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Robin Hudson #1
What's a Girl Gotta Do?
Nothing is going right for Robin Hudson, a spunky, sexy, “slightly rumpled, third-string reporter in Rita Hayworth’s body.” Her husband has left her for a prettier and much younger woman; she’s been demoted to the tabloidesque Special Reports unit at the All News Network after an on-air faux pas at the White House; and a blackmailer knows some of her worst secrets. To top it all off, Robin becomes a suspect in a brutal murder. Gathering her wits, her perfume atomizer spiked with cayenne pepper, and her Epilady, she turns reluctant gumshoe to find the real killer and clear her name—all this while doing an undercover assignment at a sperm bank with her loathsome boss. But Robin is going to need more than wisecracks and makeshift weapons to solve this murder and not become a corpse herself.
269 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
48 people are currently reading
968 people want to read
About the author
Sparkle Hayter
18 books78 followersSparkle Hayter is a Canadian journalist and author.
Hayter was born in Pouce Coupe, British Columbia, Canada and grew up in Edmonton, Alberta. In 1986, she graduated in film and television production from New York University. Among other things, she worked for CNN in Atlanta, WABC in New York and Global Television in Toronto. At the time of the Afghan civil war, she moved to Pakistan and then went along with the Mujahedin to Afghanistan, reporting for the Toronto Star. After this, she decided to give up journalism as a career. After her return to the U.S. she married and began her career as a comic and a writer with her first, not very successful, novel. She moved briefly to Tokyo, then on her return to New York divorced and went to live in the famous Chelsea Hotel
She then published a further 5 novels, the Robin Hudson series, which proved her breakthrough. She wrote for the New York Times Op-Ed Page, the Nation and Toronto Globe and Mail, was a regular participant on CNN's talk show "CNN & Company" and was also seen on Good Day New York, NPR, CBC, BBC and Paris Premiere. Currently she lives in Paris and is writing her next novel.
Series:
* Robin Hudson
Awards:
* Arthur Ellis Award
o Best First Novel (1995): What's a Girl Gotta Do?
Hayter was born in Pouce Coupe, British Columbia, Canada and grew up in Edmonton, Alberta. In 1986, she graduated in film and television production from New York University. Among other things, she worked for CNN in Atlanta, WABC in New York and Global Television in Toronto. At the time of the Afghan civil war, she moved to Pakistan and then went along with the Mujahedin to Afghanistan, reporting for the Toronto Star. After this, she decided to give up journalism as a career. After her return to the U.S. she married and began her career as a comic and a writer with her first, not very successful, novel. She moved briefly to Tokyo, then on her return to New York divorced and went to live in the famous Chelsea Hotel
She then published a further 5 novels, the Robin Hudson series, which proved her breakthrough. She wrote for the New York Times Op-Ed Page, the Nation and Toronto Globe and Mail, was a regular participant on CNN's talk show "CNN & Company" and was also seen on Good Day New York, NPR, CBC, BBC and Paris Premiere. Currently she lives in Paris and is writing her next novel.
Series:
* Robin Hudson
Awards:
* Arthur Ellis Award
o Best First Novel (1995): What's a Girl Gotta Do?
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews
January 3, 2024
Review and links at http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2014/1...
Before there was Stephanie Plum and Isabel Spellman, there was Robin Hudson. I discovered Robin long before Plum came around, and for those who became disenchanted with Evanovich’s kooky series, there’s a lot more to love here. With her ingenious poison-ivy window-box defense system and her homemade personal defenses (“I still had two backup systems in my purse, a bottle of cheap spray cologne spiked with cayenne pepper to approximate Mace and a battery-operated Epilady, which I realized after one use was a better offensive weapon than feminine aid"), she’s ready for any eventuality.
Hudson works at a 24-hour news agency, the All News Network (CNN), but has recently been demoted to the Special Reports unit after a series of journalistic mishaps. Her misogynistic boss Jerry Spurdle has assigned her to an undercover sperm bank investigation and has decided to involve himself by acting as her husband. Unfortunately, while she’s suffering to get back into management’s good graces, she’s also navigating a divorce from her reporter husband after his affair with a younger woman. When a blackmailer threatens her with highly personal information, she isn’t sure who to suspect. She offers to meet the blackmailer at ANN’s annual’ Halloween party and “as one of my New Year’s resolutions was to try and offend fewer people in the next decade and thereby escape from the century with my life. I decided to go as Ginny Foat, a prominent feminist tried for murder and acquitted in 1983.” When the blackmailer is found dead, everyone at ANN is on the suspect list.
New York City plays a enjoyable role as backdrop, with references that have more to do with local culture than landmarks. Hudson lives in a dicey section of the East Village, which justifies her safety-conscious routine: “The sidewalks beneath me were black and buckled and there were little groups of junkies on every corner. There must be a lot of good, cheap smack around, I thought, because the junkies were friendlier than usual.” Besides having to navigate her physical safety, she has more than her share of misunderstandings with the other tenants, particularly one that is convinced Robin works as a prostitute.
There’s a definite late 80s feel to this one; given that Robin works in television journalism, many of her references and snide remarks reference major news stories and television in general: “I’m only thirty-seven, but that’s a lot in TV years, which are rather like dog years.” I found them amusing, but then again, I was old enough to live through them. In fact, it’s rather interesting reading this again after so many years because it is so period (I think I found the series in the early 90s). Hayter is often coy about her background, but I was able to dig up one interview where she admits her first book was taken from experiences at CNN.
I love Hayter’s writing; the pace snaps along, with a great balance of reflection, dialogue and action. Narrated in first person by Robin, her voice is highly entertaining. Robin is a smart, eccentric and funny woman–just the kind of person I’d love to call a friend: “Because living well is not the best revenge, Bob. The best revenge, in my opinion, is huge crates of Depend undergarments delivered to his apartment door.”
