I really liked this series in the beginning. Jake (Jacobia) Tiptree was not a stupid woman – is not a stupid woman. In her past, she was a very successful investment advisor, making money for her clients and herself.However, as the series goes on, she is doing more and more stupid things in the course of her amateur investigations. At least, she is not getting her best friend, Ellie, involved in some of these ill-advised capers. Ellie has a 1 year old daughter that needs her; Ellie doesn’t need to be put in danger, even if Jake puts herself in harm’s way. I still hold fond feelings for Jacobia and Ellie and even thought Jake is acting impulsively and stupidly as the series goes on. In this book, both Jake an Ellie almost die in the denouement. Ellie isn’t showing a lot common sense herself at the end, but she showing that she if a loyal and true friend. I will continue to read this series, but I am starting to have reservations. I’m not sure how much I’ll continue to like Jacobia and even Ellie, if they keep going off half-cocked in the pursuit of their investigations. At one point in the book, even Jake seems to recognize that they are reckless and impulsive.
So I started reading this book a couple of days ago, and realized that I had read it before. But since I don't really remember it, I am going to finish reading it and then post a review.I enjoyed reading this book again. I did feel a little mislead by the back cover, stating that she rents her cottage to a group of witches. They weren't really witches and I thought that could have been an interesting plot development. I did like the teen Wanda. Her character seemed a little more thought out. The others in the group were more stereotypes.I like how supportive Jake's husband is of her sleuthing and crazy behavior. At least he has decided it is useless to try and stop her. I do wonder if she has any self preservation instincts, because she does go headlong into dangerous situations. Agreeing to meet a suspected murderer late at night in a lonely location is something I definitely would not want to do. The resolution of her story with her ex, Victor, was good. I didn't like how mean he was to her.I am still enjoying this series and plan on reading more of it.
What do You think about Nail Biter (2006)?
I'm giving this two stars for the fact that Ms. Graves at least attempted to write a good read. I found the characters disjointed. It was as if the characters were formed as the plot went on - not characters formed and then the plot unfolded. The plot had many gaps too. Facts were a bit off and there was some copy/paste too. The first bell for me was feeling as though she was treating her 20 year old like a ten year old. Drugs or not - you gotta let him fly. I had to reread the paragraph that stated his age in case I had misread. This never did have a coven of witches. I did not like it at all, but maybe it was written at a bad time in Ms. Graves life and she vented in the book without paying attention. I will give another of books' a try - one can never tell with series writing. Maybe she had explored all she can with this lead character and its time to move on.
—Janet
This wasn't my favorite of this series, but it did introduce a few new plot lines, all of which are quite interesting! The Victor stuff, the hidden book stuff, Jake's past... I'm interested to see what happens in the next one.I should caveat that this book, like all of the books prior, suffers from the same things that make me a little crazy about Graves' writing. There are also plenty of parts which are just completely unbelievable, and parts which the author obviously did not do enough research on. But still... there's something about them that I like enough to keep coming back to and back to.
—Kristen
Hapless characters milling about the Maine coast flipping houses. In Nail Biter, Jake's still pulling up concrete from the front walk and is progressing to the stairs. Her dad hammers out the foundation and floods the place and Jake and Ellie rent out a WWII bungalow before they've rehabbed it. Ellie's stronger and more capable in Nail Biter, bringing a refreshing change. Love the local scene, local history and unique sleuthing of the series. --Ashland Mystery
—Ashland Mystery Oregon
