Tapped Out: A Jenny T. Partridge Dance Mystery

by Natalie M. Roberts

Book Overview

Jenny thinks filling in as a dance instructor on the Hollywood StarMakers Tour will be easy money-until someone makes it clear that they want her to shuffle off to Buffalo. When other instructors start disappearing, Jenny, with the very attractive Detective Tate spotting her, vows that the show will go on.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425218015
• ISBN13: 9780425218013
• Release Date: October 2007
• Publisher: Berkley Books
• Length: 261 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 4.2" x 6.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 12 and higher

Customer Reviews

Tapped Out

I'm constantly amazed at how many venues there are for women to be in and finding crime at their doorstep. I've read two by this author and look forward to more. Good characters and good plots.

A laugh out loud read...

Tapped Out is the second book in the Jenny T. Partridge Dance Mystery series and a fun, fast read. Jenny is smart, funny, and her world is populated with interesting characters. If you like books that make you laugh out loud while reading, then Tapped Out is a great book to kick back with and forget your worries for a few hours.

Fun book for a chilly night

I enjoyed the first book in the Dance Mysteries, so I thought that I would give this entry a try. I found this book to be much improved, the flaws I felt were in the first book were definitely toned down here. We were spared the page after page remindings of how hungry Jenny was, although this theme still existed, just not so in your face. I can handle it in the smaller doses as a character quirk and a fact of life that as a dance teacher, she doesn't make a lot of money. The plot, while I figured out who was behind it, did lend some additional twists at the end that I did not see coming, which I felt made up for the obvious-ness of the criminal. I also liked the fact that Jenny experienced some cold feet in regards to her relationship with Tate. I also found myself laughing out loud quite a few times, which got me some strange looks from others. I would definitely recommend this book to any fan of cozy mystery of the chick-lit variety. It was an enjoyable way to pass a chilly afternoon. I look forward to tapping my way through more of Jenny's mysteries.

Jenny's back!

Jenny Partridge is back and she's up to her dancing shoes in another mystery with hunky Detective Wilson in tow. The Hollywood StarMakers Convention is in town and Jenny's old boyfriend Bill is the owner. When he asks her to work as a fill-in dance instructor for the weekend, Jenny jumps at the chance to make some extra cash. But after a threatening phone call, an explosion, and an ugly confrontation with a snowplow, there's no question someone really wants her to back out of the gig. Any normal person would do just that. But not Jenny. Hell bent on proving to Bill and his first-class bitch of girlfriend that she's no slouch - and of course broke as usual - Jenny puts her heart and soul into making the convention happen. As her own dumb luck would have it, Jenny gets snared in a multi-layered trap and can't tell the good guys from the bad guys. Who knew there was a seamy underbelly to the dance world? Through it all there's still her own dance academy to run, complete with the usual psycho moms, and James the drama queen instructor, who once again seems determined to drive her insane. And just when she thought her relationship with Tate Wilson was doomed to the waste bin of missed opportunities, the romance heats up. And Jenny is more attracted than ever to the danger. But is this a good thing? In Jenny Partridge, Roberts has created not so much a larger-than-life hero, but a true-to-life hero, who - like the rest of us - feels like she's being pulled in six different directions at once while cleaning up everyone else's messes. Jenny's wit and willfulness are endearing qualities that keep you turning the pages to see how she muddles through each and every predicament. Once you get to know her, you can't wait to see how things work out for this wacky dance detective. This second book in the Jenny T. Partridge Dance Mystery series is again the perfect crossover novel for teens. They'll be star-struck by the behind-the-curtain look at the dance world. They'll relate to Jenny's cold feet as her romance with Tate sizzles. And they'll totally get into putting together another puzzle in the Jenny T. Partridge Dance Mystery series.

Laugh Out Loud Fun

Dance - To move in a graceful and rhythmical way usually accompanied by music. Or in the world of Jenny T. Partridge it's more aptly skip, leap, and spin up, down, and sideways - err, preferable in time to someone's music. In the mad world of psycho dance mom's Jenny T. just wants to teach dance and survive until tuition day. But sometimes life just steps in, usually leaving Jenny clinging on for dear life itself. Preparing for the prestigious Hollywood Starmakers Dance Competition and Convention Jenny T. Partridge's Studio of dance is its normal twirl of musical madness, mayhem, and psycho dance moms. Having two of the competition's dance instructors skip town upon arrival in Ogden has Jenny devoting her time to a former flame to keep his show on the road. But someone has other plans, and Jenny's life could be on the line...well if phone threats are to be believed...and heeded. Throw into the mix one handsome, missing in action, hot cop boy-friend, a Mormon Missionary with a taste for danger, said former flames current and slightly unpleasant girlfriend, err okay very bitchy girl friend, and a psycho dance mom with a nasty case of revenge and a pair of sharp shears and you've got the perfect mix for a hair raising episode in the life and times of Jenny T. Partridge. Be prepared to explain yourself, because I promise you will laugh out loud, time and again, while reading Tapped Out. Then remember who you lend it to because you will want to read it again. Calista Cates Stanturf