Category: Jack Daniels

3/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, Jack Daniels, K, RATING, Read in 2017, SERIES

Review: Fuzzy Navel by J.A. Konrath

Tara

Fuzzy Navel
by J.A. Konrath

Fuzzy Navel

Copyright: 2008

Pages: 310

Read: June 10 – 11, 2017

Rating: 3/5

Source: Paperbackswap

 

 

Blurb: Things are going well for Lieutenant Jacqueline “Jack” Daniels of the Chicago Police Department. She has solved some of the city’s toughest homicides, and Alex Kork, one of the most dangerous criminals she ever arrested, is finally out of the picture. But things turn sour quickly when a group of vigilantes on a murderous spree decide to take down a cop and the people she cares about, and they get downright awful when Jack discovers Kork may not be dead after all…

Review: Ok, I’m not going to lie here … this book was not up to par in comparison to the others in the series.

This particular installment is set over the course of maybe 8 or 9 hours and it’s definitely action packed … but that’s about all that was positive about it…. It started out interesting with the Alex Kork aspect and I even enjoyed the beginning of the vigilante part of the book. But then the two storylines converged and it just didn’t work as well for me.

The only reason I read this book as quickly as I did was because it was the only book I had with me on my train ride home from Chicago. I just had a lot higher expectations for this book. I think a part of me was a little disappointed that there was no real case to solve with Jack and her partner Herb. The humor that is prevalent in all of these books was just plain stupid at times because it was so inappropriate.

This one just didn’t work much for me. It’s definitely a weak link in the rest of this series. So if you’ve never read from this series before, do not start with this one. I’m still looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Cherry Bomb, but that’s really just because there’s a cliffhanger (another pet peeve!) at the end of this one…

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, Jack Daniels, K, RATING, Read in 2013, READING CHALLENGES 2013, SERIES

2013.3 REVIEW – Bloody Mary by J.A. Konrath

Tara

Bloody Mary
by J.A. Konrath

Copyright: 2005
Pages: 338
Read: Jan. 5 – 11, 2013
Rating: 4/5
Challenge: Off the Shelf 2013, 2013 Sequel Challenge, What’s in a Name 6 Challenge
Yearly count: 3Bloody Mary
Format: Print
Source: Personal Copy

Blurb:  When Lieutenant Jacqueline “Jack” Daniels receives a report of an excess of body parts appearing at the Cook County Morgue, she hopes it’s only a miscount. It’s not. Even worse, these extra limbs seem to be accessorized with Jack’s handcuffs. Jack must put her train wreck of a personal life on hold to catch a terrifying and brilliant maniac – a maniac for whom getting caught is only the beginning…

 

Review: This is the second in the Jack Daniels series. I read the first (Whiskey Sour) back in 2011 and am wondering why I waited so long to get to this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

I have to just start by saying that Jacqueline “Jack” Daniels is one of the funniest characters I’ve enjoyed in a long time. And the trouble she always seems to find herself in – you can’t help but laugh about it.

While this book was primarily set in Chicago, IL, Jack has to make a flying trip down the state to Carbondale after a connection is made to Southern Illinois University. I still smile when I think about it – I graduated from SIU in 2007, I don’t think I’ve ever read a book where SIU was mentioned! I thought that Konrath really gave SIU a great shout-out when the school and Mortuary Science program was included in the book (and, FYI, the mortuary science program at SIU is actually a very good program).

I thought that the characters really got some good development. Jack’s partner, Herb, is going through a mid-life crisis, Jack is dealing with her stubborn mother, an ex-husband that makes an unexpected (unwanted?) appearance in her life and a boyfriend who wants her to move in with him. All this is going on while she is trying to hunt down a killer in her district. It definitely makes for some interesting dialogue at times.

If you want a good laugh, a good mystery and just an overall fun time, I highly recommend this book (and series).

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, Jack Daniels, K, RATING, Read in 2011, READING CHALLENGES 2011, SERIES

2011.39 REVIEW – Whiskey Sour by J.A. Konrath

Tara

Whiskey Sour
by J.A. Konrath

Copyright: 2004
Pages: 276
Rating: 4/5
Read: July 28 – July 30, 2011
Challenge: TwentyEleven Challenge
Yearly Count: 39
Format: Print
Source: Purchased online from Powell’s in 2010

Blurb: Lieutenant Jacqueline “Jack” Daniels is an insomniac Chicago cop with a train wreck of a personal life and a stalker bent on adding her to his murder list. Join Jack, her binge-eating partner, a sleazy PI, and two very stupid FBI agents on a wild hunt for the Gingerbread Man – a killer who makes Hannibal Lecter look like Huck Finn.

Review: I purchased this book online in 2010 from Powell’s. I went on this binge where I was gathering up some new series’ to start. I hate to admit that I let this one sit on my shelf for as long as I did. And honestly, I only read it when I did was because it is part of a large trade I have going with a fellow member of the Yahoo group MysteryBookSwap. That being said, I found this book to be hilarious. I’m already looking for the second in the series, Bloody Mary. I don’t think that there’s any other character quite like Jack Daniels in any book I’ve ever read. She’s believable, humorous, serious and likeable all at the same time. The storyline was really enjoyable, the bad guy was interesting, the supporting characters are good. I’m definitely glad that I read this book and I’m really looking forward to reading more in this serious. I would highly recommend this book.