The mystery is quite clever, with unexpected turns in how it effects Robin. A usual mystery trope is played out quickly, and I found myself surprised at the plotting. Despite quirky characters and events, Hayter is able to bring tension to the plotting, just enough for the reader to not be entirely sure Robin will be safe, elevating it above a madcap adventure. Shoot. My re-read has reminded me how much I enjoy Robin. I’m going to have to make time for my favorite in the series, The Chelsea Girl Murders. Similar to Willis' Bellwether with more mystery, Gran's Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead but with more adult behavior and Lutz' The Spellman Files. One of my perennial re-reads.
Originally released in 1994, it’s being re-released in ebook in 2014. Although I have this one in hardcover, thanks to NetGalley and Open Road Integrated Media for providing an e-book to review and prompting a re-read of an old favorite.
Re-read August 2016. Still enjoy it. Still entertaining. Probably deserves five stars.
Re-read December 2023 because December can be stressful.
Before there was Stephanie Plum and Isabel Spellman, there was Robin Hudson. I discovered Robin long before Plum came around, and for those who became disenchanted with Evanovich’s kooky series, there’s a lot more to love here. With her ingenious poison-ivy window-box defense system and her homemade personal defenses (“I still had two backup systems in my purse, a bottle of cheap spray cologne spiked with cayenne pepper to approximate Mace and a battery-operated Epilady, which I realized after one use was a better offensive weapon than feminine aid"), she’s ready for any eventuality.
Hudson works at a 24-hour news agency, the All News Network (
New York City plays a enjoyable role as backdrop, with references that have more to do with local culture than landmarks. Hudson lives in a dicey section of the East Village, which justifies her safety-conscious routine: “The sidewalks beneath me were black and buckled and there were little groups of junkies on every corner. There must be a lot of good, cheap smack around, I thought, because the junkies were friendlier than usual.” Besides having to navigate her physical safety, she has more than her share of misunderstandings with the other tenants, particularly one that is convinced Robin works as a prostitute.
There’s a definite late 80s feel to this one; given that Robin works in television journalism, many of her references and snide remarks reference major news stories and television in general: “I’m only thirty-seven, but that’s a lot in TV years, which are rather like dog years.” I found them amusing, but then again, I was old enough to live through them. In fact, it’s rather interesting reading this again after so many years because it is so period (I think I found the series in the early 90s). Hayter is often coy about her background, but I was able to dig up one interview where she admits her first book was taken from experiences at CNN.
I love Hayter’s writing; the pace snaps along, with a great balance of reflection, dialogue and action. Narrated in first person by Robin, her voice is highly entertaining. Robin is a smart, eccentric and funny woman–just the kind of person I’d love to call a friend: “Because living well is not the best revenge, Bob. The best revenge, in my opinion, is huge crates of Depend undergarments delivered to his apartment door.”
The mystery is quite clever, with unexpected turns in how it effects Robin. A usual mystery trope is played out quickly, and I found myself surprised at the plotting. Despite quirky characters and events, Hayter is able to bring tension to the plotting, just enough for the reader to not be entirely sure Robin will be safe, elevating it above a madcap adventure. Shoot. My re-read has reminded me how much I enjoy Robin. I’m going to have to make time for my favorite in the series, The Chelsea Girl Murders. Similar to Willis' Bellwether with more mystery, Gran's Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead but with more adult behavior and Lutz' The Spellman Files. One of my perennial re-reads.
Originally released in 1994, it’s being re-released in ebook in 2014. Although I have this one in hardcover, thanks to NetGalley and Open Road Integrated Media for providing an e-book to review and prompting a re-read of an old favorite.
Re-read August 2016. Still enjoy it. Still entertaining. Probably deserves five stars.
Re-read December 2023 because December can be stressful.
March 21, 2025
My friend insisted that I read this book quite some time ago... I bought it right away, but then it just kind of sat around. It really shouldn't have taken me this long to get around to taking her advice!
It's a light-hearted, humorous murder mystery... but I have to admit that, for me, what really made it shine wasn't the plot but its spot-on depiction of the New York City that I moved to. The book was published in 1994 and set shortly before then. The main character, Robin Hudson, lives in the East Village and works as a struggling reporter [the recommending friend and I both lived in the same neighborhood and worked in the media field at that time as well...] Robin's a bit older than I was at the time - but that just means that I think I actually enjoyed it more, reading it now, than I would have if I'd found it when it first came out.
When we're introduced to Robin, she's admittedly at a low point. Her husband has just left her for a younger woman. She's made two embarrassing gaffes at work that mean she's been demoted from high-profile journalism to Special Reports (in one case, this mean going undercover for an expose of a sperm bank). And to top it all off, she's now been contacted by a mysterious caller who seems to have blackmail in mind. But when the potential blackmailer turns up dead at her office costume party ("dress as your favorite news story" [ah, for the days when tasteless Halloween costumes were de rigueur!]), suddenly Robin's no longer the one reporting the news; she's the one in the news - as a murder suspect. Will she be able to clear her name and find out who's behind the plot?
As I said - it needs to be read to truly realize how funny the book is. It's just got so many devastatingly accurate details, all delivered with wit. I found the attitude refreshing - and as sparkling as the author's name... like reading a glass of bubbly.
It also made me really nostalgic for a whole social milieu that just isn't there any more... yeah, there were crappy parts of that time period, but in a way, it was mine... so yeah, definitely going to go ahead and find the other books in this series.
It's a light-hearted, humorous murder mystery... but I have to admit that, for me, what really made it shine wasn't the plot but its spot-on depiction of the New York City that I moved to. The book was published in 1994 and set shortly before then. The main character, Robin Hudson, lives in the East Village and works as a struggling reporter [the recommending friend and I both lived in the same neighborhood and worked in the media field at that time as well...] Robin's a bit older than I was at the time - but that just means that I think I actually enjoyed it more, reading it now, than I would have if I'd found it when it first came out.
