Review and links at http://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2014/1...Before there was Stephanie Plum and Isabel Spellman (a review of mine), 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 defense system and her homemade personal defense system (“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 (ANN), 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.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.
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.
What do You think about What's A Girl Gotta Do? (1995)?
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.
—Tanja
I'd give this another star if Hayter didn't "name drop" so much; there's a tad too much detail as to who is who, what they do (and what they're wearing), or copious and very dry detail describing cable network news politics. It's pretty obvious Hayter used to work for CNN or possibly Ted Turner's network, and she found the experience so fascinating, she thinks we will too. And I'm sure some will. I just found it rather dry. That said, I did enjoy the parts which were not bogged down in extraneous detail, and I'll probably read more in the Robin Hudson series.
—Jenie
http://koeur.wordpress.com/2014/11/18...Publisher: Open RoadPublishing Date: November 2014 (1994)ISBN: 9781497678316 Genre: Mystery ThrillerRating: 4.2/5Publisher Description: Meet Robin Hudson. Dumped by her husband, she’s been demoted to third-string reporter at New York’s All News Network. Her downstairs neighbor thinks she’s a hooker. Louise Bryant, her finicky cat, refuses to chow down on anything but stir-fry. Now Robin’s being blackmailed by a late-night caller who knows her childhood nickname and other personal stuff, like whom she gave her virginity to. What could be worse? Being the prime suspect in the bludgeoning death of her mystery caller—that’s what. In life, he was a PI who had the skinny on everyone. Now, while Robin is undercover investigating a suspicious sperm bank, she must also find the killer and clear her name. In her downtime, she’s amusing herself with her hot new boy toy, who may not be Mr. Right but could be Mr. Close Enough. When someone else is murdered, Robin races to break the story before she makes headlines again—as the next victim. Review: This made for an entertaining and fast paced read. Robin is a hoot and is quite a bit of fun to follow through the story line. She is at once endearing, acerbic, witty, trampled, sexy, intelligent and scathing. Reading about Robin is second place to wanting to meet her. She is written that well. All the characters in her world are built with a poignant veneer or just enough to know you either loathe or like them. The mystery was easily figured out by the 35% mark but that shouldn’t be why you’re into the novel. It is like a finely woven tapestry where your eyes never focus on just one strand. Not sure that I would read the series, as even though Robin is fun to follow, maybe more might be too much.
—Koeur
