Preview
  • Lust, Loathing and a Little Lip Gloss

  • By: Kyra Davis
  • Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
  • Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (1,668 ratings)

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Lust, Loathing and a Little Lip Gloss

By: Kyra Davis
Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
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Publisher's summary

Mystery writer and dabbling recreational sleuth Sophie Katz is head over heels in love - with a three-bedroom Victorian. She's just got to have it, despite a few drawbacks. Her slimy ex is the realtor. The rich, creepy seller wants her to join San Francisco's spirited Specter Society. And her first tour of the house reveals, well, a lifeless body clutching a cameo with a disturbing history of its own.

There's no way Sophie is going to give up the ghost on her dreams of stained glass and original woodwork, though--even when things become officially weird. A Society member is found with a slashed throat, and Sophie's house might as well be yelling, "GET...OUT!" She's hearing footsteps, lights are turning themselves off and her stuff keeps moving inexplicably. To top it off, boyfriend Anatoly thinks it's all in her head.

Sophie is 99 percent sure her problems are caused by someone six feet tall instead of six feet under, but the only way to be sure is to track down the killer - before he pushes her kicking and screaming to the other side.

Solve another case with Sophie.
©2009 Kyra Davis (P)2009 Audible, Inc.
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Editorial reviews

Mystery novelist Sophie Katz is a tart, peppery vodka gimlet of a gal, gadding about foggy San Francisco, sleuthing crimes in a chic, papery coat. Like any hard-boiled dame worth her smelling salts, however, withering Sophie guards a mushy heart. "Anatoly knew the details of me," she gushes, when her dishy Russian private eye suitor remembers her fussy coffee order to the letter. Even at 31, Sophie gets goose bumps when she's jittery and is peevish with her two-year-old nephew. She's petty and rams through small talk. She is likeably damaged.

Lust, Loathing and a Little Lip Gloss is audiobook four in the Sophie Katz mystery series, though each volume stands alone as easy, breezy escapism, so you can skip downloading sequentially. This is foremost a whodunit and author Kyra Davis plots Lip Gloss around the stagy killing of blue-blood Oscar; his creaking Victorian mansion, snapped up by Sophie; her bad egg ex-husband, and current realtor, Scott; his chilly swizzle stick girlfriend, Venus; and the quirky Specter Society, which holds séances to channel "disembodied spirits".

Gabra Zackman is the hypnotic narrator of Lip Gloss. As Sophie, she creeps a scratchy world-weariness into her inflections, hinting that the trademark Katz sass might be half-invented. Zackman instinctively connects with her characters, wiring Scott's boyish charisma to a chatty pace while attaching terse Anatoly to gnashing pauses. It's risky for an audiobook narrator to spin through nearly two dozen characters plus a plot hooked to the paranormal to claim believability. But Zackman teases out subtle voice distinctions and accents (Italian, Russian, Yiddish) until the prospect of communing with the dead seems slightly more believable than Sophie landing a fully renovated, three-bedroom house in Ashbury Heights. Prime real estate, after all, trumps ghosts. Nita Rao

What listeners say about Lust, Loathing and a Little Lip Gloss

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Sassy fun

This was an o.k. book. Had some sass. The plot had some good turns and kept me guessing right until the end. Interesting characters. Well read.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Quirky friends help this sleuth

Never a dull moment in Sophie Katz life. That is probably why she is one of my favorite sleuths OR is it the title of the books that hook me OR is it the sexy boyfriend, Anatoly? HUMMM.

In this novel she has found the home of her Dreams, a 3 bedroom Victorian. The only problem is her ex-husband is the realtor, the owner of the house is crazy, the house is haunted (which Anatoly thinks is all in her head), there are two murder victims back to back but she has a contract to buy the home of her dreams. It is up to her and her quirky friends to figure out what is going on in the house.

Love this series. Fast paced. Highly entertaining. Buy this book. I have already started the next one. The series is that good.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good book but strange narration

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narrator had a strange intonation at the end of most of her sentences when she was talking to herself. It didn't occur in the previous books. Made it hard to love this
book.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Different

Quirky, lusty, and a little weird. There was something I enjoyed about the story but I don’t think I’ll try another by this author.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Lust,Loathing and a Little Lip Gloss

I just loved it, if you enjoy Janet Evanovich books you will like this one too.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

THIS SERIES SHOULD GO ON FOREVER!

I don't care how many murders need to happen, but this series need to go on and on and on. What a great way to get away from the world: Russian Romance, Jewish Humor, and people who just like to get killed around the heroine! There is only one more book in the series after this, so savor it. The author has more to write, but the published dumped her years ago. Check the net.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Part excellent; part tedious

Maybe it is just me. I really had to keep forcing myself to chug through the first part. Then be swept away, staying awake until 2 am to listen to the middle part, absolutely rejoicing in the peripheral characters. Then back to chugging through the tailend. I felt like the story was decent, the characters great, the constant worshipping praise of the main character made it sluggish. I loved the other characters with their humanness, flaws and good points.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Pretty much like all her others

The continuing saga of Sophie and Anatolie, good for a quick escape. The series is kind of fun and good while gardening and walking the dog as you dont need to really think about it.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

an amusing listen, in keeping with the series

I've listened to all of the books in the series and enjoyed them all. They are each diverting and funny. In this one, however, the narrator tilts her voice up at the end of sentences, frequently and in some odd places, which was a bit distracting.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful Story, Wonderful Narration

Lust, Loathing, and a Little Lip Gloss is another great book in the Sophie Katz series. I loved this one just as much as the others, Sophie is back with her stellar sleuth skills and quick wit that makes you laugh out loud while reading. Many times while reading this book I got the “is that lady crazy look” for busting out laughing in public. Anatoly is sexy and sweet as ever and I was so happy with the way these two are progressing in their relationship. The paranormal side of the story keeps it very interesting and gives a twist to the type of mystery going on. Marcus is one of my favorite characters and he is back for the fun, even if it is unknowingly. You also get a better insight on Sophie and her fathers relationship before he passed away, which develops the character of Sophie even more making you love her even more. I counted down the days between Obsession, Deceit, and Really Dark Chocolate and this book and I will do the same for the next Sophie Katz mystery. The only thing I would warn about buying this book is the amount of money you spend at Starbucks, every time I read a Sophie book I have to have a frappuccino!
Gabra Zackman is one of the best narrators I've listened to. She gets the voices for the characters perfectly.

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3 people found this helpful