When we're introduced to Robin, she's admittedly at a low point. Her husband has just left her for a younger woman. She's made two embarrassing gaffes at work that mean she's been demoted from high-profile journalism to Special Reports (in one case, this mean going undercover for an expose of a sperm bank). And to top it all off, she's now been contacted by a mysterious caller who seems to have blackmail in mind. But when the potential blackmailer turns up dead at her office costume party ("dress as your favorite news story" [ah, for the days when tasteless Halloween costumes were de rigueur!]), suddenly Robin's no longer the one reporting the news; she's the one in the news - as a murder suspect. Will she be able to clear her name and find out who's behind the plot?
As I said - it needs to be read to truly realize how funny the book is. It's just got so many devastatingly accurate details, all delivered with wit. I found the attitude refreshing - and as sparkling as the author's name... like reading a glass of bubbly.
It also made me really nostalgic for a whole social milieu that just isn't there any more... yeah, there were crappy parts of that time period, but in a way, it was mine... so yeah, definitely going to go ahead and find the other books in this series.
October 15, 2014
This is a kindle reissue of the first in the Robin Hudson mystery series. This was first published in 1994 and the entire series ran to five books:
What’s a Girl Gotta Do?
Nice Girls Finish Last
Revenge of the Cootie Girls
The Last Manly Man
The Chelsea Girl Murders
I remember reading this book when it first came out and I hope that this new kindle edition will get this series a whole new audience, because Robin Hudson is a wonderful lead character. When we meet her, Robin is thirty five, a lowly third string correspondent at the All News Network (ANN), demoted after a couple of horribly embarrassing events and her husband, Burke Avery, has left her for the much younger, doe eyed Miss Amy Penny…
Her marriage may be over and her career floundering, but, as Robin is about to discover, things can get worse. A strange man contacts her and asks to meet her at an ANN company party at the Marfeles Palace Hotel on New Year’s Eve. What does he want and what secrets does he know about Robin’s past. Before she can find out, the man – a P.I. called Larry Griff – has been killed and Robin finds herself a suspect.
In between accompanying her sleezy boss Jerry Spurdle to an undercover assignment at a sperm clinic, deciding on whether to date the gorgeous Eric, coming to terms with her feelings about Burke and avoiding her hilarious, abusive and elderly neighbour, Mrs Ramirez, Robin decides to discover who is really the murderer. If you enjoy books such as Stephanie Plum, then you might also like this. Robin is intelligent, witty and regards every object as a potential weapon. What can go wrong? Lastly, I received a copy of this book from the publishers, via NetGalley, for review.
What’s a Girl Gotta Do?
Nice Girls Finish Last
Revenge of the Cootie Girls
The Last Manly Man
The Chelsea Girl Murders
I remember reading this book when it first came out and I hope that this new kindle edition will get this series a whole new audience, because Robin Hudson is a wonderful lead character. When we meet her, Robin is thirty five, a lowly third string correspondent at the All News Network (ANN), demoted after a couple of horribly embarrassing events and her husband, Burke Avery, has left her for the much younger, doe eyed Miss Amy Penny…
Her marriage may be over and her career floundering, but, as Robin is about to discover, things can get worse. A strange man contacts her and asks to meet her at an ANN company party at the Marfeles Palace Hotel on New Year’s Eve. What does he want and what secrets does he know about Robin’s past. Before she can find out, the man – a P.I. called Larry Griff – has been killed and Robin finds herself a suspect.
In between accompanying her sleezy boss Jerry Spurdle to an undercover assignment at a sperm clinic, deciding on whether to date the gorgeous Eric, coming to terms with her feelings about Burke and avoiding her hilarious, abusive and elderly neighbour, Mrs Ramirez, Robin decides to discover who is really the murderer. If you enjoy books such as Stephanie Plum, then you might also like this. Robin is intelligent, witty and regards every object as a potential weapon. What can go wrong? Lastly, I received a copy of this book from the publishers, via NetGalley, for review.
December 21, 2014
What's a Girl Gotta Do? By Sparkle Hayter is a 2014 Open Road Integrated Media Publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This quirky murder mystery featuring Robin Hudson was originally published in 1994 and is now available in digital format.
Robin Hudson is a reporter whose light was once shining brightly until she made a few very public gaffes and now she is barely hanging on to her career. To complicate matters, her husband has dumped her for a younger woman and is seeking a divorce.
But, life becomes even more dicey when Robin is a potential blackmail victim and lo and behold the alleged blackmailer is found murdered.
The mystery is light and humorous in tone, but one must keep in mind the jokes were much funnier in 1994 than they are now, and some readers may not get some of the punchlines. Still, Robin was just the sort of offbeat character you can't help but like and cheer for. The supporting cast is stellar as well. The 24 hour news station and all the backstabbing and jockeying for position was presented in a funny way, but certainly had a ring of truth to it. As more blackmail victims come out of the woodwork, the story becomes a tried and true whodunit.
Although there is frank sexual dialogue and a few naughty words, this book might still appeal to cozy mystery lovers if they like books along the lines of the Aurora Teagarden Mysteries or the Stephanie Plum mysteries.
I do admit a giggle escaped me from time to time while reading this book. I enjoyed the nostalgia when Robin recounted the big news stories they had covered. Huge headliners for that period of time reminded me of people I had long forgotten about. The murderer was someone I did not suspect and the way the book ended made me want to know what Robin will tackle next and if she will find a love interest, something I really want for her. So, although some of the storyline is just wee bit dated, the story was entertaining and fun to read. 4 stars!
This quirky murder mystery featuring Robin Hudson was originally published in 1994 and is now available in digital format.
