Laurel Dewey's Detective Jane Perry is quickly becoming one of the most distinctive, dynamic, and unforgettable characters in suspense fiction toda...
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reviews
Oct 24, 2011
Mickey
rated it: 
I was asked to participate in a blog tour for this novel, and this is my first taste of Laurel Dewey's work. It happens to be in the middle of the Jane Perry series, but that didn't stop me from enjoying this chapter of her story. And in it we find the brutal death of sixty-ish woman who thrived on others' misfortunes. She swindled some people from their money, and it caused someone to get so angry that he/she murdered her. In comes Jane to investigate the murder and bring justice.
I' More...
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Oct 19, 2011
Natella
rated it:
Dewey's story is based around a detective trying to find out who killed a woman, and each of the suspects seems to have a motive. Dewey does a great job of setting the scene, her descriptions of place and person are rich and tangible. It's a great quick read as you can immerse yourself for just an hour or two and see the mystery unfold, it reminded me greatly of watching a detective TV show.
There are a few abrasive and uncomfortable views in this story, mainly those of women and vict More...
There are a few abrasive and uncomfortable views in this story, mainly those of women and vict More...
Sep 30, 2011
Lis
rated it: 
Jane Perry is a Denver homicide detective, a recovering alcoholic with a painful marriage in her past. When she's called to the scene of a murder early on a Monday morning, it's just part of the job, and in keeping with her low expectations of the human race.
The victim is an attractive woman in her sixties. She was drugged and hogtied, and "Karma is a bitch" is written on her naked back in lipstick. The lipstick tube has been left near the body, and a chair is pulled up by More...
The victim is an attractive woman in her sixties. She was drugged and hogtied, and "Karma is a bitch" is written on her naked back in lipstick. The lipstick tube has been left near the body, and a chair is pulled up by More...
Sep 04, 2011
Viviane
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Detective Jane Perry is a no-nonsense, gritty investigator who believes a loaded gun is what keeps you both flexible and safe. However, the victim she is about to witness will make her come close to losing her latest meal. Carolyn Handel is a 62 year-old woman found with the word "karma is a b--ch" across her back and her mouth stuffed with a strip of paper in her mouth with the words "Promissory Note" on it, along with a chair clearly placed to be facing the unfortunate but
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Aug 27, 2011
Laura
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Promissory Payback is a short crime story following Detective Jane Perry's investigation into the murder of the much-hated Carolyn Handel. It is difficult to find someone who wouldn't want to kill the self-obsessed money-grabbing sixty year old who made her living out of other people's suffering. Though absent from the action, Carolyn Handel still twists and manipulates emotions from beyond the grave.
“Evil requires the sanction of the victim” is Jane Perry's motto. In her life victims More...
“Evil requires the sanction of the victim” is Jane Perry's motto. In her life victims More...
Aug 08, 2011
Cheryl
rated it:
PROMISSORY PAYBACK by Laurel Dewey
Published by The Story Plant
ISBN-10: 1611880076
ISBN-13: 978-1611880076
At the request of The Story Plant, a PDF EBook Edition of a double novelette, Promissory Payback and Unrevealed were provided, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.
Synopsis (from publisher): In PROMISSORY PAYBACK Jane is called in to investigate the gruesome murder of a woman who profited greatly from the misfortunes of others. The case leaves Jane with li More...
Published by The Story Plant
ISBN-10: 1611880076
ISBN-13: 978-1611880076
At the request of The Story Plant, a PDF EBook Edition of a double novelette, Promissory Payback and Unrevealed were provided, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.
Synopsis (from publisher): In PROMISSORY PAYBACK Jane is called in to investigate the gruesome murder of a woman who profited greatly from the misfortunes of others. The case leaves Jane with li More...
Oct 14, 2011
Katy
rated it: 
This novella/novelette is in the Detective Jane Perry series of novels. It is the first one I’ve read, so it is likely that I didn’t catch everything that a long-time reader of the series might have; however, the story is written in such a way that it can be read and stand by itself.
Perry is called to a murder case – the woman is hog-tied on her own bed, no sign of forced entry or struggle, and has been suffocated with duct tape over her nose and mouth. She was discovered by her long More...
Perry is called to a murder case – the woman is hog-tied on her own bed, no sign of forced entry or struggle, and has been suffocated with duct tape over her nose and mouth. She was discovered by her long More...
Dec 09, 2011
Ann
rated it: 
This was my first “Jane Perry” detective novel. I received a courtesy copy from the publisher to review. While the concept of Promissory Payback is classic detective fiction and the storyline is clever, the book’s many issues with character development keep it from a higher rating. Specifically, the actions and behaviors of many of the characters are inconsistent with the descriptions of their personalities and the dialogue is sometimes forced and unrealistic. I found myself rolling my eyes seve
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Aug 21, 2011
Rhonda
rated it:
This is a short direct to the point case for
Detective Jane Perry, is called out on a murder case.
