This has not been a good month for my reading list. In my last post, I mentioned that I tried reading Jennifer Weiner’s Good Night Nobody, but that I couldn’t get through it because I found it to be boring. I did give that book a good try, but I couldn’t stick with it for more than a chapter or two at a time. So whenever I put that book down, I’d pick up this one in hopes it would be more interesting. And so I went back and forth between them for three weeks.

Now, I’ve read book reviews about this one, including one from a friend of mine, and most of the reviews said that this was a book that was on par with the first couple of Kinsella’s books from the Shopaholic series. In other words, high praise because those were fun books that I gobbled up quickly.

However, I don’t agree that this novel is a return to Kinsella’s best writing. I didn’t get very far into it because I just couldn’t get interested in it enough. I didn’t like the main character (Samantha), and I couldn’t identify with what a total workaholic she is. The book opens with her at the spa, where she’s going to have an hour or two of total pampering. But she can’t let herself relax. She even brings her cell phone with her on the massage table, hiding it under her towel, just so she can check to make sure work hasn’t called. She thrives on work and being busy and exceling at her job. But you know… I just didn’t find it believable. She seemed neurotic and stupid to me. I suppose she is supposed to be, but I think it was overkill here.

I may not have given Samantha enough of a chance, and I probably didn’t give this novel enough effort, as I only got a few chapters in, but I don’t feel bad that I didn’t finish it. I just wasn’t interested, and the writing didn’t hook me early enough to keep me going.

I think maybe it’s time to steer myself away from the chicklit for a while and read some mysteries, thrillers, or even some classics. Eventually, I’ll feel the urge to read some light, fun girl power stories, and maybe then I’ll return to this one and give it another go. Maybe.

Since I’ve read all of Jennifer Weiner’s other books, and most of them very quickly and with satisfaction, I thought this would be another quick, fun read.

I couldn’t finish it. I could barely get into the story. I just found it boring. Maybe I picked it up at the wrong time, but I gave it a good try for well over 3 weeks. I’d pick it up, read a chapter or two, and get distracted by something else.

The story sounds interesting enough: a suburban housewife (Kitty) is brutally murdered in her kitchen. The protagonist, Kate, finds her and all of a sudden her life revolves around finding the killer.

Jennifer Weiner crossed chick lit with mystery here, but I just found it boring. What I like about mysteries is that there is suspense and the story clips along at a good pace. This novel was slow. Too slow.

So I gave up. I’m going to return it to the library so the next person on the hold list can slug through it. Maybe I’ll pick it up again sometime in the future and give it another chance. After all, I did like Weiner’s other novels. But for now, I’m okay with abandoning it.