Heat Wave

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Summary: Heat Wave- A Look at Society Through the Lense of Tragedy
Review: Eric Klinenberg's Heat Wave is a candid and honest look at the widespread devastation that ravaged Chicago during the city's 1995 heat wave. Klinenberg's central focus is his exploration of the question that many were left wondering in the wake of one of the most traumatic heat waves in the history of the United States: how could this have happened? By examining the internal workings of the social and political structures dictating the very nature of the city, Klinenberg performs a `social autopsy' on Chicago through interviews, extensive research, and investigative reporting. Klinenberg seriously examines the phenomenon of social isolation and its disturbing repercussions, and, in turn, both the government's action and passivity, and the changes in modern day America that almost facilitated the staggering mortality figures of this specific disaster.
Exposing his reader to the bigger picture as well, Klinenberg describes more than just the aftermath of the heat wave, and delves deeper into the larger issues of social and economic corrosion. "The decay of the local infrastructure has gone hand in hand with the decline of the community's manufacturing, commercial, and residential presence" notes Klinenberg about Chicago's North Lawndale neighborhood (92). Elaborating to describe how the "industrial decline undermined the foundations of North Lawndale's economy", Klinenberg offers the reader valuable fact based analysis and step by step explanation of the domino effect of poverty and social isolation and their deadly combined effect. In sum, "There were grave consequences for the city's failure to institute an immediate response...the city government did not recognize the crisis and failed to organize a multiagency emergency response before the death toll began to rise" (135).
Heat Wave not only dictates the cause and effects of the 1995 disaster, but also brings to light the empathy and concern that is lacking in today's society. By highlighting the very idea of social isolation, Klinenberg embodies many of the problems of present day America. His book is not only a narration of the deadly heat wave, but also of the damaged infrastructure in a modern day city that allowed room for such widespread disaster and fatality.

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Summary: Big Disappointment
Review: HEAT WAVE by Jill Marie Landis

HEAT WAVE by Jill Marie Landis is the second novel in the Twilight Cove Trilogy. In this story, Private Investigator Kat Vargas finds herself relocating temporarily from Long Beach, California to the small beach town of Twilight Cove, house-sitting for her good friend Jake, another P.I. While she is settling in, she meets one of the local residents of the town, Ty Chandler, who asks her to help find his daughter, someone he did not know existed until just recently. The missing daughter was born 19 years ago to his high school sweetheart, but because of a life of drugs that destroyed Amy in the end, he and Amy parted before he ever knew about the baby.

Kat's current philosophy in life was to keep emotional attachments at bay, and had focused on her career to keep from falling in love again. She keeps her past hidden from most people, a past that has shaped her into who she is today. But Ty Chandler is about to change everything. He finds himself falling in love with Kat while they work together searching for his daughter, and Kat tries her best to keep her own feelings for Ty hidden.

Their search leads them back to Southern California, where Ty's daughter Sunny is living a life that is headed towards disaster. When Ty offers her a home with him in Twilight Cove, Sunny at first turns him down, but surprises him and Kat by showing up one day at his front door, with her own baby in her arms. Ty has become an instant father and grand father!

Kat and Ty slowly build their friendship, while Ty and Sunny develop their own. Things get complicated when Sunny starts to distrust Kat, seeing that Kat does not seem too comfortable around the baby. Sunny senses that Kat is hiding something, and does not hesitate to let Ty know. And Kat finds her instincts tuned in to the fact that Sunny may not be telling them everything that they should know about her. When Sunny and the baby disappear one day without a trace, Kat goes on her own to track down the missing girl.

HEAT WAVE was my first book by Jill Marie Landis. It was not what I had expected, thinking I would be reading a pure romance novel. Although the main story line is that of Kat and Ty's budding romance, Kat's secret past and Sunny's life in Southern California play a big part in the novel, a story that brings two people together who may have never met except under these circumstances. I give this book 4 stars, and recommend it to those who are not true romance fans, but may enjoy a book that has a mix of several genres in one.

Rating:
Summary: A good beach read!
Review: HEAT WAVE by Jill Marie Landis

HEAT WAVE by Jill Marie Landis is the second novel in the Twilight Cove Trilogy. In this story, Private Investigator Kat Vargas finds herself relocating temporarily from Long Beach, California to the small beach town of Twilight Cove, house-sitting for her good friend Jake, another P.I. While she is settling in, she meets one of the local residents of the town, Ty Chandler, who asks her to help find his daughter, someone he did not know existed until just recently. The missing daughter was born 19 years ago to his high school sweetheart, but because of a life of drugs that destroyed Amy in the end, he and Amy parted before he ever knew about the baby.

Kat's current philosophy in life was to keep emotional attachments at bay, and had focused on her career to keep from falling in love again. She keeps her past hidden from most people, a past that has shaped her into who she is today. But Ty Chandler is about to change everything. He finds himself falling in love with Kat while they work together searching for his daughter, and Kat tries her best to keep her own feelings for Ty hidden.