Caroyln Handle age 62 is found tied up and dead on her bed by lifetime friend Laura Abernathy. Turns out she was stealing money 50,000 for people to invest in condos in Mexico that did not exist.
Jane interviews Laura and learns about her robbing investers of their money and how their is 3 investers who lost money.
Jane interviews relative that was in LA at time of murder More...
Detective Jane Perry, is called out on a murder case.
Caroyln Handle age 62 is found tied up and dead on her bed by lifetime friend Laura Abernathy. Turns out she was stealing money 50,000 for people to invest in condos in Mexico that did not exist.
Jane interviews Laura and learns about her robbing investers of their money and how their is 3 investers who lost money.
Jane interviews relative that was in LA at time of murder More...
Oct 29, 2011
Krystal
rated it:
This short detective storyrelates the mysterious killing of an unsympathetic victim, Carolyn Handel. Through dialogue, the reader learns about theself-centered victim’s personality and illegal financial dealings. The suspects are down on their luck - orchampions of charity. When the swearing,smoking, observant, on-the-wagon, detective, Jane Perry solves the crime, thereader will not be surprised at the wrap up.
This crime novelette issatisfyingly short. It harks back to t More...
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Oct 16, 2011
Tammy
rated it:
****I was given a copy of this book for my honest review****
Just like my previous review this is another amazing book about Jane Perry. I never figured for the person who did the murder. Never in my wildest thoughts did I come up with the person who did it.
This is just another example of a great writer bringing us mystery/thriller books. The fact that this books is a whole lot shorter than Unrevealed you would never of guessed. You would think it was a book o More...
Just like my previous review this is another amazing book about Jane Perry. I never figured for the person who did the murder. Never in my wildest thoughts did I come up with the person who did it.
This is just another example of a great writer bringing us mystery/thriller books. The fact that this books is a whole lot shorter than Unrevealed you would never of guessed. You would think it was a book o More...
Dec 08, 2011
Vicki
rated it:
I was first attracted to this book because I'd never read anything by author Laurel Dewey. I also liked that it was a mystery/suspense, and it only has 80 pages. I know most readers like books with around 300, but I like shorter books and short stories a lot. I loved this book and I plan on reading the other books in the Jane Perry series as soon as I can.
Promissory Payback is a who dunnit that kept me guessing until the end. All the suspects had motive and could have been guilty, but More...
Promissory Payback is a who dunnit that kept me guessing until the end. All the suspects had motive and could have been guilty, but More...
Sep 12, 2011
Joyce
rated it: 
This book was a free book, and short (about 10 chapters) and thankfully, I did not spend money on it! It is a story about a female cop who is investigating the murder of a woman who is found dead with her mouth stuffed with torn up Promissory Notes and taped shut. The gist of the story is of the cop interviewing the possible suspects, with little to no personalization of the main character of the book. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to muster any interest in the storyline because none of the ch
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Sep 21, 2011
Janny
rated it:
Promissory Payback is actually one of the shortest novels I've ever read. But that's nice, especially after reading The Lonely Polygamist and The Help. Just perfect for a rainy afternoon.
It's a short crime story about detective Jane Perry. She's investigating the murder of Carolyn Handel, a woman so much hated that almost everyone that knows her could have killed her. Perry finds out that Handel is stealing money from people that trusted her and thought they were investing in real esta More...
It's a short crime story about detective Jane Perry. She's investigating the murder of Carolyn Handel, a woman so much hated that almost everyone that knows her could have killed her. Perry finds out that Handel is stealing money from people that trusted her and thought they were investing in real esta More...
Jan 01, 2012
Dana
rated it:
Promissory Payback stars the intrepid detective, Jane Perry. I felt like this was a sort of Encyclopedia Brown for adults. (I may be dating myself here but if you missed Encyclopedia Brown as a child, you did miss out.) The clues are obvious and there is little emotional investment required of the reader but the writing is good, the case is interesting and the characters are likable. It's an easy read, there's lots of good irony and sarcasm and it's worth the half hour (OK maybe an hour) it take
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Nov 02, 2011
Mary
rated it:
My Opinion:
I really enjoyed both of these books,based on the same main character Jane Perry. In Promissory Payback,Jane is on the case of a woman named Carolyn who has been scamming and misleading several people for her own gain. It’s up to Jane to find out who killed Carolyn and it seems that all the people that Jane meets could easily be a suspect. This is the first book in this series that I have read and I really enjoyed the way I could identify with Jane being a strong and outspok More...
I really enjoyed both of these books,based on the same main character Jane Perry. In Promissory Payback,Jane is on the case of a woman named Carolyn who has been scamming and misleading several people for her own gain. It’s up to Jane to find out who killed Carolyn and it seems that all the people that Jane meets could easily be a suspect. This is the first book in this series that I have read and I really enjoyed the way I could identify with Jane being a strong and outspok More...
