Electric Blue

by Nancy Bush

Book Overview

Jasper "Jazz" Purcell has asked aspiring P.I. Jane Kelly to convince aging and increasingly senile Purcell matriarch Orchid to give up control of the family fortune. Unfortunately, Jane and her... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0758209088
• ISBN13: 9780758209085
• Release Date: January 2007
• Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation
• Length: 381 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.2" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

Great Fun Series

This is a really great fun read.I Loved it.As good as any Janet Evanovich, better than most.I'm looking forward to this series !!!

Enjoyed this very much!

This mystery is an easy, entertaining read that keeps you guessing until the end. It's apparent the author spent a lot of her time with Sue Grafton and Janet Evanovich novels before launching her own efforts. Jane Kelly is a definite amalgam of Kinsey Millhone and Stephanie Plum. Fortunately, I love them both and I've enjoyed sampling this author's efforts! It's a fun story, and Jane's family and lovelife woes are entertaining side dishes. I've not read her first novel, so I'll be getting that immediately. One caution: don't take the jacket cover description to heart. I've no idea what novel the person who wrote it had read! Enjoy.

Enjoyable overall

I really enjoyed this book, although I did have a bit of confusion fitting the first scene into the timeline of the story. The mystery portion of the book was well written and kept me guessing throughout the book. Unlike a previous reviewer, I appreciate the storyline with Jane's mother, brother, and his fiancée. I feel that this helps to build the character of Jane, and lets the reader get some insight into what makes her tick. If every move and conversation of the book was directly related to "who done it," there wouldn't be a lot of suspense when it came to the ending. And this background material helps to build relationships which could be important in other books in the series. I did have a bit of a problem with the description on the inside cover of the book. It mentioned events that don't occur until 250+ pages into the book, and one thing that I don't recall ever happening. I felt that this gave away too much of the plot, and would have preferred something more like what is listed on this page describing the book. Overall I thought this was an interesting read, and I look forward to finding out what comes next in the life of Jane and company.

witty clever private investigative tale

Dwayne Durbin is mentoring process server Jane Kelly on the fine art of becoming an information specialist also known as a private detective. For the most part the rookie is doing great work. He assigns her to tail a woman at a spa whose husband believes she is cheating on him. She discovers who the perpetrator is vandalizing a homeowner whose house extension is opposed by his neighbors. She is paid for these jobs, but the Purcell case, which takes up much of her time, is gratis. Jazz Purcell contacts Dwayne who dumps him on Jane because he thinks she and he and his blood kin are crazy. Jane meets Jazz's grandmother Orchid to learn if the elderly matriarch is mentally slipping perhaps into dementia or Alzheimer's. Jane is uncertain, but advices Orchid not to grant power of attorney to any or her relatives as the tyro sleuth trusts none of them to care for the interests of the geriatric and probably want her dead. When Orchid dies, Jane feels a murder occurred and is obsessed with uncovering the killer's identity though that places her and Dwayne at risk. Nancy Bush has written a witty clever private investigative tale that is filled with plenty of surprises and skeletons that see the light of day due to the stubbornness of the heroine. Jane is a hoot as she turns away from the wealthy handsome Jazz because he is not the one yet remains in denial when it comes to Dwayne who deep down may be the one. Readers will be disturbed by the dysfunctional seemingly uncaring Purcell family that in some ways could come from recent headlines. ELECTRIC BLUE is simply electrifying thanks mostly to Jane who concocts quite a cocktail. Harriet Klausner

WHAT A GREAT READ!

Finally, another mystery writer who doesn't take themselves so seriously that they all sound the same. This lighthearted crime caper is a breath of fresh air that I wish more writers would aspire to. The author Nancy Bush gets it right by not invoking the worst parts of the (groan) "chick lit" genre and yet she has enough contemporary elements in the story to make the characters seem real. It is an engrossing story about family and the secrets that can bind it together or tear it apart. Nancy Bush weaves her tale with intrigue and sly humor and her subplots keep the pace humming and the reader hanging on. Jane Kelly is the kind of everywoman that keeps readers coming back for more. Like all my favorite female p.i.'s, she's someone I wish I could meet. Too bad I've already finished ELECTRIC BLUE because now I have to wait for whatever happens next. Jennifer Delaney