Sis Boom Bah

by Jane Heller, Rachael F. Heller

Having a sister means always having to say you're sorry.

What can make sisters stop talking to each other for years? If it's the Peltz sisters, just about anything can touch off an estrangement! In fact, the latest spat between Deborah, a soap opera writer in New York, and Sharon, a wedding planner in Boca Raton, has lasted two years. But when their mother has a heart attack, the sisters rally around her and promise to behave themselves. The only glitch in their peace pact is Mom's doctor. He's single, good-looking, wealthy...and coming on to both sisters. And when someone bumps off this cad of a cardiologist, Deborah and Sharon are prime suspects. Deborah thinks her soap opera savvy can help the police find the killer, but a second murder brings the siblings even closer to danger. Now, joining forces may be their one chance to stay alive. And in the process, they may just learn to love and accept each other, not to mention find men of their own to love.

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction, Romance, Mystery, Contemporary Romance, Humor, Contemporary

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 15, 1999

About the author

Jane Heller, a New York native who recently moved from Santa Barbara, CA to New Preston, CT, is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of 13 novels of romantic comedy, including "Name Dropping," "Lucky Stars," and "Best Enemies." Nine of Heller's novels have been optioned for film or television, and all of them have been translated in countries around the world. Her first book of nonfiction, "Confessions of a She-Fan: The Course of True Love with the New York Yankees," is a humorous look at her passion for baseball. Her book about caregiving, "You'd Better Not Die or I'll Kill You: A Caregiver's Survival Guide to Keeping You in Good Health and Good Spirits," combines Heller's personal essays about being the wife of a man with Crohn's disease and the daughter of a mother with dementia, plus interviews with other caregivers who deal with everything from autism to Alzheimer's and advice/tips from experts. "You'd Better Not Die" is upbeat and inspirational - a cheerful companion to the over 60 million caregivers in America. Heller's new novel, "Three Blonde Mice," a spinoff of her bestselling novel "Princess Charming," was published on August 2, 2016.

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jane Heller's books are great for light, quick, humorous reads, which I think is her intent, but I think she generally goes a little too far with her endings. They seem to jump to a new level of unrealistic towards the ends. The ending here reminded me of something you'd see on a cartoon, with the two sisters picking a fight and ultimately knocking the "bad guy" into the ocean, and not really seeming to flinch when their friend was shot in the leg. Also, the fact that the three climbed onto the yacht of the guy they knew had a gun (really?). Her characters in this book are also too similar to the ones in "Infernal Affairs" for my liking. (Deborah falls in love with a guy she didn't like at first, compared to Barbara who fell in love with the guy she hasn't liked for years...) Definitely not a novel to be taken seriously, but enjoyable if you're looking for something that's a page turner and will make you laugh out loud. Good recreational reading, but onto more dense fiction for me.

[Erica · Rating 1 out of 5]

found this book at the work book exchange
it was so bad, I'm actually recycling it, rather than put it back :)

[Jenna]

DNF
It was too busy, too many details, lots of characters. I imagine that once the mystery started it gets a bit better but there are only so many books I can speed read at a time. I just didn’t have it in me for another one.
On the positive note, I did see heller’s usual humor shining thru.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable book involving sibling rivalry and murder. Good character development as well as a unique murder mystery. No gore, very little foul language.

[Kris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Publishers Weekly
With the snappy style her readers have come to expect, Heller (Princess Cha rming; Crystal Clear) presents another breezy tale of modern women; this one explores the bitterly antagonistic relationship between two sisters, and the murder mystery they become embroiled in. Deborah Peltz, 43, a soap-opera writer living in New York, gets fed up with big city life and moves to Stuart, Fla., where her mother lives.
Unfortunately for Deborah, older sister Sharon, a fortune-hunting, desperate three­ time divorce, also lives there. Sharon has always resented Deborah, both for being born and for making the high school cheerleading squad. Their feud is petty and regenerative, and neither sister is willing to let it go, but when the two women aim to seduce the same man only to find him murdered, a new alliance must be forged. The situation turns Deborah into an amateur sleuth and puts Sharon in the hands of a murderer, but the mystery here is not particularly complex or suspenseful. Heller focuses instead on the bickering between the sisters, continuously driving home the maxim that "having a sister means always having to say you're sorry." Heller's female characters suffer a particularly harsh comic treatment, most of them obsessed with money, men, shoes or social position. One only hopes that Heller's humor is tongue-in-cheek when the supposedly worldly Deborah is forced to say things like "the Big Apple had its share of Bad Apples." Heller writes briskly and cheerfully, and readers looking for light fiction with a decidedly contemporary theme probably won't be disappointed at the simplicity of her unfettered characters and implausible plot.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was written over ten years ago so I could overlook “rewinding the answering machine” and similar dated references. I personally read the book because it was set on the Treasure Coast of Florida which is where I live. Also, it jumped between the Treasure Coast and Boca Raton, which is where I used to live, so from that perspective it was interesting. The author clearly had a good grasp on both areas. The storyline itself was shallow. The unraveling of the mystery was long and tedious and continually intertwined with relationship issues between the sisters. Much of the writing was on the “corny” side. I really had to fight the urge to place this book on my “to awful to finish reading” shelf. I powered through it and wrote this review to hopefully keep you from making the mistake of reading this book.