Robin Hudson is a reporter whose light was once shining brightly until she made a few very public gaffes and now she is barely hanging on to her career. To complicate matters, her husband has dumped her for a younger woman and is seeking a divorce.
But, life becomes even more dicey when Robin is a potential blackmail victim and lo and behold the alleged blackmailer is found murdered.
The mystery is light and humorous in tone, but one must keep in mind the jokes were much funnier in 1994 than they are now, and some readers may not get some of the punchlines. Still, Robin was just the sort of offbeat character you can't help but like and cheer for. The supporting cast is stellar as well. The 24 hour news station and all the backstabbing and jockeying for position was presented in a funny way, but certainly had a ring of truth to it. As more blackmail victims come out of the woodwork, the story becomes a tried and true whodunit.
Although there is frank sexual dialogue and a few naughty words, this book might still appeal to cozy mystery lovers if they like books along the lines of the Aurora Teagarden Mysteries or the Stephanie Plum mysteries.
I do admit a giggle escaped me from time to time while reading this book. I enjoyed the nostalgia when Robin recounted the big news stories they had covered. Huge headliners for that period of time reminded me of people I had long forgotten about. The murderer was someone I did not suspect and the way the book ended made me want to know what Robin will tackle next and if she will find a love interest, something I really want for her. So, although some of the storyline is just wee bit dated, the story was entertaining and fun to read. 4 stars!
February 24, 2024
Actually 3.5, automatically rounded up, for a treatment of the people and places in parts of Manhattan that felt very authentic to me from my year there, plus an improvement in the story-telling toward the end.. It's a month since I finished, so that's all the review I can come up with. Maybe next time.
February 26, 2012
Reading the last five, six or seven books in the Stephanie Plum series made me sad for the main character. The books didn't make me feel good for the heroine. I wanted more for Stephanie Plum, more than it seems Janet Evanovich wants to give her, and don't think she will ever find it.
After reading Sparkle Hayter's “What's a Girl Gotta Do,” I was reminded again of how stagnant Stephanie Plum has become.
Hayter's book is about a television journalist, Robin Hudson, who for better or worse, cannot get out of her own way. Every time something good happens in her life, it seems as though she does something to sabotage that.
That's not to say she's not an endearing character. The book opens with readers feeling a bit bad for her because we quickly learn her husband has left her for a younger, prettier news anchor at her own station.
Even though she's dealing with these problems, Hudson is still taking steps to rectify many of the issues in her life.
Hudson made me think this is the character I hope Stephanie Plum could grow into. Sure, Robin's career is sort of in a decline, but she continues to work and doesn't just have her sights set at the bottom on her career field. She doesn't accidentally go through life. Hudson is actually good at what she does, but has moments of embarrassment – unlike Plum who has never gotten better as a bonds agent.
In Hayter's first installment of the series – which was written in the early 1990s, but has been re-published in eBook format – the workers of ANN, a 24-hour cable news network, have to figure out who killed a private investigator in the hotel where a company New Year's Eve party was being held. The death sparked a chain of events and the goal is to get to the bottom of the death of this PI, who happened to be blackmailing several people at ANN.
Sparkle Hayter – that is really the author's name – has a good writing style. She sets the books in a first-person format and writes with a somewhat stream on consciousness, as we tend to think.
The first of a series that has five books and I plan on checking out the others in the series. I appreciate Hayter making these books available for a new ebook audience.
After reading Sparkle Hayter's “What's a Girl Gotta Do,” I was reminded again of how stagnant Stephanie Plum has become.
Hayter's book is about a television journalist, Robin Hudson, who for better or worse, cannot get out of her own way. Every time something good happens in her life, it seems as though she does something to sabotage that.
That's not to say she's not an endearing character. The book opens with readers feeling a bit bad for her because we quickly learn her husband has left her for a younger, prettier news anchor at her own station.
Even though she's dealing with these problems, Hudson is still taking steps to rectify many of the issues in her life.
Hudson made me think this is the character I hope Stephanie Plum could grow into. Sure, Robin's career is sort of in a decline, but she continues to work and doesn't just have her sights set at the bottom on her career field. She doesn't accidentally go through life. Hudson is actually good at what she does, but has moments of embarrassment – unlike Plum who has never gotten better as a bonds agent.
In Hayter's first installment of the series – which was written in the early 1990s, but has been re-published in eBook format – the workers of ANN, a 24-hour cable news network, have to figure out who killed a private investigator in the hotel where a company New Year's Eve party was being held. The death sparked a chain of events and the goal is to get to the bottom of the death of this PI, who happened to be blackmailing several people at ANN.
Sparkle Hayter – that is really the author's name – has a good writing style. She sets the books in a first-person format and writes with a somewhat stream on consciousness, as we tend to think.
The first of a series that has five books and I plan on checking out the others in the series. I appreciate Hayter making these books available for a new ebook audience.
October 26, 2014
Once upon a time, Robin Hudson had a good marriage, a promising career and she wasn't a murder suspect. Pretty good life, right? But none of that is true anymore, because, at 35 years old, she’s getting divorced, she’s been demoted and to make everything better, a mysterious guy who knows things about her past is found dead and she’s a suspect. Her husband is now happy with another woman, she hates her new boss, her crazy old neighbor is convinced she’s a prostitute, but nothing is gonna stop Robin from trying to find the real murderer… right?
I enjoyed this book immensely. The only thing I wasn't crazy about was the amount of characters introduced at the beginning. I was worried I won’t be able to keep track of all of them. There are unnecessary details about characters that aren't very important, but some of them do add to the hilarity of the book.
Robin is an amazing character. The book is written in 1st person, so we see everything through Robin’s eyes and that happens to be a very fun way to see the world. She has weird hobbies, homemade weapons and something witty to say about everything that happens, no matter how bad it is. She’s a character with many flaws, but that doesn't make her less likable. There are choices she makes that (if she was a real person) I absolutely wouldn't support… even though, deep down, I know I’d probably make the same choice if I was her. Other characters are just as interesting. Mrs. Ramirez, the crazy neighbor, deserves her own book.
