Los Angeles greeting-card artist Wollie Shelley is dating forty men in sixty days as research for a radio talk show host’s upcoming book, How to Avoid Getting Dumped All the Time. Wollie is meeting plenty of eligible bachelors but not falling in love, not until she stumbles over a dead body en route to Rio Pescado—a state-run mental hospital—and is momentarily taken hostage by a charismatic “doctor” who is on the run from the Mob. Wollie fears that her beloved brother, a paranoid schizophrenic living at Rio Pescado, is involved in the murder, so rather than go to the authorities, she decides to solve the crime on her own. As she meets up with an array of small-time crooks and swaggering mobsters only slightly more sinister than the men she’s been dating, Wollie realizes that “getting dumped” is the least of her problems. Finding true love, she discovers, sometimes means learning how to avoid getting killed . . .
Dating Dead Men: A Novel (Wollie Shelley Mystery)
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From Publishers Weekly
Even Stephanie Plum's antics will seem sedate after readers make the acquaintance of Los Angeles's own Wollie Shelley, greeting card designer and small business owner. Wollie is dating 40 men in 60 days as part of a research project for a bestselling radio personality; the $5,000 fee could help her struggling store, "Wollie's Welcome! Greetings." In particular, Wollie's worried about inspections from national headquarters, who want to ensure that her franchise is up to standard. Her already full plate gets loaded up further when her paranoid schizophrenic brother, P.B., who resides at a mental hospital called Rio Pescado, phones to tell her he's witnessed a murder. The last thing Wollie wants is to call the police, so she dashes off to Rio Pescado. On the way she finds a dead body. At the hospital she picks up a charismatic stranger, "Doc," who's on the run, and Wollie can't help getting herself mixed up in his troubles as well. Juggling dates, avoiding the bad guys on Doc's trail, trying to keep her store up to snuff and figuring out what to feed the ferret Doc left in her care have Wollie hopping at a pace reminiscent of the best 1930s screwball film comedies. Kozak has struck gold first time out with a wacky, high-octane plot and characters to match.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
Poor Wollie Shelley. She's desperately trying to make sure her card store, Wollie's Welcome, will stay in business. It figures her schizophrenic brother, P. B., would call while the store inspector was visiting and claim he's witnessed a murder. Wollie drives to the hospital where P. B. is, and sure enough, she stumbles across a dead body. She also runs into a man disguised as a doctor, who uses her to help him escape from the hospital. Only after they've eluded hospital security does "Doc" mention he's being pursued by the Mafia, although he won't say why. Wollie wants to help him, but his problems are starting to take over her life. She still has the store, and she's also participating in a dating program run by a radio personality, but it's hard for Wollie to focus on the men she's going out with when the Mafia is dogging her every move. Worse yet, she might actually be falling for Doc. Kozak's debut is a lively, funny romp for fans of lighthearted mysteries. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
I bought this book based on several reviews that compared Wollie to Stephanie Plum. While it's not a bad story, not once did I laugh out loud.
I'm waiting for Ten Big Ones for my next big laugh.
I'm waiting for Ten Big Ones for my next big laugh.
By Kel
Format:Hardcover
I was recommended this book because I have read (and loved) all of the Stephanie Plum series and supposedly this was along the same lines. Well, the positive is this book is very witty and fun. The sensitive character development, especially of Ruby and P.B., is heartwarming. Now the bad part, this book was very hard to follow. I felt like everything was going off in different directions. One reviewer nailed it, it was like reading two stories in one. There is a certain amount of flow missing in this book. I recognized the author as an actress and I like her. For a first book, not bad but hopefully she will learn from her experience and improve on her next one.
By M. Cookson
Format:Hardcover
It's almost like Kozak wanted to throw in every interesting book idea she'd ever had into one book. Wollie, the main character, has so much going on in her life that no one could really blame her for being stressed. She wants to upgrade her greeting card shop from Welcome! to Willkommen! status, which means she has to make sure that her shop in absolutely perfect for the entire duration of the extremely strict evaluation process. Wollie is also part of a research project for a book called _How to Avoid Getting Dumped All the Time_. This means that she has to date forty men in sixty days, which is tough, even when your life isn't complicated. Wollie also has to deal with a murder, the mob, and other criminals. She gets kidnapped by a charismatic and attractive man she calls Doc, which leads the mob and those other criminals into believing that both Doc and Wollie know the location of a valuable item. Then, of course, there are the interesting minor characters, my favorites being Wollie's paranoid schizophrenic brother and Doc's mute daughter.
You'd think that, somewhere along the line, Wollie would prioritize in such a way that her own life would be at the top of the list, but this isn't really the case. Wollie tries to juggle EVERYTHING, since the future status of her shop seems to be just as important to her as her life. This makes the book very complicated and hectic near the end, which is sad, since I would have enjoyed everything more if it hadn't gotten so hard to follow.
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3.8 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
As LOL funny as the Plum series
I've been waiting for another author to make me laugh out loud since I first read "One for the Money" and this is it! Read more
Published on April 1 2004 by RLH
2.0 out of 5 stars
Two books in one, and that's not a good thing
I was intrigued both by the title of this book and by the initial premise: the main character was participating in a national dating "study" in order to use the... Read more
Published on Mar 23 2004 by "anniesmommy"
5.0 out of 5 stars
And I'm only about halfway through
This book is funny and the characters are delightful. I've been reading it on the commuter ferry, and I keep disembarking with a smile. I look forward to seeing the movie. Read more
Published on Mar 19 2004
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not to my taste but a very well written humorous mystery
I will admit it. I don't particularly like humorous mysteries. I rarely find them funny and always find they lack depth. At best, they are mindless fun. Read more
Published on Mar 2 2004 by Larry Gandle
5.0 out of 5 stars
Who knew dating could be so deadly!
Wollie Shelley has to date forty men in sixty days as part of the Dating Project, a research project. She will earn $5,000 from Dr. Read more
Published on Feb 17 2004 by Dawn Dowdle
4.0 out of 5 stars
Intelligent, witty and very deadly!
I was introduced to this book when a review compared it to Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels. Like those novels, Dating Dead Men is humorous, has a naive and struggling... Read more
Published on Feb 17 2004 by Andrew J. Platt
5.0 out of 5 stars
Read slow, laugh lots.
So I'm reading this book on an airplane laughing aloud several times a page and I look up to see at least three people staring at me. Read more
Published on Feb 9 2004 by Butley
5.0 out of 5 stars
Murder, She Wrote
In 'Dating Dead Men', Harley Jane Kozak marries Murder and Romance, then gives birth to good clean fun. Read more
Published on Jan 28 2004
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Fine Debut from a Promising First-Time Novelist
Meet Wollie (short for Wollstonecraft) Shelley. She's the manager of a struggling greeting card store in a seedy part of Los Angeles. Read more
Published on Jan 24 2004 by Bookreporter.com
5.0 out of 5 stars
You go, girl!
This is a great read! And a grand-slam outta the park for first-timer Kozak!
With abundant wit, humor, and brains, Wollie Shelley takes on L.A. Read more
Published on Jan 21 2004
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