Open Season

By: Linda Howard

Narrated by: Deborah Hazlett

Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

She's hunting for a mate and there's no more playing it safe.

Daisy Minor is bored. Worse than that, she's boring. A plain, small-town librarian, she's got a wardrobe as sexy as a dictionary and hasn't been on a date in years. She's never even had a lukewarm love affair, let alone a hot one. So when she wakes up on her 34th birthday and wonders how it is that she still lives with her widowed mom and spinster aunt while her friends have all gotten married and started families, she decides it's time to get a life - and a sex life. And as far as she can tell, good girls don't attract nearly as many men as bad ones.

One makeover later, Daisy has transformed herself into a party girl extraordinaire. She's dancing the night away at clubs, and laughing and flirting with men for the first time in, well, forever. With a new lease on her own place, it's open season for manhunting.

But on her way home late one night, Daisy sees something she's not supposed to see. Suddenly the target of a killer, she's forced to put her manhunt on hold. But the very moment she stops looking might be the moment she finds what she's wanted all along.

©2001 Linda Howington (P)2001 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"A thriller... with deftness and charm." ( The Orlando Sentinel)

dog story

If you like chapters about a "fuzz butt" puppy and a woman's desire to like and swallow, this is for you. The story is supposed to be about Russian girls sold into slavery, but the importance of this is lost when so much time is devoted to the dog chewing up hero's underwear. Boring, I hated it.

loved it

One small town librarian name Daisy Minor wants a make over . She sees her time running out for a good man and some children. With the help of a gay man whose not really gay but a undercover federal agent but he get the job done. In walk the Chief of Police he see Daisy makeover and figure she after a man and he decides that he is going to be the one. There're all kinds of hilarious incidents especially when she buy condoms at the neighborhood drugstore, he sits beside her in church, meets the family the chief do so many things. One night Daisy goes dancing by herself and see something she thinks it's guys helping one guy that's too drunk but they're really killing him. A few days later she see a picture of the man in the paper and tells the Chief and later on he gets a call about a plate number on a car its park illegally the Chief knows this is a lie! Get the book its has drama, action, love. You get to see both side of a town the nice hilarious honest people than there's the Dark side murders ,rapists, white slavery ring sell very young women and girls to the highest bidder for torturing doing anything they want and laughing about when they kill them they just throw the body in a field or river like a piece of garbage and this is from the rich and powerful evil people!

Laugh out loud, enjoyable story.

I don ‘t agree with the bad reviews. I laughed out load when reading the “Condum Story”. I enjoyed the characters and was sad there was not a follow up story based on the mayors wife and one of the bad guys.

Amazing storyline, writing and performance

Linda Howard writes strong, sexy protagonists. Her plots draw you in and are unforgettable. She can have you chewing your nails one moment, laughing out loud the next. Oh, and the puppy, Midas Aka Fuzzbutt was adorable. Loved Jack snd Daisy! Open Season is full of charm and twists and turns.

Deborah Hazlett did Open Season proud. Her accent put me right smack in small town Arkansas. I particularly loved, the bad thing about small towns is everybody knows your business. The good thing about small towns is everybody knows your business.

Highly recommend!

Just OK

What did you love best about Open Season?

I liked the relationship and banter between Daisy and the cop.

Any additional comments?

I liked the book but thought that it was kind of an anticlimactic ending. I found it interesting how she put a little bit in there about the Mayor's wife at the end.

great performance! story line predictable

Any additional comments?

It was a cute story, but predictable. The narrator did a great job with the voices and accent.

Great book - open season

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this fun story. It was well narrated and had a little mild sex spice added in. All in all an enjoyable listen. :)

Good fun with Jack, Daisy, & Midas the puppy

Despite one major quibble (noted last) this is one of Howard's best, IMO. Heartwarming, sexy, and mildly suspenseful. A total beach read. Best of all -- it's funny!! Plus, this unabridged version provides a solid gold narration by Deborah Hazlett. I wish she would narrate more books. Easy on the ears, good vocal modulation, perfect pacing, and she makes the voices distinct enough to differentiate between the characters.

I have read this book in the past, and now I've listened to it. No matter how many times I "read" it, I always laugh. Daisy and Jack are such a kick! Adorable scenes with Jack, Daisy, and her Golden Retriever puppy, Midas. I believe I'm in love -- with both Jack and Midas!

Jack Russo, a former SWAT cop from NYC, is the chief of police in Hillsboro, a small town in northern Alabama (the author's home state). Daisy Minor is a naive, prim, and frumpy librarian. At age 34, she decides it's time to live a little, so it's OPEN SEASON and the manhunt is on, for Daisy's clock is ticking. She gets a total makeover with her friend Todd's help (but unbeknownst to Daisy, Todd has an ulterior motive for dolling her up).

Daisy is a trip. The scene when she was buying condoms!! I loved watching her come into her own in the small busy-body Southern town. I loved her puppy, too, and even enjoyed the scenes with her family.

Then there's Jack. Shrewd, experienced, but totally decent to the core. I loved his bemused and delighted interactions with Daisy. Lots of laughs between those two! He's also protective, putting his sniper and snooper skills to good use. And, as with all Howard's heroes, Jack gets a strong case of the hots for Daisy (a few explicit sex scenes).

The mystery itself was only moderately intriguing. Not terribly inspired, and everything fell into Jack's capable hands towards the end. The crime (sex trafficking of young girls and date-rape drugs) is a downer topic for me. The backstory of a certain abused and alcoholic wife was depressing. I did like finding out where/ how the boss villain was shot. :)

Major Quibble: I didn't care for the ending at all, when one of the villains knocks on a certain door. What in tarnation was that all about?? What was Howard thinking? No way. Just wrong.

Great Performance with a great book.

Narrator was wonderful! Daisy was a funny character. Drew me in quickly. Easy listening story.

Good but predictable

What made the experience of listening to Open Season the most enjoyable?

The main character Daisy is very likeable.

Would you be willing to try another book from Linda Howard? Why or why not?

Yes, her books are well written, they hold your interest

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, I was able to break it up with no problem