Mr. Perfect
by Linda Howard~ Goodreads ~
Rating: 1.5 Stars
See Also: First Impression for Mr. Perfect
Jaine Bright and three close friends share dinner one night and during casual conversation, create a list of qualifications for the perfect man--some logical, some hilariously funny, some racy. Within days, their tongue-in-cheek wish list of attributes for Mr. Perfect has been leaked to the press and the resultant publicity is overwhelming. Coworkers, TV crews, and reporters barrage the quartet with comments and criticism.
As if Jaine doesn't have enough to cope with, she has a new neighbor who she suspects is a criminal. She's relieved to learn that her neighbor is really an undercover cop, but she's still wary--because smart, sexy Sam Donovan handles her sharp witticisms with easy humor, and Jaine suspects that he may threaten her heart. What Jaine doesn't know is that she's about to need Sam desperately for something other than romance because her circle of friends is in big trouble. Unfortunately, that list of qualifications for Mr. Perfect has touched off a madman's rage. All of their lives are threatened and some of them are going to die, maybe all of them, if Sam can't stop the unknown killer.
As if Jaine doesn't have enough to cope with, she has a new neighbor who she suspects is a criminal. She's relieved to learn that her neighbor is really an undercover cop, but she's still wary--because smart, sexy Sam Donovan handles her sharp witticisms with easy humor, and Jaine suspects that he may threaten her heart. What Jaine doesn't know is that she's about to need Sam desperately for something other than romance because her circle of friends is in big trouble. Unfortunately, that list of qualifications for Mr. Perfect has touched off a madman's rage. All of their lives are threatened and some of them are going to die, maybe all of them, if Sam can't stop the unknown killer.
I'm so disappointed with this book that it's not even funny.
Apparently, having an interesting premise and decent writing doesn't really do a lot of good if the story felt like a random chain of deus ex machina scenes and instances. I'm not even so sure that much of the story telling was planned outside of the basic outline. It also didn't help that, while I was expecting to read a chilling crime thriller, the book read like a contemporary romance--the entire first half of the book was dedicated to "The List" and a lot of insignificant details of the four women and their social and love lives. By the time the first murder occurred (in fact, several chapters before the first murder occurred), I was already starting to get bored.
It didn't help that what was presented to us as sarcasm and wit just rolled off of me like a tacky joke that no one understood but the person telling it.
The characters aren't the best in the world, and as far as fictional characters go, they're not the most likable either.
Aside from that, I felt like the whole ordeal of "The List" getting all the media coverage that it did was a bit too outrageous to be believable. Before anyone even started dying, I'd already pinpointed who the culprit would be and so it didn't surprise me one bit when we finally get our confirmation. Also, the investigation of the entire case was laughable; it was hard to believe that so many possible leads could have been overlooked before the second victim was killed.
I'm not certain I understand why this book has made so many top ten lists; maybe it's just me. Maybe I just didn't know how to enjoy it properly. But, certainly, there's no doubt that the writing was so dumbed down that I felt a little insulted--the tone was flippant with comic attempts, but the word usage and the style felt like it was written for children. I don't care that there were multiple sex scenes in here (which were fairly vanilla at best), but the writing didn't feel like it was adult level.
Anyway, this is my first Linda Howard novel and I've seen her praised in many places. So either I chose a bad one to start... or something. But I'm going to give another book by her a chance before I move on.
There is one thing for certain: This book really DOES put into perspective the differences and the advancements in technology we've seen in the past fourteen years. Thinking back to the year 2000, I'm reminded of bulky cell phones and Caller ID boxes, no data plans and few households that even had cable internet or Wifi. The fact that none of the girls in this book had cell phones surprised me for a bit until I realized what year this book was actually written.
Fourteen years ago, I was still in high school carrying a large Nokia without texting capabilities or even voicemail. The wonders of technology...
This review was originally posted at Ani's Book Abyss / BookLikes in May 2014.
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