82 Desire

Rating:
Summary: Light and fluffy...
Review: After reading several heavy duty histories, I needed something light, fast and entertaining and Julie Smith's 82 Desire fit the bill. This was my first Skip Langdon mystery, and I was very charmed with this book. Yes, there are much better mysteries, but I love New Orleans and it was fun to read a story set in this unique city. The characters could have been developed a little better, but perhaps they are in earlier books from this series. I especially liked the Baroness Pontalba. This will definitely not be my last Julie Smith.

Rating:
Summary: Light and fluffy...
Review: After reading several heavy duty histories, I needed something light, fast and entertaining and Julie Smith's 82 Desire fit the bill. This was my first Skip Langdon mystery, and I was very charmed with this book. Yes, there are much better mysteries, but I love New Orleans and it was fun to read a story set in this unique city. The characters could have been developed a little better, but perhaps they are in earlier books from this series. I especially liked the Baroness Pontalba. This will definitely not be my last Julie Smith.

Rating:
Summary: Skip this Skip Langdon Novel
Review: Although I am a fan of Smith's work, I found this one to be a bit contrived and convoluted. There were too many sub-plots that demanded more attention than Smith could give in a light mystery novel. The character of the baroness is exciting, though and as always, New Orleans is romantic and seedy all at the same time. Read the earlier books in the Langdon series to get a better example of Smith's work.

Rating:
Summary: Julie Smith needs to learn how to write
Review: I happened upon this novel, and I use the word very loosely, because as a writer myself I am always reading into different genres and authors. This novel is just bad. I have not read any other of Mrs Smith's novels, so I won't make a blanket analysis of her work in general, but this particular book leaves a lot to be desired. Characterization is dismal, trite and a little pompous. Some of the stereotypes were so blatent I wondered if the author was or was not racially biased. I gave her the benefit of the doubt, but it is impossible to ignore the constant and unrelenting dialogue that panders to the lowest common denominator. I struggled through this book, and to be fair, it did get better near the end. I would not recommend it however, and hope that this novel is not a baseline for Julie Smith's work.

Rating:
Summary: Skip this Skip Langdon Novel
Review: I have read all of Julie Smith's novels and will continue to do so because of the atmoshpere of New Orleans that they exude. But this offering in the series is weak. Smith shifts from one point of view to another but accomplishes nothing that could not be accomplished by a more straightforward narrative technique. Let's hope the next in the series will be a better read.

Rating:
Summary: not among her best
Review: I have read all of Julie Smith's novels and will continue to do so because of the atmoshpere of New Orleans that they exude. But this offering in the series is weak. Smith shifts from one point of view to another but accomplishes nothing that could not be accomplished by a more straightforward narrative technique. Let's hope the next in the series will be a better read.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome!
Review: I read "Louisiana Hotshot" before I read "82 Desire" and I was pleasantly surprised to find the exotic poet/detective, Talba Wallis, introduced in this book. I can't agree with the other reviewers that this was not her best. I thought it was just as fast-paced, thought-provoking and intriguing as all of the other books in the Skip Langdon series. Like the other books, it kept me guessing until the end. If you love New Orleans and you love quirky, unique characters, then you'll ADORE this book. I promise you, you won't be disappointed!!!

Rating:
Summary: Awesome!
Review: I read "Louisiana Hotshot" before I read "82 Desire" and I was pleasantly surprised to find the exotic poet/detective, Talba Wallis, introduced in this book. I can't agree with the other reviewers that this was not her best. I thought it was just as fast-paced, thought-provoking and intriguing as all of the other books in the Skip Langdon series. Like the other books, it kept me guessing until the end. If you love New Orleans and you love quirky, unique characters, then you'll ADORE this book. I promise you, you won't be disappointed!!!

Rating:
Summary: Awesome!
Review: I read "Louisiana Hotshot" before I read "82 Desire" and I was pleasantly surprised to find the exotic poet/detective, Talba Wallis, introduced in this book. I can't agree with the other reviewers that this was not her best. I thought it was just as fast-paced, thought-provoking and intriguing as all of the other books in the Skip Langdon series. Like the other books, it kept me guessing until the end. If you love New Orleans and you love quirky, unique characters, then you'll ADORE this book. I promise you, you won't be disappointed!!!

Rating:
Summary: Julie Smith needs to learn how to write
Review: In this installment in the series, there is a lot less Skip and a lot more other characters. Perhaps if Langdon dumped her somewhat uninteresting boyfriend or Smith tried to develop the two of them more, it would work better but the personal relationships were ho-hum in this one. The mystery shared some similarities to the type of material Sara Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski usually handles; i.e. corporate crime. After Errol Jacomine as a villain, these criminals seemed more vanilla than villain. I liked the character of the Baroness and her subplot because I always enjoy the odd tidbits of New Orleans lore that Smith includes, but there were several other avenues that Smith started to go down characterwise that petered out. Write 5 books that the reader can sink her teeth into rather than 1 book that just lets her taste. I hope the next one is an improvement because I don't want to give up on Skip and Smith yet.