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Who, What, Where, When, Die (2000)

by Amanda M. Lee(Favorite Author)

3.68 of 5 Votes: 2

languge

English

genre

Humor

series

Avery Shaw

review 1: I do not usually do well with "humorous" books. I'm picky with my humor - stupid, screaming humor makes me crazy. I wasn't sure going into this book whether I'd be able to take it, but.... surprisingly enough, I actually LOVED IT! Loved it enough to move on immediately to the next book, since Who, What, Where, When, Die is a relatively short, quick read and my interest in the life of Avery Shaw hasn't yet been satisfied. Avery Shaw is a journalist for a smallish Ohio town paper. She is, to put it nicely, an 'individual'...meaning that she runs to the tune of her own drummer. She's very into Star Wars, video games, and her thoughts go straight from the brain out of her mouth, whether appropriate or not. She doesn't pretend to be socially or politically correct...she ... moreis proud to be Avery Shaw, as herself. Avery knows how people view her but she deals - in lieu of being true to herself. THIS is why I love Avery Shaw - everything about her is completely HONEST. Never does she pretend to be something she is not, even when she knows she'd be better off temporarily playing the game, taking on an expected role. She is real, says what she thinks - you would always know where you stand with someone that honest. I think we would do well with some 'real' Avery Shaws out there!!! Avery is being stalked. The stalker could be just about anyone as she doesn't make a lot of friends being the pushy, questioning journalist that she is. There is a good mystery in the book regarding the id of the stalker, along with a brush of romance. Avery has 2 dudes vying for her interest - a situation much like Stephanie Plum...the good reliable type and the sexy noncommitter. Looking forward to seeing how this plays out in the next book. I'm definitely Team Jake for the moment. I can see the interest in Eliott, and the ways he would be a good match, but his tendency to show up randomly everywhere is kinda spooky.The only thing I'm going to knock about the book, and it is a pittance, I admit, but - in honor of the honesty of Avery Shaw... your cover sucks. Being sort of a cover snot myself, I wouldn't even pick it up for free until the cover changed to the little cartoon blonde girl. I had seen it with the hazy face cover several times but blew it off completely. I've been holding the cartoon cover version on my kindle for nearly a year and only just happened to pick it up to read randomly, based more on the title than the cover. Offering my opinion on this only because I'd like to see more people get to know Ms Shaw in all her honest quirkiness...and darn it, the cover does matter. Especially when you have to appeal to women - we are drawn to stuff with an interesting face on it, it's just the way of the world of females.4 enthusiastic stars for the content...I'll add on the final star with a cover that lives up to what the reader will find inside!
review 2: Avery Shaw's life is anything but boring. How can it be when the mother of a naked, armed man, dancing to Eminem, dumps coffee on her cute martini-emblazoned flip-flops? It only gets better in Amanda M Lee's "Who, What, Where, When, Die," the first installment in what I hope is a long series of Avery Shaw novels. Avery is a reporter for the Macomb "Monitor." Macomb is a suburb of Detroit, and it has seen better days. The government is always broke, and rife with corruption, and many of the residents are dispirited. The naked guy with the gun? He lost his Macomb County job, and thus got drunk and went a little nuts. His estranged wife lost her job, and she's very near eviction. The naked guy's brother-in-law also lost his job, and he is fighting a huge battle with the county commission, decrying the obvious corruption and fraud taking place.Avery gets to cover each of these stories, plus her choicest of choice assignments: covering the "Star Wars Symphony" concert. Avery Shaw is possibly the biggest Star Wars geek on earth. In fact, her work wardrobe is composed primarily of Star Wars and The Goonies t-shirts. Oh, and Jaws t-shirts, for formal occasions.As much as she seems to waltz benignly through her job, Avery truly is a good reporter. Moreover, one of her stories has made somebody very angry. It starts with harassing notes, then escalates to more physical threats, even violence. Against this backdrop, Avery finds herself attracted to her ex from high school--the tall, handsome, Jake--not to mention a new guy, Eliot, a local pawnbroker. When things get too confusing, Avery does the only sensible thing: she goes home, nukes some Stouffer's Macaroni & Beef, and plays video games for hours.Amanda M Lee has created an awesome character in Avery. I love her wardrobe, as well as her home decorating scheme--each room has its own theme, an all-Disney kitchen, for example. She's smart, acerbically funny, and sarcastic to boot. She makes an excellent narrator, as well as a compelling heroine. "Who, What, Where, When, Die" isn't perfect--the ending feels a bit abrupt--but it shines as an auspicious debut to a funny, well-written mystery series. Recommended. less

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