Unzipped

Chrissy McMullen, Book 1

De: Lois Greiman

Narrado por: Barbara Benjamin-Creel

Analyze this....

Chrissy McMullen has made a career leap, all the way from slinging drinks at Chicago's most notorious nightclub to dispensing psychotherapy from her sleek new practice in LA. Even if she can't quite shed her too-loud, too-curvy alter ego - or the brawling family that insists on claiming kinship. So when her most famous client, buff football star "Bomber" Bomstad, starts chasing her around her desk and getting, well...unzipped...Christina gets just a little miffed - until Bomber has the bad manners to drop dead at her feet.

Enter Jack Rivera, a no-nonsense detective with a grim attitude and a great butt, who's determined to prove this cocktail-waitress-turned-shrink was engaging in some very unethical behavior. Persuading Rivera that she's not a murderer isn't going to be easy. Plunging headfirst into a city full of people in need of some serious therapy, Chrissy will have to use all her street smarts, a good deal of sex appeal, and a little love to clear her name - and cancel an appointment with a killer.

©2005 Lois Greiman (P)2017 Lois Greiman

What a Hoot!

The characters are flawed and laugh out loud funny. Chrissie's inner monologues gave me the giggles and the storyline takes listeners to a lot of places inhabited by ordinary, unusual dispositioned, folks. Barbara Benjamin-Creel does a phenomenal job in bringing every single one of Greiman's people to life. Is it literary fiction? No. Is it a great summer or beach listen? You bet! There is a lot of alliteration, some crazy analogies, ridiculous situations, imperfect behavior and plenty of fun. "Unplugged", the next one in the series, is on my listening list.

Awesome Narration, Decent Mystery

The narration was excellent! This is the first time I've listened to an audiobook narrated by Barbara Benjamin-Creel, but it won't be the last. If I had read this book myself, I don't think the humorous moments would have registered, but Benjamin-Creel has perfect timing and really enhanced the story. Hopefully, she'll start narrating more fiction titles in the future.

The mystery was fairly interesting and I probably would have given it a three-star rating if it weren't interspersed with some icky moments that made it hard for me to find the book as entertaining as it was meant to be. Examples: nearly all of Chrissy's interactions with JD, Rivera's unrelenting and excessive hostility toward Chrissy, and especially Chrissy's prejudices, which also had me scratching my head and wondering what the author was thinking. On my last point, here's an excerpt of her thoughts on a bar (and its patrons) she visits:

"...I was hardly dressed provocatively, and yet I felt strangely exposed in the thin ivory rayon and Gucci sandals. But full body armor might have been incongruous with the Hole’s decor-early pigsty. I had only given his bar of choice a cursory glance upon arrival, but I was feeling paler by the minute and beginning to suspect the clientele hadn’t originated on some drafty northern isle, like that from which mine had tended to descend." Um OK. So, she's uncomfortable and is wishing for full body armor because the clientele isn't white? Really?

If that excerpt doesn't bother you, and you want to listen to a light, humorous mystery, then you'll probably enjoy Unzipped and you'll definitely enjoy the narration.

**I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review**

A romantic comedy meets mystery

Note: this is not a cozy mystery. There are scenes with attempted rape, cussing, and graphic sexual scenes. Just mentioning for those who are sensitive to such topics.

This book was a laugh out loud romantic comedy mystery. Christina is hilarious, and hearing her inner monologue adds a dimension which made this book very enjoyable. Christina finds herself in a bind when one of her clients dies in her office & she becomes the top suspect. That's when we meet Rivera, the head police in the investigation. There begins a game of cat and mouse going on with Chrissy & Rivera, which is sometimes funny but other times.. disturbing? Rivera is controlling and possessive and I get 50 shades of grey vibes. He seems to get off on being verbally aggressive and controlling with Christina, and I'm not a fan of that. But there are a lot of other great characters who round this book out, including Soleburg. Another touch I loved were the quotes at the beginning of each chapter. There are a lot of little touches like these which made this a great listen! I was voluntarily provided a review copy and gave my honest review

fun and mysterious!

I really enjoyed this mystery rom-com - it had me laughing out loud. The narration was perfect - excellent differentiating voices. This is the first book I've read by this author and I can't wait to read more.

An extremely fun listen!

This book was very fun listen!! The story was engaging, with lots of well written characters and a laugh out loud sense of humor