Their search leads them back to Southern California, where Ty's daughter Sunny is living a life that is headed towards disaster. When Ty offers her a home with him in Twilight Cove, Sunny at first turns him down, but surprises him and Kat by showing up one day at his front door, with her own baby in her arms. Ty has become an instant father and grand father!

Kat and Ty slowly build their friendship, while Ty and Sunny develop their own. Things get complicated when Sunny starts to distrust Kat, seeing that Kat does not seem too comfortable around the baby. Sunny senses that Kat is hiding something, and does not hesitate to let Ty know. And Kat finds her instincts tuned in to the fact that Sunny may not be telling them everything that they should know about her. When Sunny and the baby disappear one day without a trace, Kat goes on her own to track down the missing girl.

HEAT WAVE was my first book by Jill Marie Landis. It was not what I had expected, thinking I would be reading a pure romance novel. Although the main story line is that of Kat and Ty's budding romance, Kat's secret past and Sunny's life in Southern California play a big part in the novel, a story that brings two people together who may have never met except under these circumstances. I give this book 4 stars, and recommend it to those who are not true romance fans, but may enjoy a book that has a mix of several genres in one.

Rating:
Summary: Big Disappointment
Review: I am a fan of Jill Marie Landis and couldn't wait to read her new book. It starts out great and draws you right in. Kat Vargas is on a case and gets shot in the hand. Her partner Jake Montgomery insists she recuperate in his new home in Twilight Cove, Cal. Her first visitor there is Ty Chandler, who is looking for a daughter he didn't know he had. His girl friend got pregnant in Senior year of High School and left town -when Ty followed she told him she didn't want to see him again. He goes off to Alaska and lives there for the next 17 years. He learns of his daughter from his mother who found out about his child but never told him until she is dying. He hires Kat to find the child (he doesn't know the sex of the child until Kat investigates). When he finds his daughter,Sunny, she has a daughter herself -Alice (her nickname is French Fry)Sunny has some questionable friends and her dad Ty invites her to come and stay with him in Twilight Cove. The romance between Ty and Kat is unbelievable. Anyway the Sunny story is much more interesting than her dad Ty and Kat. Also her Dad's unmarried 37 year old best friend is naturally attracted to Sunny. Of course Sunny is beautiful and Dad's friend is gorgeous too. I wish it had been a better developed story. Everyone is gorgeous. Is anyone ever just average in these romances. As I mentioned above Sunny story is more interesting with her friends involved in insurance fraud - she goes back with them since her husband Dodge is living in a nursing home (brain dead from an auto accident). That is a last minute detail to excuse her involvement in the insurance fraud. Regardless of this book, I will still anticipate another romance from Jill who I know must have a better story up her sleeve than this one.

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Rating:
Summary: Jill Marie Landis's best yet
Review: I've been a fan of Jill's for years, and I was apprehensive when I heard she was writing contemporary instead of historical fiction. Lover's Lane changed my mind--great character development and excellent writing transcend genre. Heat Wave fulfills the promise of Lover's Lane. (If you haven't read them both, you should.)

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Summary: An Engrossing Romance and a Great Beach Read
Review: In HEAT WAVE, the second in a trilogy of books by Jill Marie Landis, Kat Vargas is a private investigator who for many years has focused only on her career, to the exclusion of her family and any serious love interests. She's too busy to have a long-term boyfriend and she likes it this way. When her friend and ex-partner Jake needs a housesitter for his beachside home near San Luis Obispo so he can take the family away on a long vacation, Kat is coerced into taking the job. She had just come off of a very dangerous situation, ended up in the hospital and now needed time to recuperate. She leaves her home in Long Beach, California and drives up the coast to a small beach town called Twilight Cove.

Kat isn't there very long when a neighbor comes by Jake's house to see her. Ty Chandler, one of the residents of this small resort town, has heard about her and asks if he can hire her to do a job. He has just found out that he has a daughter, born nineteen years ago to an old girlfriend from high school, but was never told about the daughter until recently, right before his mother passed away. He's angry with his mother for hiding this information from him. She had never liked his girlfriend Amy and wanted to protect him, but his mother and Amy are now both gone, and it was time to make up for the time he had lost. He's ready to find his daughter.

With only a few clues to go by, Kat and Ty work side by side, searching the Internet and making phone calls, following the trail of the missing girl. While this is strictly business for Kat, she senses that Ty is growing fond of her, but Kat does her best to tell him "no." She insists that she does not mix business with pleasure, but she also remembers what Jake has told her --- that she needs to relax and let someone new into her life. It was about time she moved on from her tragic past, a past that she hides from everyone she has met since leaving her home in Hawaii. Her career as a private investigator had come about because of what she endured on Hawaii due to a tragic accident. Only her family and friends back on the island of Kauai know of her tragic loss and the pain she kept buried inside her all these years.

Ty and Kat have enough clues to find Ty's daughter, who they discover is now living in Southern California with a number of other people her age, all of whom seem to be destitute, shady-looking and lacking any financial means to make ends meet. Upon meeting them, Sunny, Ty's daughter, looks upon both of them with distrust and lets them know that she is not interested in going back with Ty to Twilight Cove. But Ty hands over his phone number to her, hoping that she changes her mind.