This is the first book in the Robin Hudson series that I’ll definitely keep reading. It’s a great mix of comedy and mystery and I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys these two genres.
I enjoyed this book immensely. The only thing I wasn't crazy about was the amount of characters introduced at the beginning. I was worried I won’t be able to keep track of all of them. There are unnecessary details about characters that aren't very important, but some of them do add to the hilarity of the book.
Robin is an amazing character. The book is written in 1st person, so we see everything through Robin’s eyes and that happens to be a very fun way to see the world. She has weird hobbies, homemade weapons and something witty to say about everything that happens, no matter how bad it is. She’s a character with many flaws, but that doesn't make her less likable. There are choices she makes that (if she was a real person) I absolutely wouldn't support… even though, deep down, I know I’d probably make the same choice if I was her. Other characters are just as interesting. Mrs. Ramirez, the crazy neighbor, deserves her own book.
This is the first book in the Robin Hudson series that I’ll definitely keep reading. It’s a great mix of comedy and mystery and I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys these two genres.
November 18, 2014
Robin is a stimulating person and she will enticed into following the this mystery. Robin is a third level TV personality who has made some goofs landing in the Special Events department. She has elderly cat she recused Louise Bryant who controls her life. Robin is waiting for divorce to become final and has problems with her husband and his girl friend who work for a rival network. Robin gets a call from stranger who tells her to be at All News Network party. He tells her to be there he will release her secret to her boss. Later he is found murdered. Robin was in the area when it happened and works to find the answer. I keep to turning the pages to see the answers. The ending was a complete surprise to me. That doesn't happen often. I am ready to read the next book.
Full Disclosure: I received a free copy from Open Integrated Media through Netgalley for an honest review. I would like to thank for this opportunity to read and review this book. The opinions are my own.
Full Disclosure: I received a free copy from Open Integrated Media through Netgalley for an honest review. I would like to thank for this opportunity to read and review this book. The opinions are my own.
April 15, 2020
This was a re-read. Sparkle Hayter is always a delight, and Robin Hudson is smart, funny and just eccentric enough to be lovable.
October 17, 2014
Here is Hudson, aspiring TV reporter, demoted to ‘special reports’ – the undercover investigation of a messed up sperm bank that seems to mix up the donors – after she ripped a major league belch her first chance to ask a question at a White House news conference.
But that’s not the worst – her old bat, 80 year old downstairs neighbor think she parties with an apartment full of transvestites and prostitutes nightly, she’s separated from here Casanova husband who now seems to have the hots for her again, she’s a suspect in the killing of a detective who knew her worst secrets, and she suddenly thinks her new boyfriend might be the killer.
This is a laugh out loud, incredibly cool mystery that will keep you laughing as it keeps you baffled who the real killer is – you’ll never guess – no, it’s not Robin’s devilish cat!
But that’s not the worst – her old bat, 80 year old downstairs neighbor think she parties with an apartment full of transvestites and prostitutes nightly, she’s separated from here Casanova husband who now seems to have the hots for her again, she’s a suspect in the killing of a detective who knew her worst secrets, and she suddenly thinks her new boyfriend might be the killer.
This is a laugh out loud, incredibly cool mystery that will keep you laughing as it keeps you baffled who the real killer is – you’ll never guess – no, it’s not Robin’s devilish cat!
October 31, 2020
____________________________________
“All That’s Sparkle’s Is Not Gold"
___________________________________
As a source of excitement, Sparkle Hayter’s first Robin Hudson novel has no peer, with the possible exception of a glass of warm milk. A blackmailer appears in the first few pages, blackmails several women at an all-news cable station for money and sexual favors, and then is murdered by page 30. Who killed him? Who cares? He was a cad who deserved what he got. Then nothing much happens in the 200 pages or so from page 30 to about 30 pages before the end of the book. Oh, Robin Hudson, the story’s protagonist, makes a short, pious speech about how the killer needs to be brought to justice, but her heart isn’t in it, and neither is the reader’s.
“All That’s Sparkle’s Is Not Gold"
___________________________________
As a source of excitement, Sparkle Hayter’s first Robin Hudson novel has no peer, with the possible exception of a glass of warm milk. A blackmailer appears in the first few pages, blackmails several women at an all-news cable station for money and sexual favors, and then is murdered by page 30. Who killed him? Who cares? He was a cad who deserved what he got. Then nothing much happens in the 200 pages or so from page 30 to about 30 pages before the end of the book. Oh, Robin Hudson, the story’s protagonist, makes a short, pious speech about how the killer needs to be brought to justice, but her heart isn’t in it, and neither is the reader’s.
August 19, 2016
This is a detective story with added humour and some romantic complications. The detective story is not bad, it moves through the various revelations and potential suspects in a reasonable way and does not stretch the bound of credibility. The humour is quite nicely done too, although I think I would have liked it more if I had known the cultural references. The romantic complications are pretty much standard fare, but don't detract from the book.
I am unlikely to read more in the series; this is not the type of book which interests me much, but I can recognise that the author has crafted it well.
I am unlikely to read more in the series; this is not the type of book which interests me much, but I can recognise that the author has crafted it well.
May 7, 2020
Crime meets chick lit meets comedy meets a romp through the US journalism jungle.
These books are genre changing in my view. Lighthearted but clever crime, they led the way in kick-ass heroines who don't always get things right but who are intensely appealing leads. It came out the same year as the first Stephanie Plum, and they have much in common, but these are grittier and darker. What's remarkable is how little the book has aged. I just reread the series, and they are as magical as ever.
I munched through the series both times. I still want more. More. More.
