Shot Girl

by Karen E. Olson

Book Overview

A co-worker's bachelorette party at a local club quickly turns into a crime scene. What is surprising is that the dead club manager in the parking lot happens to be the ex-husband of New Haven police... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 045122549X
• ISBN13: 9780451225498
• Release Date: November 2008
• Publisher: Signet Book
• Length: 302 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 4.2" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

Fast, fun mystery

Shot Girl is a great addition to the Annie Seymour series. I won't add another plot summary here, but rest assured that Olson is adept at taking multiple strands of story and tying them together. She leaves the reader guessing at whodunit until the very end, leading her investigators on a series of mishaps and adventures. While the plot is intriguing, the core of the book's appeal, at least for me, is its protagonist. Annie Seymour is funny, smart, daring and, somehow, realistic. In Shot Girl, Olson has added a twist by challenging the reader's trust of the narrator. In less capable hands, this could've been easily screwed up, but Olson uses the technique efffectively and ratchets up the suspense. This combined with an oddball cast of side characters--including a male stripper and a shady "priest"--makes Shot Girl a fast and satisfying read. I hope this isn't the end of this excellent series.

Annie's Final Ride is a Great One

I'm really going to miss Annie Seymour. She's a woman of (somewhat) valor, and her insatiable curiosity and penchant for falling into trouble makes her a great read. Karen E. Olson manages to tie up the series nicely by providing a terrific thrill ride, packed with a variety of her usual, unusual characters. In this book we manage to meet a male stripper, a couple of "shot girls", a somewhat mysterious youth minister, wayward kids and teachers, and most importantly, Annie's ex-husband, who's a trip all by himself. Watching Annie fall into yet another untenable situation, this book really ratchets up Annie's background and emotional history. It's completely satisfying from start to finish. I'll miss Annie greatly, but really look forward to July, 2009 and MISSING INK.

Say it ain't so,Annie, say it ain't so.

Karen Olson has done it again. She's delivered up another gripping mystery featuring Annie Seymour, New Haven Herald police reporter. This time around, Annie finds herself a suspect in the murder? of her ex-husband, Ralph, whom she has not seen in 15 years. This novel is rich with marvelous characters, not the least of which are Jack Hammer - stripper, and the Reverend Reggie Shaw, who seem somehow connected. You'll enjoy a reunion with all those whom you have met in Karen's earlier Annie Seymour novels. Karen Olson is a brilliant story-teller and in this latest novel she spins yet another intriguing plot, thus keeping one anxiously turning the pages. This novel is the last of the Annie Seymour Mysteries and I for one will miss this wonderful character. I'll probably go back and read them all again. I look forward to July, '09 when Karen will be introducing us to a new character. That's worth waiting for, huh?

Annie Seymour Goes Out With A Bang!

SHOT GIRL is Karen Olson's fourth and final Annie Seymour mystery. Olson is quite awesome, as is Annie, so it's unfortunate to see this series, set locally in New Haven, come to a close. But Annie goes out with a bang (literally!), and I enjoyed the book so much that I won't waste too much time grieving. (After all, Karen's next book, THE MISSING INK, will be out in July as part of a new adventure.) Olson is a masterful writer, and she chose to make Annie an unreliable narrator in SHOT GIRL, which leaves the reader questioning the truth of what she chooses to say. Or not say. While that can be a bit of a risk, Karen pulls it off beautifully. Without going into detail, all you really need to know is that Annie's estranged ex-husband of fifteen years turns up dead outside a club where she is attending a bachelorette party. Shell casings from a twenty-two are found near the body. And police find a twenty-two tucked under the seat in Annie's car. Thus, a suspect is born. (Oh, and did I mention there's a stripper named Jack Hammer who features prominently in the book? Seriously!) Annie, the police reporter for the fictional New Haven Herald-which is NOT the New Haven Register-loses her beat as she becomes embroiled in an investigation that ultimately reveals just what made her so cynical and jaded a character to begin with. Olson brings her trademark humor and behind-the-scenes knowledge to a story that brings the series to a close on its highest note yet. And that's saying a lot!

thought provoking journalistic investigative thriller

New Haven Herald police reporter Annie Seymour is talked into attending a bachelorette party at the Rouge Lounge where a male strip show will highlight the gala. She is stunned to find her ex-husband Ralph Seymour as the bar's manager, a con artist who tricked people out of their money when he wrote fake articles for a newspaper. When Annie hears shots, she runs outside to find Ralph looking better dead than when he was alive. Annie's friend police officer Tom takes her to headquarters because the bullets came from a gun like hers. It is confiscated by the cops as evidence once ballistic testing proves it a certainty. However, she is freed when it is determined Ralph died from a heart attack not bullets. Annie finds herself plunged in a world of drugs, prostitution and gun selling while someone has her watched closely to insure she never learns the truth; if perchance she does she will be reunited with her ex. Karen E. Olson has written a thought provoking journalistic investigative thriller in which it is hard to ascertain which side of the law some folks are on. The support cast fleshes out the plot (no pun intended) while Annie deals in a believable manner with her best friend, her ex-friend and her former spouse (both alive and dead in his case). SHOT GIRL addresses social issues inside the context of an amateur sleuth mystery. Harriet Klausner