When Sam Jones wakes up handcuffed in a cellar she naturally assumes she is suffering the aftermath of a great night out. But then she realizes that she's chained to a beam in the ceiling and the cellar door is locked. As her memory returns, she recalls all too vividly being kidnapped from the car park of the film studios where her boyfriend, Hugo, is shooting a TV series.

I first met Sam Jones in Freeze My Margarita, and was instantly hooked, though I then realized that it was about the third or fourth in a series to which I'd arrived late. She's funky, without trying too hard, a punky Miss Marple, with a ton of attitude and a sharp tongue. In short, this series of books is right up my alley, and I've been waiting for ages to get some new Lauren Henderson books. I can't wait to get started on this one.

November 3rd 2001
Up to page 20.

This one started a little strangely...yeah, even strange for Lauren Henderson, which should give you a clue to just how odd it is. We meet Sam initially chained up in a dungeon with nothing but a drain to use as a toilet, a pillow and blanket, and a Tupperware box full of vegemite sandwiches (and I thought Sam was a Brit, not an Aussie...see, I told you it was odd!). Her nonchalant attitude to her predicament was interesting, and then we quickly flash back...at least I think we flash back, to a movie set on which she and actor boyfriend Hugo are working. Scene setting is occurring, but where it's going from here is anyone's guess. Already there are suspicious characters a-plenty, Lurch, and the make up lady immediately spring to mind, not to mention Hugo's simpering leading lady. So who's the corpse and who's the killer...and how come Sam's all chained up with no one to blow? I'll let you know when I find out!

November 20th 2001
Up to page 172.

It took me a couple of chapters to get into, the usual fast staccato start quickly gave way to a more rambling, confused introduction to the story in which all the major players in the story were introduced. I'll admit to mild confusion, there are sometimes too many people to keep track of, and Sarah...the spoilt starlet of the first few pages became a decent, sweet person...albeit a tad on the dumb, naive side. The point...there is one...the prelude to Sam in chains led in nicely to her being kidnapped in error. The thugs, nicknamed Urine-Breath and Thick Boy by their captive, nabbed Sam instead of Sarah, who had been receiving all kinds of death threats and such after her proclamations to  a journalist about the value of wearing fur. Dumb chick! After a miraculous escape attempt she is beaten and dumped in a park. Old lover, Hawkins, and Hugo are both by her bedside when she wakes...gotta love the interaction there, really funny scene! Between them they tell her how lucky an escape she's had, Sarah's boyfriend having been discovered horribly murdered in her flat a few nights earlier. So now we have our corpse we begin to ask the question...who dunit? Hawkins doesn't think animal rights activists are to blame for Sam's kidnap and the subsequent murder, and when Sarah's ex, gangster bad boy and loyal protector, shows up at the hospital I'd have to agree. Right now I think three things, it's either the make-up girl, who's far too together for my liking, the producer woman, who's far too strung out...or someone trying to use Sarah to get at Vince. Either way, time and reading will tell...should I mention I have two more Sam books delivered, so if you're not loving my Sam fest by now, I'm sorry...but it is going to continue! Wheeeeeee.

December 2nd 2001
The End

Well I kinda got the who dunit bit right. There were two of um, and the make up girl was the one behind the stuffed fox...did I even mention the dead fox in Sarah's dressing room? Never mind, that was a red herring. 

After returning home from hospital Sam asks her mate, Lurch (aka Kev) to see if he can infiltrate the local branch of the hunt saboteurs, in the hope that if he appears keen, and comes with good credentials, he'll be accepted into the inner circle, and be able to find out who nabbed Sam. Unfortunately all doesn't go to plan, and as Sam and Lurch close in on Urine-Breath and Thick Boy things take a disturbing turn. Urine-Breath (aka Mass) is shot...horrifically (if you want the details read the book). As the big reveal approaches Sam is taken back to the cellar she was imprisoned in, this time in the role of negotiator. Having heard that Mass was dead, Terry realised there could be only one person left to have killed him...his cousin Vince. When Sam arrives, Lurch has been taken hostage and is a bad way, and Vince is dead. The story of Vince's obsessive love for Sarah unfolds, they met during an attempted attack and he saved her. Wanting to woe her back Vince set up the kidnapping in order to come to her rescue once more. The plan almost worked, despite Mass and Terry getting the wrong girl, the only part left was to clear up the small matter of witnesses.

I found the end a little out there...but this isn't documentary time, this is Sam Jones, so that isn't exactly a bad thing. I would, however, have liked just a tad more reality...the way Mass was killed was a little too much, and Terry getting his foot blown off at the end of the showdown also seemed to tip it's hat unnecessarily in Tarantino's direction. I will say that as to date this is my least favourite of Lauren Henderson's Sam Jones books, though I can't quite put my finger on why. It might have been the violence, but I think it was more the loveiness of the TV production. Actors, directors, and producers don't make for as interesting characters as I'm used to from this writer. There were a couple of things I was gratified about though; Henderson's handling of Sam's near rape wasn't blown off, as could so easily have been done with a tough girl character. She allowed Sam to be vulnerable, and to express her feelings about the incident. I also adored the chemistry between Sam and Hugo, but I missed her having a girl friend to bitch to. In all I think this was just a little less funny, and a little less real than her earlier books. I'm hoping Pretty Boy will be different, but we'll have to wait and see...it's that Pratchett time of year again!