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227th out of 348 books
—
481 voters
Innocent Little Crimes
by
C.S. Lakin (Goodreads Author)
Lila Carmichael, outrageous, bawdy comedienne, is a rich and powerful woman in television. But, it's not enough she has everything she desires; for fifteen years she has been obsessively orchestrating payback to five unsuspecting, former schoolmates—“friends” who played a nasty trick on her, and now it’s her turn for revenge.
Under the flattering auspices of a cozy college...more
Under the flattering auspices of a cozy college...more
Kindle Edition
Published
(first published October 15th 2011)
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As groups of thirty-somethings drive to the Anacortes Ferry on their way to a party in the San Juans, I almost wish I were with them enjoying the wonderful scenery. But this celebration hides the cruelties of youth and vicious threats of revenge in C.S. Lakin’s Innocent Little Crimes. And all the crimes and criminals are guilty.
Fifteen years ago, these students starred in a play together. Shy Lila left herself open to teasing when she fell for the leading man and a cruel joke ensued, but now, wh...more
I began this book with high expectations because I really like CS Lakin's work. This one did not impress me as much and I'll attempt to give my reasons.
When writing reviews I generally assess a book on three fronts: how much the story engages me, how well it is written, and how involved I become with the characters.
To begin with the story did not engage me, and in this instance the characters cannot be separated from the story because I didn't like any of them. And if I can't like the characters...more
When writing reviews I generally assess a book on three fronts: how much the story engages me, how well it is written, and how involved I become with the characters.
To begin with the story did not engage me, and in this instance the characters cannot be separated from the story because I didn't like any of them. And if I can't like the characters...more
Lila Carmichael is a bawdy, outrageous television comedienne who has hit it big. Really big. But fame and money haven’t brought her happiness. She’s still rankling from a cruel joke that five fellow students in a college theater group played on her 15 years ago.
Hell-bent on revenge, she invites them to a weekend reunion on her private island off the coast of Seattle. They’re excited by her invitation because she’s now in a position to help them, and most of them need her help and influence.
They’...more
Hell-bent on revenge, she invites them to a weekend reunion on her private island off the coast of Seattle. They’re excited by her invitation because she’s now in a position to help them, and most of them need her help and influence.
They’...more
The book Innocent Little Crimes by CS Lakin was a great read.Spoiler Alert. It reminded me of when kids are bullied in school-they never forget who and what happened to them. The main character was a sad, shy, withdrawn child who grew up, and was the same in college. She thought she'd found a good friend in her roommate and the actors group at college. It was only when she walked back in the stage door that she heard what they really thought about her. Although what her so called friends did to...more
A cross between Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians" and William Golding's "The Lord fo the Flies," Ms. Lakin's story is a chilling account of what happens when you bully the wrong person.
The setting: A remote island in the Puget Sound. A brewing storm on the horizon. Five desperate and venial schoolmates, each with their secret sins and back-luck stories, converge on Lila Carmichael's funhouse mansion for a reunion of their Thespian club.
They eat, drink, cast aspersions and pretend to enjoy t...more
The setting: A remote island in the Puget Sound. A brewing storm on the horizon. Five desperate and venial schoolmates, each with their secret sins and back-luck stories, converge on Lila Carmichael's funhouse mansion for a reunion of their Thespian club.
They eat, drink, cast aspersions and pretend to enjoy t...more
I thouroughly enjoyed this book. I found it to be a surprsingly good page turner. The book is about a group of people who went to college together and are now in their thirties. Four of them played a horrific trick on a very niave, self-concious and unconfident young girl who just wanted to find friendship and be loved, whilst one (her best friend as such) who sort of knew what was going on stood in the background and allowed it to happen becasue she was afraid of losing the man she thought she...more
"You know immediately that someone, or maybe more than one, will die—but who?”
A PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER THAT DOESN'T LET GO
March 26, 2012
By Ken Farmer
Susanne Lakin does a masterful job of allowing the characters do the storytelling in "Innocent Little Crimes". She has that rare quality not telling the story to the reader, but bringing the reader into the story from page one. One instantly becomes immersed in the personality of the characters, especially Lila Carmichael, a somewhat hateful and v...more
A PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER THAT DOESN'T LET GO
March 26, 2012
By Ken Farmer
Susanne Lakin does a masterful job of allowing the characters do the storytelling in "Innocent Little Crimes". She has that rare quality not telling the story to the reader, but bringing the reader into the story from page one. One instantly becomes immersed in the personality of the characters, especially Lila Carmichael, a somewhat hateful and v...more
'Despite her great success, Lila had become bitter and cruel.' This is the essence of this book which the author refers to as a psychological thriller. She states her aim as wanting to look at the motives and motivation of her characters and in this writer's humble opinion she achieves this.
At first I wondered about the significance of the prologue, but by the end of the novel I understood. The structure of the book is not linear, and as such it may take a little more careful reading. The charac...more
At first I wondered about the significance of the prologue, but by the end of the novel I understood. The structure of the book is not linear, and as such it may take a little more careful reading. The charac...more
Lila Carmichael waits 15 years to invite her college classmates to a reunion at her mansion on a remote island. In those 15 years, she has become a huge theatrical success and they ... haven't. Though they all wronged her in college, each one comes to the reunion expecting/hoping that Lila will not only have forgotten the wrongs but actually reward them for all they did for her. But Lila hasn't forgotten. On the island, she engages them in a game of wolves that ultimately turns deadly as the gue...more
Wow....what a page turner! "Innocent Little Crimes" has so many twists and turns orchestrated by the main character Lila Carmichael, that one really has to concentrate in order to not miss a thing. As the plot unfolds in this well-written suspense/thriller novel, the author C.S. Lakin, manages to mastermind the ultimate story of revenge. Her characters play their part to the fullest as if on the very first stage where their initial betrayal took place. In the end, only the reader can decide if e...more
This is the first book I have read by CS Lakin but it will not be the last! I was intrigued from the start and my curiosity kept me reading. The characters all show such very human traits and make mistakes as we all do. The powerful theme of revenge is uppermost throughout the story and had me wondering just how far the 'wronged' character would go in her attempts to attain it. The story is neatly wrapped up with just endings for all the main characters and leaves the reader with no doubt as to...more
This is a review of the upcoming paperback edition of Innocent Little Crimes
A Great mystery of a weekend in hell!