Sunny does take Ty up on his offer and comes to find him in Twilight Cove. They get to know each other while she tries to make a home for herself and her baby, another surprise for Ty. While Ty is dealing with a new family, Kat is dealing with her own feelings, not sure whether she is falling in love with Ty or wanting to run away again. She's also not sure about Sunny, and decides to investigate Sunny's past to see what kind of trouble she may have gotten herself into.

HEAT WAVE was a surprise to this reviewer. It was a lot more than a romance. The story of Ty and his long-lost daughter was a great story-within-the-story, allowing the reader to get to know Ty's character much better than simply as a love interest. And Sunny's account of her life in Southern California was another interesting side-story that fit in with the rest of the book. Landis does a good job at creating characters that the reader will relate to, although this reviewer was not totally sure she liked Kat Vargas at first. As is the case with any romance, the most important feature should be the reader's ability to relate to the characters, and whether the story is believable or not. Based on that, this reviewer recommends HEAT WAVE to any person looking for an engrossing romance and a great beach read.

--- Reviewed by Marie Hashima Lofton

Rating:
Summary: A Great Romance Writer Turns to Mysteries
Review: In Long Beach, California, private investigator Kat Vargas (first appeared in LOVER'S LANE) is shot while working a domestic case. Her former partner Jake Montgomery persuades Kat to recover at his house in nearby Twilight Cove while he and his wife go on vacation.

Resident Ty Chandler visits Kat wanting to hire her as a sleuth. Ty recently returned from living in Alaska for nineteen years to spend time with his dying mother who just past away. His mom informed Ty that his high school girlfriend Amy Simmons was pregnant when he left town. A shocked Ty wants to meet his daughter, who he did not know existed. Kat reluctantly agrees to help Ty and quickly locates Sunny, who has lived a rough life. Ty has a new stunner when he learns he has a granddaughter. He also has a third strike when he falls in love with Kat, who reciprocates even while he is trying to forge a relationship with his daughter, who has obligations elsewhere.

HEAT WAVE is an intriguing romantic suspense starring two delightful lead characters and a wonderful support group. Though the budding love between Kat and Ty makes for a fine romance, the underlying focus of the plot is the relationship, often dysfunctional on her part, between Ty and Sunny. She is an engaging protagonist struggling with what is right for her daughter and her friends at the cost of her self. Though the audience will wonder about Ty's mom hiding the truth until she died, readers will appreciate this fine contemporary tale that does not furbish easy answers to complex social problems.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: intriguing romantic suspense
Review: In Long Beach, California, private investigator Kat Vargas (first appeared in LOVER'S LANE) is shot while working a domestic case. Her former partner Jake Montgomery persuades Kat to recover at his house in nearby Twilight Cove while he and his wife go on vacation.

Resident Ty Chandler visits Kat wanting to hire her as a sleuth. Ty recently returned from living in Alaska for nineteen years to spend time with his dying mother who just past away. His mom informed Ty that his high school girlfriend Amy Simmons was pregnant when he left town. A shocked Ty wants to meet his daughter, who he did not know existed. Kat reluctantly agrees to help Ty and quickly locates Sunny, who has lived a rough life. Ty has a new stunner when he learns he has a granddaughter. He also has a third strike when he falls in love with Kat, who reciprocates even while he is trying to forge a relationship with his daughter, who has obligations elsewhere.

HEAT WAVE is an intriguing romantic suspense starring two delightful lead characters and a wonderful support group. Though the budding love between Kat and Ty makes for a fine romance, the underlying focus of the plot is the relationship, often dysfunctional on her part, between Ty and Sunny. She is an engaging protagonist struggling with what is right for her daughter and her friends at the cost of her self. Though the audience will wonder about Ty's mom hiding the truth until she died, readers will appreciate this fine contemporary tale that does not furbish easy answers to complex social problems.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: A Great Romance Writer Turns to Mysteries
Review: Jill Marie is one of my favorite writers of historical romances and I'm thrilled she is writing contemporary mysteries. I loved Lover's Lane and was glad to see Kat Vargus back in another book. This is a great read and hard to put down like all of Jill Marie's books. Like the other reviewers, I liked the relationship between Ty and Sunny which is nicely done and more nuanced than most mysteries.

If you like mysteries, try her earlier historical romance Jade. I'm not sure it's still in print but it's great too!

A Reader from Asheville

Rating:
Summary: The characters come to life!
Review: Kat Vargas is a private investigator recovering from a gunshot wound, complements of another case. While recuperating, she house-sits for Jake and Carly Montgomery. The town she "relaxes" in is Twilight Cove, California, and Kat Gets bored quickly. Twilight Cove is just TOO peaceful for her. So when Ty shows up needing her help, she agrees.

Ty Chandler had not known he was a father. He only recently learned he has a daughter, a nineteen-year-old daughter, Sunny. He hires Kat to locate her. It turns out that finding Sunny is easy, however, nothing else is.

**** Author Jill Marie Landis has created a wonderful story that her fans will RUN to get their hands on. Once again the characters seem to leap off the pages and into the hearts of the readers. Recommended! ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.