Nov 15, 2011
Kristi (Books and Needlepoint)
rated it:
At 80 and 96 pages, I read both the novelette and the collection of stories in one sitting. It was a great way to become immersed in the life of Jane Perry and make me hungry to read the series about her. Though Jane comes across as a tough as nails police detective, I believe that she has a softer side that allows her, through her "observations" to see more than other people. I probably saw this most in the short story - You Can't Judge a Book By It's Cover. This is a good adage for
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Oct 29, 2011
Alan
rated it:
Jane Perry is the no nonsense detective star of Promissory Payback. She takes her sidearm with her to yoga (or did until the yoga teacher objected, the she quit the class). She takes nothing at face value and takes BS from no one.
Ms Dewey had me liking Jane Perry from the outset, she’s sharp but troubled and cuts straight to the heart of solving the case; she also drives a Mustang (one of the best cars in the world, in my opinion!)
Her other characters are well drawn More...
Ms Dewey had me liking Jane Perry from the outset, she’s sharp but troubled and cuts straight to the heart of solving the case; she also drives a Mustang (one of the best cars in the world, in my opinion!)
Her other characters are well drawn More...
Nov 04, 2011
Alyssa
rated it:
I liked this Mystery, it was a fast read and a well done one. I wished it was longer. I have one problem with the book, the f-word was way overdone in this book. I don't know if it was to make Jane look more bad-a or not, but that word was way overused. You don't get a detective that is like Jane too often in the literary world. At first she rubbed me the wrong way, her smoking constantly, her foul language, and even the way she thought. But as I read I actually could picture her and enjoy
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Nov 01, 2011
Kari
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Promissory Payback is a longer than Unrevealed but featured only one story. I liked this one because I felt like I got to see a little more of how Jane Perry works. She has a way of making people talk even when they don't want to reveal anything about themselves. I enjoyed watching her work out who the killer was. I think to talk about it more would ruin it for you. It is definitely worth a shot. I know I will be picking up the full length Jane Perry mysteries in the future!
Dec 31, 2011
Chrystal
rated it:
Being as this is my first Jane Perry book, I absolutely loved her character. She is sarcastic, witty and is a take-no-crap kinda woman. The fact that this was a novelette didn't deter me from actually liking her character. The story moved along quickly, but gave you all of the information needed to understand our heroine and the supporting characters. The case Jane is investigating is gruesome to say the least and she has many suspects to check out. She has a keen eye, a sixth sense for the unse
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Oct 09, 2011
This is one story that illustrates one of many ways I would not want to die, thank you very much. I mean, whew! It’s certainly memorable and not one for the kiddos. It’s also a story that while chock full of suspects, the final reveal will totally make you think. NO, really! Imagine you could stop a whole lot of people from being hurt or bad events from happening if just one person were removed from the picture. Could YOU justify said person or persons lives essentially being ended?
Jan 13, 2012
Received free copy for review.
Really disappointing. Couldn't even finish which is incredible for me. I can usually finish anything but couldn't get past the prologue. Seemed like an info dump and the info might have made a better impression if it had been sifted into the rest of the book. The main character was interesting and the tone/language was fun. Just couldn't finish it. Consequently, can't recommend it.
Really disappointing. Couldn't even finish which is incredible for me. I can usually finish anything but couldn't get past the prologue. Seemed like an info dump and the info might have made a better impression if it had been sifted into the rest of the book. The main character was interesting and the tone/language was fun. Just couldn't finish it. Consequently, can't recommend it.
Oct 19, 2011
Yvonne
rated it:
This was a great suspense. I really enjoyed trying to figure out things along with Jane. There were a couple of twists and turns, although I didn’t think the outcome was all that shocking, but it was a good mystery.
The publisher provided me with a copy of this book to review for a blog tour. This did not influence my thoughts and opinions in any way. All opinions expressed are my own.
The publisher provided me with a copy of this book to review for a blog tour. This did not influence my thoughts and opinions in any way. All opinions expressed are my own.
Nov 15, 2011
Shandy Jo
rated it:
This was a decent story. Jane was a very real, believable character. Every thing was old fashion detective work, no real crazy forensics stuff. Jane just used the evidence and her know how to solve the case. I liked the mystery part of the book, but felt sorry for all the people the victim scammed. I had to wonder if they would get what they deserved or not. I was also left wondering about Jane and would like to know more. I was just left with the feeling that there was more to her than met the
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Sep 20, 2011
Ellen
rated it:
A quick read and filled with incredible dialogue and insight. I LOVE Jane Perry!!!
Sep 04, 2011
Elizabeth
rated it:
A fun, quick who done it. Better than a movie on a Sunday afternoon.
