to the voice that she didn't listen to what it was saying and put two and two together.
I can also tell that the character is evolving as the years go by and technology, etc. change. In the earlier books, the character never had her cell phone with her and relied on her answering machine on her home line for messages.
I still love the series and will be jumping to book 5 since I read book 4 a couple years ago.
March 22, 2020
I very much enjoy this series, it’s just so fun. Nothing ground breaking and can be a little repetitive so breaking it up with other books is a great idea. This is the first one that ended with a cliffhanger which is fun. I’m kind of annoyed it started out with Anatoly and Sophie not together. I would’ve liked to see their tension and arguments, but start off another book with her pissy knowing they’d get back together. All in all tho, another fun romp. I guessed the killer n it was kind of a lamer mystery, but still enjoyed.
October 26, 2023
Not really sure how I feel about this book. I've never felt comfortable with the idea of "furries" & then to learn about "plushies"?! Now I'm exposed to way too much about these fetishes & it made me nauseous & disgusted. Good play with the character, Dena, trying to put an acceptable spin on it as "eccentric" for Peter's sister, Tiffany. All in all, I finished the book just because I was drawn into the whole, "who done it" plot. Pleased to say it had a satisfying ending. Though unlikely I will read more from this author.
July 22, 2025
Torn between giving this book 2 or 3 stars so went with the latter. I like the characters and the storyline but for me it felt dragged on. This book could have easily been 150 pages max if the author took out all of the unnecessary fluff. That’s what I struggled with the most. The action, murder, and mystery was fun to read, just needed to move more quickly to have gotten a better rating. I will try one more book from the series but I’m not sure if I will be able to finish the last of the series.
May 13, 2023
This is the second Sophie Katz novel I've read, and to be honest at the first 100 pages I did not like it that much. I got annoyed with Sophie's pridefulness, it really put me off, but I kept on reading.
Melanie's death hit me as well, and the line Davis wrote here is one of the most beautiful lines I've seen in the novel: "I squeezed my eyes shut and imagined how nice
it would be if God gave us all erasers so we could remove the painful events
of our past".
Melanie's death hit me as well, and the line Davis wrote here is one of the most beautiful lines I've seen in the novel: "I squeezed my eyes shut and imagined how nice
it would be if God gave us all erasers so we could remove the painful events
of our past".
October 25, 2020
I think this was my favourite book in the series so far? I like that the mysteries are getting more complicated. I still figured out the general key parts of the mystery basically from the beginning, but there was one character who I thought was a red herring that turned out to be involved in a way that I hadn’t immediately predicted, so that was cool.
April 6, 2023
This book is awful. I don't know what the author was thinking but Sophie is immature, petty, and quite frankly, unhinged. And to wait until book 3 for this bizarre change is truly infuriating. I think she's supposed to be funny or quirky, but she does NOT pull it off. I quit reading 1/4 of the way through and will not be continuing this series.
January 8, 2018
The mystery in this book wasn't as difficult to figure out, but the ride was just as fun as ever. I was glad to get to know Mary Ann little better in this book, and I knew Dena's professional expertise would once again come in handy for Sophie.
November 3, 2018
2.5 Stars. My least favorite of the three. I didn’t mind that the killer was obvious, but the politics was predictable. I did like the deepening of the character relationships, but I’d like to have had more of that. Still, it was a fun, light read and that’s what I was looking for.
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