I too am a big fan of Ms. Lutz; however, I did not enjoy this book at all. The only reason I slogged through this book (after several attempts) was for a book club. I did not find the actual story remotely interesting. Nor did I find anything useful or insightful with regards to the writing process.

While not nearly so funny as Lutz's solo works, this book is fascinating for the insight it gives into the co-writing process, not to mention failed relationships in general. Of course, my friend thinks the whole thing is a hoax and the authors are not in fact at one another's throats. You be the judge.

I was already a huge fan of Lisa Lutz, and I thought her concept of letting an ex boyfriend from many years ago write every other chapter was genius! I found the book very funny, and was certainly in suspense until the very end. You MUST read the footnotes and the letters at the end of each chapter. If you haven't read The Spellman Files (Lisa's other hilarious series), you should pick them up. She is one of my all time favourite authors!

Interesting book concept; storyline okay; fun, if you don't mind snarky quips.

Hilarious!

Delightful book. This is a two for one romp. There is an amusing "whodunit" as the supposed central element of the book and the parallel story of two writers trying to collaborate in creating the story. At the beginning of the book, the mystery takes centre stage, but as the book progresses, the mystery tale becomes less important than the sniping between the co-authors who happen to be former romantic partners. Great fun to read.

In her first novel since the Spellman Files mysteries, Lisa Lutz teams up with her ex-boyfriend, editor-poet David Hayward. The concept - write alternating chapters without a pre-determined storyline or the ability to change what was written. The result – a fun, fast read that will leave a smile on your face. The antics of the main characters and their supporting cast are in competition for laughs with the flippant notes written back and forth between Lutz and Hayward. In this comical tale, pot growing siblings Lacey and Paul, share a house - in a small town that Lacey cannot wait to leave - but little else. When a headless body, identified as Lacey’s ex-fiancé, shows up in their yard the amateur sleuthing begins – so does the climbing body count! If you like Janet Evanovich, you will enjoy Lisa Lutz.

I love Lisa Lutz and I enjoyed this book, but not for the reasons one would think. The snarky comments between Lisa and David truly made my laugh out loud. I looked forward to the chapter endings just so I could see which direction the fight was headed. The story line was pretty but not nearly as much fun as the throwdown between chapter. That in itself should have been a book!

I’ve almost enjoyed the other Lutz books, but not quite. But I figured I’d give this last one a go and I’m glad I did. It was a hoot. It’s co-written with her ex-boyfriend, David Hayward, and in the way of ex’s, they are still bickering. Each writes a separate chapter and provides notes on it to the other person. And, a la Lutz, there are footnotes within the chapter. This is where the fun comes in—she keeps killing off characters he introduces (to simplify the plot) and he ups the vocabulary with words such as subfusc (egads! it means a dark, dull or somber colour). So as they write the book, they bicker about each others way of dealing with the plot. The mystery’s not stellar—more like an Agatha Christie where all the data is saved for the last chapter. But the back & forth is hilarious. - MAY

"While the multiple murders and other suspicious activity are the components of a typical crime novel, typical is, of course, not Lutz's MO. This collaborative effort with her ex-boyfriend, the poet Hayward, is no exception. They write alternate chapters, exposing each other's foibles as well as their shared history in notes between the chapters. The result is hilarious, despite a looming conviction that they will never write the solution to the mystery before coming to actual blows off the page. Another fun and genre-bending experience from Lutz."--Terry Gilman, Mysterious Galaxy Books, San Diego, Calif