Jinx Schwartz

Book 1 in light mystery series. A fun read about loud, abrasive Hetta Cofffey, a self-employed civil engineer with a swath of failed multi-national affairs in her jet stream.Plying the San Francisco waterfront, trolling for triceps, her attention is snagged by a parade of passing yachts-especially their male skippers-and experiences a champagne-induced epiphany. If she had a boat, she could get a man.Inspite of a spectacular ignorance of all things nautical, Hetta buys her dream boat, but a shadowy stalker, an inconvenient body, and Hetta?s own self-destructive foibles imperil her goal. Hetta Coffey brings a whole new meaning to the phrase ?sink or swim?.… (més)

Hetta and company are back with a new mystery that involves the kidnapping of Hetta's young cousins and their new friend. Hetta calls on Jenks and Nacho to help find the children. When they find who is involved, Nacho tells her the new friend's dad is not a good man. Her parents are going through a nasty divorce. Will they find the children? Will they be okay?

I enjoy Hetta and her friends. I like that she does not hesitate to get involved in looking for the children. She also knows who to call for help. Her cousin Blue, who she grew up with, is also with Hetta during this time and is learning what Hetta does. Blue also plans to buy a boat so she can sail along with Hetta and Jenks.

This book is like coming back to old friends. For me, it's a comfort read. I like that.… (més)

1.5* really...
Some big factual errors and the ditzy main character combined to make this a book a struggle to finish. The author didn't seem to do any background research at all; below are a few examples:

More than once in the book comments were made about the whales in the eastern Pacific heading north while it was November! The whales travel SOUTH from the Artic to winter in the Baja area. Since whales play a crucial role in the plot, this is a whopper of a mistake.

Another puzzling error was the comment that the hurricane turned left to head straight for the coast. Hurricanes & tropical storms move north (from the warm tropical waters) so the Baja coast would be to the right and the open ocean would be to the left. Maybe the author is from the eastern U.S. (where the coast would be on the storm's left) but then why set her book in California or not do her background research?

I might have been willing to overlook these sort of errors if the story had been a good one but it was only OK. I might have given the story 2.5* if there hadn't been these gross mistakes. The so-so plot combined with the lack of understanding of the eastern Pacific made this into a loser for me.… (més)