In the style reminiscent of Ten Little Indians, five friends reunite for old time sake where their most secret wishes will be realized: to get Lila Carmichael’s help with their financial troubles or thwarted ambitious plans. Lila Carmichael is a wealthy and accomplished comedienne with fans tracking her every move on television and in the news. Lila invites five of her old friends to...more
A Great mystery of a weekend in hell!
In the style reminiscent of Ten Little Indians, five friends reunite for old time sake where their most secret wishes will be realized: to get Lila Carmichael’s help with their financial troubles or thwarted ambitious plans. Lila Carmichael is a wealthy and accomplished comedienne with fans tracking her every move on television and in the news. Lila invites five of her old friends to...more
This was nothing more than planning and executing revenge against a group of college students 15 years after a heart-breaking prank was played against now famous Lila.
Lila was hurt and distrustful of people, holding onto bitterness against others and for so long a time, nursing her hurts. She is finally able to gather these people together, trying to ruin those who've moved on with their lives and had forgotten about their years-earlier prank. She was somehow able to garner private information...more
Lila was hurt and distrustful of people, holding onto bitterness against others and for so long a time, nursing her hurts. She is finally able to gather these people together, trying to ruin those who've moved on with their lives and had forgotten about their years-earlier prank. She was somehow able to garner private information...more
Is revenge really sweet? Tremendous character development - "Lila Carmichael, outrageous, bawdy comedienne, is a rich and powerful woman in television. But, it's not enough she has everything she desires; for fifteen years she has been obsessively orchestrating payback to five unsuspecting, former schoolmates--"friends" who played a nasty trick on her, and now it's her turn for revenge." I really liked this book. I am going to read "Conundrum" next.
I enjoyed this clever book and found it suspenseful. The characters are compelling and there's more than one surprise. It's very well written and I'd certainly recommend it to mystery lovers.
Innocent Little Crimes
Innocent Little Crimes
The story line of this book was interesting. It sort of reminded me of a reality tv show that you would watch if nothing else was on television. It did have a few typos but they did not take away from the book/story. Not sure if I would recommend this book to other readers, but it was an easy read. The author did do a good job of developing the characters, however, I found that I could not relate to any of them and that is a deal breaker for me. Overall, the book wasn't bad but it wasn't all tha...more
Combine one part Agathie Christie, one part “Lord of the Flies” and a hefty measure of Roseanne Barr. Blend with strong character development, excellent writing, a solid story and glaze liberally with selfish human nature. Yields one fine serving of "Innocent Little Crimes".
I say this is a fun mystery to read. Is it a murder? Is it not a murder? Who will die? Lots of questions to ask while reading. This is the first CS Lakin book I've read and I'll definitely read another.
I enjoyed this book. It was a nice quick read. Perfect for when you want something you don't have to think about too much, but keeps you entertained. Plus, it's free as a Kindle book - so win win.
Well written with identifiable characters. Good suspense building to a finale that is a surprise, but not shocking. Good closure leaving you satisfied.
The book started off okay, but didn't carry through. Not a riveting story line. The characters did not convince.
I love a good revenge story. The characters are typical selfish, spoiled, individuals and you can't help but laugh at them. Lila is definitely crazy and gets even but in such an unrealistic way. More so the way the characters react is more unrealistic then what she did. The book was less about the revenge then the actual reason she wanted the revenge and the secrets in each of their lives. I did like the book, it was an easy read but while it is fiction it was a little too out there for me. I gu...more
Hard to appreciate...
The characters in this novel were despicable to say the least. I'm a fan of revenge novels as the next man...but this ride was an uncomfortable one. I think introducing the back story so late hurt the book. By the time you get there you don't care about "the reason."
I agree with the author, that we all have committed innocent little crimes in life and you never know the lasting effects your actions might have...but these characters were deplorable. The game...repugnant. It's...more
The characters in this novel were despicable to say the least. I'm a fan of revenge novels as the next man...but this ride was an uncomfortable one. I think introducing the back story so late hurt the book. By the time you get there you don't care about "the reason."
I agree with the author, that we all have committed innocent little crimes in life and you never know the lasting effects your actions might have...but these characters were deplorable. The game...repugnant. It's...more
Oct 31, 2012
Brittany
marked it as to-read
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
books-owned,
books-won
I received this book through the First Reads giveaway program on Goodreads. Review to follow!
The best thing I can say about this book is that the story is not your typical mystery and not at all what I thought I was about to read going in. Every character in this book is more effed up than anyone you've ever met and it left me feeling exhausted and depressed. The story left me feeling pessimistic about humanity in general. All of these things might have worked in another book but the writing felt rushed and sloppy, the characters were not properly developed so there is no empathy built...more
Excellent book. Character study was amazing. Fast paced and realistic. I enjoyed it very much.
$0.0
This is a must read for anyone that has ever been wronged in life and wishes they could get even with the person or people that wronged them. Excellent story. Love the trip on the benches.
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Sep 22, 2012 12:54am