"Fine police procedural romance"

Realtor Jolie Goodman quit her job over her new boss demanding she do an unethical act in order to make a sale. Jolie temporarily sells shoes at the Nieman Marcus in Atlanta's Lenox Mall. There she meets Beck Underwood of Underwood Broadcasting, who needs socks and shoes having just returned from Central America. The duo is attracted to one another, but nothing comes of it not just because she is working, but police Detective Salyers arrives to question Jolie about her missing boyfriend Gary Hagan, whose car was found in the Chattahoochee with a dead woman inside.

The police suspect that Jolie abetted Gary in his escape though she denies involvement. As Detective Salyers searches for Gary, he quietly warns Jolie to watch herself as he is in danger and she might be. Meanwhile she runs into Beck at an event that she crashes and soon they begin to fall in love. However, after Gary, she has doubts about her taste in men besides which she is in danger from people who believe she has something of Gary's that they want at any cost.

Though the police procedural-Gary subplot in many ways takes center stage and the conspiracy behind all this is overdone, the contemporary romance between Jolie and Beck is well written and cleverly interwoven with the case. The support cast adds depth especially those co-workers like the ultra-tall long necked professional party crasher who mentors the heroine in the arts of attending celebrity events for free. Fans will appreciate this mixing of humor and love within in a crime thriller while attending an advanced class in Party Crashing 301.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted April 22, 2004

Summary

Jolie Goodman never yearned for a life in Atlanta's fast lane. All she wants is a career in real estate, and she's willing to sell shoes in Neiman Marcus over the holidays to make ends meet. But recently, her boyfriend vanished -- with her car -- and her search for answers leads her to some very exclusive circles. Jolie hooks up with a pair of retail fashionistas who have made crashing society bashes an art form, and soon findsherself rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous ... and rubbing other body parts with one of Atlanta's most eligible bachelors! But Jolie can't shake the feeling that she's being pursued ... right into a dangerous clique where friends and enemies look the same, and flirtation is the preferred party favor. Jolie and her gal pals become the toast of the town ... until a body turns up at a sexy soiree the women have crashed. The fun and games come to a dead end when the "crashers" are fingered for the murder. The women have to pull all the tricks out of their designer bags to try to trap a stalker before Jolie, once the life of the party, becomes the death of the party.