But there are no more. Just five exquisite novels.
These books are genre changing in my view. Lighthearted but clever crime, they led the way in kick-ass heroines who don't always get things right but who are intensely appealing leads. It came out the same year as the first Stephanie Plum, and they have much in common, but these are grittier and darker. What's remarkable is how little the book has aged. I just reread the series, and they are as magical as ever.
I munched through the series both times. I still want more. More. More.
But there are no more. Just five exquisite novels.
November 18, 2014
Robin Hudson is a smarmy, smart-mouth, slightly dumpy, quite rumpled, cable news reporter. Her independent streak ensures she can't maintain friends, husband, or good investigative assignments. But she's getting real good at attracting blackmailing and stumbling over corpses. Hmmm...Will a good brain, determination, a smart.attitude, and a Rita Hayworth figure, be her protection--or the instruments of her demise?
August 23, 2010
Loved all the Robin Hudson books. Someon recommended them too me qhwn I was between Stephanie Plum books and it turns out I liked them more. Hayter's books are somewhere between Hiassen and Evanovich.
July 2, 2016
Picked by my book club. This was a quick read and I had to admire the balance of humour within this mystery story, in fact it was the humour that kept me reading on. Eventful and although slow in places the ending tied it up nicely.
April 3, 2011
Very funny and snarky series that I was sorry to see end after only five books. Hayter draws on her own experience as a CNN reporter/writer as background for Robin Hudson and her cohorts.
September 29, 2011
One of my friends told me about these "tart noir" books and I read them one after the other. Funny, smart, cynical, sexy -- my kind of a mystery.
April 17, 2012
Didn't take me long to see where this was going and that I didn't want to come along.
May 27, 2020
This is a reread and in this time of Harvey Weinstein is seems issues have not improved much
March 22, 2013
Very good! Well, good 'cuz I laughed out-loud!!! Laughed until I cried! Fairly well written too!
February 20, 2021
I liked this book a lot, maybe because it is set in the world of journalism (albeit TV reporting, generally acknowledged by newspaper reporters to be a debased form of the art!).
Of course these same newspaper reporters would cheerfully bayonet those in front of them to get a job on TV - that's life.
It is a truth universally acknowledged, as Jane Austen might have said, that some reporters are among the strangest of the strange. And, in "What's a Girl Gotta Do?" (1993) , there's a bunch of them, straight out of central casting.
In my own experience working on local newspapers I can certainly attest to sexism, relationships galore (none of them mine), intrigue on a grand scale, treachery and backstabbing. The one thing missing was money - local newspaper never had it, they were just a stepping stone to greater things.
Robin Hudson, 35, is not having a good time, her marriage is over, she's been sent to the department where careers end, and her would-be 'blackmailer' has just been found dead.
Her only true friend is Louise Bryant, her cat, but even her feline loyalties are suspect.
And, as Robin would admit, she, herself, is decidedly odd. Maybe the mania that runs in her family is looming on her horizon?
There's more than a hint of the gumshoe in Robin as she sets out to track the killer down before, as she suspects, she becomes a victim down the line.
And, while her heart may have been badly bruised by Bryant, she hasn't given up on love, even if she isn't quite sure what it is.
What I appreciated most about Robin is that she is clunky, sometimes awkward, a slob in a way - but she fits her own skin.
I suspect that Sparkle Hayter had a ball writing this novel and took some of the material from her own experiences as a working journalist. Her entry on Wikipedia makes for fascinating reading - if she wrote an autobiography I would be queuing up for a copy. Wikipedia also pointed me to 'Tart Noir' - a genre I intend to explore :)
It's a very, very funny read:
"What I'm will to do depends a lot on who I'm going to do it with. With Burke [her ex], the sex was never very far from the ordinary, although we sometimes let the cat watch."
"Jerry has this little problem relating to women ... When he's sober and comes fact to face with a woman in a social setting, he tends to become focussed on her breasts and can't look her in the eye. If she moves from side to side, his head moves from side to side too, like a dog watching a tennis ball."
"I set out two underwear sets. On one side of the bed was the creamiest, slinkiest fuck-me lingerie on the island of Manhattan, lingerie that felt so good on my skin it qualified as foreplay. On the other side was what I jokingly referred to, when Burke and I were together, as my anti-adultery underwear, big old granny underpants with goofy flowers on them, underwear no man could see without laughing."
In 1995 "What's a Girl Gotta Do?" deservedly won the Arthur Ellis Award (Best First Crime Novel) of the Crime Writers of Canada.
P.S. A more in-depth search from Wikipedia supplied some additional information on Sparkle Hayden, it is worth following up.
P.P.S. I was surprised to find that Sparkle Hayter has more or less disappeared over recent years. It reminded me of one of the best reporters I ever employed - he had his pick of national newspaper and just walked away - he said he was bored and needed to find something that would give him a challenge.
Of course these same newspaper reporters would cheerfully bayonet those in front of them to get a job on TV - that's life.
It is a truth universally acknowledged, as Jane Austen might have said, that some reporters are among the strangest of the strange. And, in "What's a Girl Gotta Do?" (1993) , there's a bunch of them, straight out of central casting.
In my own experience working on local newspapers I can certainly attest to sexism, relationships galore (none of them mine), intrigue on a grand scale, treachery and backstabbing. The one thing missing was money - local newspaper never had it, they were just a stepping stone to greater things.
Robin Hudson, 35, is not having a good time, her marriage is over, she's been sent to the department where careers end, and her would-be 'blackmailer' has just been found dead.
Her only true friend is Louise Bryant, her cat, but even her feline loyalties are suspect.
And, as Robin would admit, she, herself, is decidedly odd. Maybe the mania that runs in her family is looming on her horizon?
There's more than a hint of the gumshoe in Robin as she sets out to track the killer down before, as she suspects, she becomes a victim down the line.
