Red Blooded Murder

by Laura Caldwell

Book Overview

Chicago is the Windy City, and these days the winds of change are whipping Izzy McNeil's life all over the map. A high-profile job on Trial TV lands her in the hot seat. After a shocking end to her... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0778326586
• ISBN13: 9780778326588
• Release Date: June 2009
• Publisher: Mira Books
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 4.2" x 6.6"

Customer Reviews

Glad I "red" it, by Wanda B. Red

The second Izzy McNeil mystery measures up to the first. The (double) plot is complicated but well managed; though long, the book is crisply written and very enjoyable. I'm looking forward to the third installment, and hoping for more. I agree with other reviewers here that the romantic subplot (especially with Sam) grows tiresome. I also find it a bit strange that Izzy preens herself on her fidelity all the while concealing from Sam that she is sleeping with another guy and contemplating a relationship with a third. Still, I don't think Laura Caldwell was aiming for dramatic irony here -- nor in Izzy's puerile paean to passion in the book's final pages. Caldwell is great, though, (as in the first book in the series) at revealing her heroine's insecurities. Isabel is clearly a great beauty, but she can break out in a major and embarrassing attack of perspiration. Her hi jinx in the lingerie shop where she agrees to spy for the PI John Mayburn are also quite enjoyable. Once again, she barely gets away with murder.

Darn good mystery but boring romantic complications

Basically, there's a whole lot to like in these first two novels. I especially enjoyed the continued conflict with Detective Vaughn and the detective subplot with John Mayburn. However, the on and off relationship with Sam and the other two guys were a bit of a turnoff to me...just too many romantic scenes slowing down the action. Both of the first two books are good reads though, and I'm looking forward to the 3rd.

Great Series

Like the first book in the series, this was another that was impossible to put down -- I read it in a single day, which is amazing considering how long the book is. While I enjoyed it almost as much as the first, I had to go with a four-star rating because of all the Sam stuff, which got boring and repetitive halfway through the book. I understand the author wanting to keep some semblence of a relationship going for the series, but it was too much of the same thing over and over again -- Sam and Izzy can't decide where they stand, they go on a date, they rekindle old feelings, something happens that gets one of them angry or upset, they fight, lather, rinse, repeat. A few times would've been fine...but this seemed to be happening every chapter or two and it got old real fast. Looking forward to starting the third book of the series!

Smart Dialogue, Captivating Images, Realistic Settings and Sexy Characters

Readers were introduced to sassy and sophisticated Izzy McNeil in June with RED HOT LIES. Izzy has a knack for being in the middle of scandalous situations, and in RED BLOODED MURDER --- the second novel in a summer trilogy by rising star Laura Caldwell --- our redheaded, "red hot" heroine once again finds herself a suspect in a police investigation. On the verge of turning 30, the former entertainment lawyer is invited to lunch by past client and TV host Jane Augustine. Jane renews her relationship with Izzy, offering her a job on Trial TV as a reporter followed by a night on the town to celebrate. Things are looking up for Izzy, especially when young, sexy, hot Theo can't keep his eyes and hands off of her. Newly single, Izzy succumbs to the allure of temptation. The picture quickly becomes cloudy when Izzy learns of Jane's sex addictions and frequent infidelities. Jane's house is broken into, and her signature red scarf is left tied in a noose on her bed. The lens of the TV camera is blind to the skeletons that lurk in Jane's closet and the deep stain left upon her marriage to Zac. Jane is addicted to "the rush of someone new...the feeling of instant intimacy with a stranger." She explains to Izzy, "When I am with them, I get to see myself in a different way..." "There isn't just one person who can be everything to me." Bed-hopping had become intoxicating for Jane --- intoxicating enough to get her killed by one of her obsessive lovers. The silver lining in Caldwell's novels is her ability to lead the reader methodically with smart dialogue, captivating images, realistic settings and sexy characters. There is no mistaking the dominance of the color red on all three of her book covers. These images convey unbridled passion and a penchant for living life to the fullest --- a red rose, red stilettos, spilled red wine. When we learn that the opening scene is a preview of the death of Jane Augustine, we are stunned, especially when we are also alongside Izzy when she finds Jane's blood-soaked body looking like a "piece of art from the gallery." The press loves a good sex triangle, and Izzy finds herself stalked relentlessly by the media and none other than Detective Vaughn, who suspected Izzy in RED HOT LIES. Named a "person of interest," Izzy frantically searches for the killer with help from her private eye friend Mayburn, her friends and her family. As a favor, our gutsy heroine fearlessly helps Mayburn investigate ruthless criminals by posing as an employee in a lingerie store. Ladies, the perks of working retail begin with pearl thongs! The pieces of the puzzle come together to reveal the secrets between the sheets that lead Izzy to realize who the killer is. The revelation is so well written by Caldwell that I guessed who it was at the very same time and rode the roller coaster with Izzy to a climactic finality. Izzy's lovelife undergoes a revealing metamorphosis in RED BLOODED MURDER. Free and single again, she takes advantage of th

amusing anti-noir

Six months ago the embezzlement scandal left thirtyish entertainment attorney Isabel McNeil unemployed and no longer engaged to Sam Hollings. That is until Trial TV hires her and she is seeing younger hunk Theo Jameson. In other words, Izzy is moving on past that dizzy spell. That is until her friend Jane Augustine, who got her the Trial TV job, is murdered. Izzy finds her corpse and as happened with the missing $30 million, Chicago police considers her the prime suspect especially since she replaced Jane on a TV show. Izzy has learned the hard way not to trust anyone particularly pigheaded police so she investigates who would want Jane dead; unprepared to learn what she does about her late friend. The return of Izzy (See RED HOT LIES) as a prime suspect again will elate Laura Caldwell fans as the lawyer who learned the hard way not to trust cops sets out to prove her innocence by uncovering the identity of the killer. The amateur sleuth investigation into the whodunit is well written. However, what makes the tale enjoyable is Izzy's first person dialogue that turns RED BLOOD MURDER into an amusing anti-noir. Harriet Klausner