"Entertaining sequel to THE GIVENCHY CODE."
The Manolo Matrix
By: Julie Kenner
Genres: Contemporary Chick Lit
Posted: January 9, 2006
Melanie Prescott, Jenn's best friend and former roommate, shows up in her apartment fresh from an NSA job in D.C. Over appletinis, she relays a freaky encounter with a game called Play.Survive.Win. (PSW). In PSW, there are three main players, none who choose to be participants. The target, assassin and protector all have their separate parts in the game, but the cash prize involved if all of the clues are solved (by the target) is substantial.
After a platinum blonde with an intricate bird tattoo buys her favorite pair of Manolo Blahniks out from under her and infects her with a time-release toxin, Jenn is primed to become a part of the game herself, or die trying. As a newly-minted protector, the target (and her protectee) is the stunning but depressed Devlin Brady, an ex-FBI agent with some serious baggage. With a next-day deadline of 10 a.m. and some seriously difficult clues to solve, it's not certain that Jenn and Devlin will make it out alive.
THE MANOLO MATRIX, the follow-up to THE GIVENCHY CODE, is an entertaining and enjoyable story that readers with a taste for chick lit and mystery/suspense will truly enjoy. I found the plot a bit far-fetched and some of the clues difficult to follow, but overall I was impressed with the creative answers. The writing is solid and I appreciated the author's ability to move the story along.
Book Summary
Julie Kenner reloads for her second novel of high-heeled thrills as another woman gets pulled into a mysterious world of extreme gaming where she must play or die.
Aspiring actress Jennifer Crane knows all about games -- the games girls play to get a guy; the games actresses play to land a part; and the good old game of credit-card roulette. (How else is a girl supposed to afford her shoes?) But she never expected to be playing a game with life-or-death consequences. Unable to successfully score an acting gig, she has, instead, been cast in the role of reluctant bodyguard to a real-life assassin's target -- a dashing FBI agent of all people! -- and must embark with him upon a scavenger hunt across Manhattan in search of the ultimate prize: survival. Before this, Jenn's definition of fighting dirty has been elbowing her way to the front of the line at a Manolo sample sale. Now, if she wants to stay alive, she's going to have to learn a few new uses for her stilettos. . . and they ain't pretty.
Fast, flirty, and full of great footwear, THE MANOLO MATRIX is another electrifying adventure in this breakout series for fashionistas who love a perfectly appointed mystery.
by: Julie Kenner
Downstream Publishing
February 1, 2006
Featuring: Jennifer Crane; Devlin Brady
352 pages
ISBN: 0743496140
Trade Size