And, while her heart may have been badly bruised by Bryant, she hasn't given up on love, even if she isn't quite sure what it is.
What I appreciated most about Robin is that she is clunky, sometimes awkward, a slob in a way - but she fits her own skin.
I suspect that Sparkle Hayter had a ball writing this novel and took some of the material from her own experiences as a working journalist. Her entry on Wikipedia makes for fascinating reading - if she wrote an autobiography I would be queuing up for a copy. Wikipedia also pointed me to 'Tart Noir' - a genre I intend to explore :)
It's a very, very funny read:
"What I'm will to do depends a lot on who I'm going to do it with. With Burke [her ex], the sex was never very far from the ordinary, although we sometimes let the cat watch."
"Jerry has this little problem relating to women ... When he's sober and comes fact to face with a woman in a social setting, he tends to become focussed on her breasts and can't look her in the eye. If she moves from side to side, his head moves from side to side too, like a dog watching a tennis ball."
"I set out two underwear sets. On one side of the bed was the creamiest, slinkiest fuck-me lingerie on the island of Manhattan, lingerie that felt so good on my skin it qualified as foreplay. On the other side was what I jokingly referred to, when Burke and I were together, as my anti-adultery underwear, big old granny underpants with goofy flowers on them, underwear no man could see without laughing."
In 1995 "What's a Girl Gotta Do?" deservedly won the Arthur Ellis Award (Best First Crime Novel) of the Crime Writers of Canada.
P.S. A more in-depth search from Wikipedia supplied some additional information on Sparkle Hayden, it is worth following up.
P.P.S. I was surprised to find that Sparkle Hayter has more or less disappeared over recent years. It reminded me of one of the best reporters I ever employed - he had his pick of national newspaper and just walked away - he said he was bored and needed to find something that would give him a challenge.
October 24, 2018
At first glance, it seemed that Sparkle Hayter in WHAT'S A GIRL GOTTA DO? was trying a little too hard to be edgy and original when Robin Hudson, her heroine, says:
“But it’s not every day I get a call at home from a mysterious stranger who knows my childhood nickname, Red Knobby, something very few people know, I assure you. He knew my childhood nickname, he knew my mother’s medical history, he even knew when and to whom I’d lost my cherry in high school.”
Really?
A good rule of thumb, however, is to give the author at least a few pages before judgement is made. That rule proved its wisdom in this case because the more I read the more natural this voice became. So when Bigger, a police officer is interrogating Robin, it starts to make sense:
“You are reputed to be bad-tempered and eccentric, some might say a little paranoid,” Bigger said.
“That’s probably true to some degree at least. But I’m not dangerous.”
So I started to enjoy the story on the power of the Robin Hudson character.
And also because Hayter can write some genuinely funny moments, such as this description of Bigger:
“As for Bigger—imagine a weasel, upright in a sports jacket. A nice sports jacket, okay, and he had blow-dried hair, a cop for the Cops TV-show age. But he had a weak, mean mouth he tried to disguise with a feeble moustache that looked like it was just resting and might crawl off his face in search of a sunny rock at any moment.”
I decided that I could overlook the fact that Robin worked for a television station (when I worked as a newspaper reporter we considered “television reporter” to be an oxymoron) because it turned out that she also did not particularly like any of her co-workers. Perhaps this little admission was the tip-off:
“I was willing to spill a lot of stuff for the cops, but I wasn’t fool enough to speak with the news media.”
One problem I had (and perhaps because I hadn’t paid enough attention) was that there were so many of the media characters that I had difficulty remembering which character was which. When the murder (this is a mystery after all) was revealed I had to backtrack and to remember who the person actually was.
When all was said and done, however, WHAT'S A GIRL GOTTA DO? was an easy-reading mystery about a slightly off-kilter heroine that brings some smiles and even a few laughs.
Maybe Hayter hadn’t tried too hard, after all.
“But it’s not every day I get a call at home from a mysterious stranger who knows my childhood nickname, Red Knobby, something very few people know, I assure you. He knew my childhood nickname, he knew my mother’s medical history, he even knew when and to whom I’d lost my cherry in high school.”
Really?
A good rule of thumb, however, is to give the author at least a few pages before judgement is made. That rule proved its wisdom in this case because the more I read the more natural this voice became. So when Bigger, a police officer is interrogating Robin, it starts to make sense:
“You are reputed to be bad-tempered and eccentric, some might say a little paranoid,” Bigger said.
“That’s probably true to some degree at least. But I’m not dangerous.”
So I started to enjoy the story on the power of the Robin Hudson character.
And also because Hayter can write some genuinely funny moments, such as this description of Bigger:
“As for Bigger—imagine a weasel, upright in a sports jacket. A nice sports jacket, okay, and he had blow-dried hair, a cop for the Cops TV-show age. But he had a weak, mean mouth he tried to disguise with a feeble moustache that looked like it was just resting and might crawl off his face in search of a sunny rock at any moment.”
I decided that I could overlook the fact that Robin worked for a television station (when I worked as a newspaper reporter we considered “television reporter” to be an oxymoron) because it turned out that she also did not particularly like any of her co-workers. Perhaps this little admission was the tip-off:
“I was willing to spill a lot of stuff for the cops, but I wasn’t fool enough to speak with the news media.”
One problem I had (and perhaps because I hadn’t paid enough attention) was that there were so many of the media characters that I had difficulty remembering which character was which. When the murder (this is a mystery after all) was revealed I had to backtrack and to remember who the person actually was.
When all was said and done, however, WHAT'S A GIRL GOTTA DO? was an easy-reading mystery about a slightly off-kilter heroine that brings some smiles and even a few laughs.
Maybe Hayter hadn’t tried too hard, after all.
