It's All Smoke & Mirrors (First Chronicles of Shawn Donnelly)

The thing with Reese is that she loves to surprise readers.I have to admit I have read all her set of 7 motor city (still don't have the time to read the last 8th) and other books with her name on the cover.I like this one even though is one of the craziest I have ever read, and on the end I had to personally ask Reese if she really killed him or that was another game?! (If you read it you know what I am talking about) - for sure you have to be very much open minded if it comes to reading, and take all aspects as a possibility.In one word, great job Reese!

In Greek mythology Cassandra was given the gift of prophecy by Apollo and then cursed by him when he made sure that no one would believe her. Shawn Donelly must carry some of Cassandra's genetic material in her blood, with a slight twist. Shawn has inherited a sixth sense from her Irish grandmothers. The problem is that Shawn is the queen of misdirection. She usually figures out "what" is wrong, but she invariably is confused about "who" created the problem. Shawn bumbles her way through three mysteries, sometimes helped by old friends from college, but often hindered by them also. In the first she comes to suspect all of her friends when they are isolated in a mountain cabin and one of them is murdered. The second has Shawn convinced the grizzly serial killer who is terrorizing men in the city is working in the cubicle near hers. In the final story, the interactive murder theater that Shawn and her friends are performing for an audience becomes more realistic than what they rehearsed. As Shawn stumbles around trying to solve the mysteries, she will have the reader wondering, if she was your friend, would you laugh with her or have her committed to an institution?These stories are fresh and go in directions the reader will not anticipate. At times it's not certain whether a character should be liked or slapped, but they're definitely fun to read about. This book is definitely worth spending a few hours with.

It all started out simple enough, with a weekend get-a-way among old college friends. I suspected it was going to go the way a lot of mysteries do - someone finds a body, people try to figure out who did it and why. But, it really wasn't all that simple.I was reading along when suddenly the rug was pulled out from under my feet. Managing to follow along again, things got back on track. All was going well right up till....what? I think "gobsmacked" would be the correct word. Never saw that coming.Then, we get back down to the business of murder. In my mind, there is a very limited number of suspects. Which means at this point, I don't really trust anyone except Shawn. Who's a friend and who's not a friend? There are the usual stake-outs and searches along with a budding romance. And, well this is Therese Szymanski we're talking about, so of course there is good, hot sex.I reached a point where I thought the story ended, but I still had a good third of the book yet to read. Having already learned not to trust, I cautiously continued along to see what could possibly be left to happen. Yes, more does happen.It is very rare for a writer to leave a trail of clues and still surprise me. Therese did exactly that in this story - not once, not twice, but three times. I know that has never happened to me before.Since the title has the words: 'First Chronicles' I am going to assume there are more to follow. If so, all I can say is she has set the bar very high. I don't know how she can create another story that is as twisted and involved as this one. But I'm looking forward to finding out.

I should know better than to trust the reviews but once again I did and instead of getting a mystery type of drama this book is three disjointed stories filled with juvenile wisecracks and only moderately okay writing. I had hoped that this author had gotten past the writing of all the cheesy plots and would write something with a little depth but this character barely manages to skate on the surface. At least the stories aren't filled with needless smut as some of the authors previous books have been. So this one is yet another big disappointment and I ought to have learned my lesson but at least I can sell it back here to some other unsuspecting customer.

It's All Smoke and Mirrors is a highly entertaining, witty read. The debut of the Shawn Donnelly Chronicles will keep you involved through each twist and turn. One can only hope that there won't be a long wait for the next chronicle.The author's love of the English language is apparent throughout the book. There were many sentences that I re-read, just to enjoy the flow of words. Toss in Irish words spoken in a brogue and the mixture makes you laugh out loudTherese Szymanski is well known for her somewhat darker Brett Higgins Motor City series as well as her regular contributions to numerous erotica anthologies. If you haven't read any of her work before, don't miss out, you won't be disappointed.