[Jennifer Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this book, because I wanted a fast read.. This book didn’t disappoint. It was light and funny. The relationship between Sharon and Deborah, could be like that of many other siblings. So it’s relatable for the most part. I love the character of the women’s mother. She was entertaining her own, with helping to search for clues into the murderer of the doctor. If you’re looking for something light, funny, and entertaining, this book is for you.

[Lori Winslow · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story of the 2 sisters who end up fighting the same fight over and over again.

The author did a great job of capturing the absurdity of sibling relationships, with more than just the main set of sisters.

Deborah and Sharon are sisters who always end up fighting. Their mother has a health crisis and the attractive cardiologist becomes the latest bone of contention between the two, until he ends up dead and they are the prime suspects.

[Sandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very enjoyable.

[Chy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was cute. That’s it. Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it, but it was interesting enough to finish.

[Ranie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so much fun to read...very unpredictable with lots of twisted excitement and capativing anticipation.

Highly recommended

[Gift Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Starting out, I was almost ready to throw in the towel. However, it got a little interesting with time. Although I skimmed through and skipped a number of pages, the book turned out okay...

[Sherri Bryant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story with a fast pace that kept my interest to the book. The story had a little bit of the ridiculous towards the end when Deborah and Ray confront the killer; it was a little over the top. Deborah and Sharon's relationship was majorly petty; women in their 40's to be acting that way was very childish. I'm glad they resolved their differences (for now at least) and learned to accept one another. I never did understand what their problem was to begin with beyond the sibling rivalry and jealousy issues. There is a little bit of irony at the end also when the reader is shown that Ray and his brother have the same kind of relationship that Deborah and Sharon had.

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heller is riotously funny. Out of all her books, this one made me laugh the most. Just about anything can touch off an estrangement between the Peltz sisters. The latest spat between Deborah, a soap opera writer in New York, and Sharon, a wedding planner in Boca Raton, has lasted two years. But when their mother has a heart attack, the sisters rally around her and promise to behave themselves. The only glitch in their peace pact is Mom's doctor. He's single, good-looking, wealthy...and coming on to both of them.

[Nancye · Rating 4 out of 5]

My mother handed me this book, told me to read it and then pass it along to my sister. She seemed to want me to learn from it. I'm not sure what though. I asked if she wanted us to throw her a 75th birthday party with a theme when she gets that far but mom wasn't interested. And I'm not sure I want to have some of the experiences these sisters had. But it was a cute book with some fun twists. Easy read and if you have a sister who annoys you then you'll get a kick out of it.

[Brenda Klaassen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am so glad that I finally got around to reading this book. The Story was fun to read. From the beginning I did not like the "Dr. Hirshon" character, so I was a little glad to have him killed off. The investication of the murder made me laugh out loud. True to form, the ending is "happily ever after." For some lite reading I would choose this author again.

[Sharon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Heller is usually a good, light read and I appreciate her sense of humor. This one fell a little flat, though. The antagonistic relationship between the sisters and the way the narrator described it just didn't seem natural. Not that sisters don't fight, it's just that I don't think most people engage in so much meta-analysis of their interactions. Otherwise a fairly straightforward whodunnit.

[Lisadunbar22 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is hilarious. Written long ago in 1999! I thought I had read all Jane's books then found this one at the library. It did not disappoint. Laugh out loud humor before LOL existed. If you have a sister buy her a copy and read it at the same time. Someone should make this into a Lifetime Movie.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's about sisters that fight constantly and it takes something really drastic to bring them together.

This was a pretty good book. It was definitely entertaining, I just kept getting distracted, but then I would start reading and not want to put it down.

[Graceann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jane Heller targets the comically antagonistic relationship between sisters, and throws in a murder mystery just for the heck of it, in this fun beach read.

[Ellenjsmellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another cute Jane Heller read.

[Sari Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light but fun book about sibling rivalry. A combination of chick-lit and cozy mystery. People Magazine named it a "Beach Book of the Week", which pretty much says it all.

[Rlgriffith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I generally judge books by their cover...this book was fun, but too long. I didn't care what happened to the characters by the end.

[Pilar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book got me hooked into reading everything she has written. All of her stories are so funny and entertaining, you won't put it down.

[April Nowling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute! The kind of book that you don't want to be over.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

funny!

[Cathy]

So far so good

[Shinnelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

IT IS A REALLY REALLY GOOD BOOK ! IF UR LOOKING FOR SOMETHING BORIN8

[Amber Simmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

U shold definetli read it if you have a sisa yhu eva wanted 2 kill

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light, fun, chick lit mystery. Just what the doctor orders for mid-summer.