March 6, 2025
Some reviews have compared this series as a readalike to the Stephanie Plum book by Evanovitch. I'm not sure I agree that much, but it's definitely possible that readers of the Plum books will enjoy Robin's adventures here. I must admit that I've enjoyed both series, but this series is quite as zany as the other. In some ways I almost enjoyed this series more (I did enjoy the earlier Plum books more than the later ones).
Robin Hardy is a journalist in the employ of a 24-hour news service. She's considered a rebel and trouble seems to follow her. Her attitude is full a wry or sarcastic view of life. This first volume of the series was published in 1994, so Robin's world view and some comments will most natural to those of us that were around in the 1980s and earlier.
When she is considered a suspect in a murder case, Robin must deal with the possibility that she might also be one of the next victims. Dealing with all that on top of her marriage breaking up and difficulties at work makes for a rather full plate...
I'll be reading the next volume in the series.What's a Girl Gotta Do?
Robin Hardy is a journalist in the employ of a 24-hour news service. She's considered a rebel and trouble seems to follow her. Her attitude is full a wry or sarcastic view of life. This first volume of the series was published in 1994, so Robin's world view and some comments will most natural to those of us that were around in the 1980s and earlier.
When she is considered a suspect in a murder case, Robin must deal with the possibility that she might also be one of the next victims. Dealing with all that on top of her marriage breaking up and difficulties at work makes for a rather full plate...
I'll be reading the next volume in the series.What's a Girl Gotta Do?
January 17, 2024
Is Robin slightly bitter? Yes. Does she make questionable, albeit fantastically creative, choices? Yes. Did she make me laugh? Also, yes.
I'm a sucker for a scrappy crime solver and I thought this one was a hit. If I didn't have a train of holds waiting for me from the library I would have happily picked up her next adventure. My only complaint was the dump of characters in the beginning which made it quite the slog to start with - especially with mystery, was I supposed to mentally note all these newsroom people? While I was more interested in her personal life to start with the mystery took a direct and competent turn that had me itching to return to the page. Very 90's. A pleasure.
I'm a sucker for a scrappy crime solver and I thought this one was a hit. If I didn't have a train of holds waiting for me from the library I would have happily picked up her next adventure. My only complaint was the dump of characters in the beginning which made it quite the slog to start with - especially with mystery, was I supposed to mentally note all these newsroom people? While I was more interested in her personal life to start with the mystery took a direct and competent turn that had me itching to return to the page. Very 90's. A pleasure.
August 6, 2024
Highly enjoyable, with a spunky MC with real flaws (shocking!), a colorful side cast, and the writing tone I adore: whimsical, but no-nonsense.
Our MC is in her mid-thirties (always nice to have people in the same age bracket as me!) finds herself in the middle of a divorce, workplace crisis, and a murder case - which is also a PI case, an extortion case... you get the picture.
There is some outdated lingo here, but it still feels fresh on the thirtieth anniversary of its release year. I look forward to the rest of the series!
Our MC is in her mid-thirties (always nice to have people in the same age bracket as me!) finds herself in the middle of a divorce, workplace crisis, and a murder case - which is also a PI case, an extortion case... you get the picture.
There is some outdated lingo here, but it still feels fresh on the thirtieth anniversary of its release year. I look forward to the rest of the series!
November 27, 2024
I often bounce pretty hard off "comic" novels, but after a rough beginning this one really worked for me.
The first half suffered from a bit TOO much realistic detail of what CNN - sorry ANN - was like in the 1990s and oh my god TOO MANY CHARACTERS introduced too fast at one big party and they all actually mattered. But once that all settled down, and I picked it up tonight "eh, I'll read for a little while"...the story got going and I couldn't actually put it down.
I really had a few laugh out loud moments, too. I like this Robin Hudson and I will read more of her.
The first half suffered from a bit TOO much realistic detail of what CNN - sorry ANN - was like in the 1990s and oh my god TOO MANY CHARACTERS introduced too fast at one big party and they all actually mattered. But once that all settled down, and I picked it up tonight "eh, I'll read for a little while"...the story got going and I couldn't actually put it down.
I really had a few laugh out loud moments, too. I like this Robin Hudson and I will read more of her.
February 5, 2018
Breezy, bawdy, beach read.
The trials and tribulations a 30-year old reporter in New York City working for a 24-hour all news network in the 1990's.
Ms. Hudson starts out the 90's at 30 years old and through five books reaches the mellinium and 40.
On sale ($1.99) and mentioned as like Izzy Spellman. Ms. Hudson is not nearly the character that is Izzy, but fun and a few good quirky supporting characters depsite terrible cover art.
The trials and tribulations a 30-year old reporter in New York City working for a 24-hour all news network in the 1990's.
Ms. Hudson starts out the 90's at 30 years old and through five books reaches the mellinium and 40.
On sale ($1.99) and mentioned as like Izzy Spellman. Ms. Hudson is not nearly the character that is Izzy, but fun and a few good quirky supporting characters depsite terrible cover art.
March 23, 2018
Coming from a similar sort of place as Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum novels, but with less obsessive details about cars and guns, and better gags. A fairly preposterous plot, but nicely spun out, and the funny lines are genuinely very funny.
This hasn’t dated well, with lots of references to people like Ross Perot who were, I guess, recognisable public figures at the time it was written. But it’s very entertaining and the heroine is lots of fun. I don’t quite get the cat name thing though.
This hasn’t dated well, with lots of references to people like Ross Perot who were, I guess, recognisable public figures at the time it was written. But it’s very entertaining and the heroine is lots of fun. I don’t quite get the cat name thing though.
June 26, 2019
It was my first time reading something a mystery book but I loved it. I just couldn't put it down. I recently started watching "Murphy Brown" a TV show from the 80s and Robin reminded me so much of Murphy it was crazy. I found quire a few different characters and their character traits were reminiscent of the various characters on that show. Over all a really great read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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