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212th out of 1,795 books
—
4,044 voters
Don't Look Down
by
Jennifer Crusie (Goodreads Author),
Bob Mayer (Goodreads Author)
SHE is a director of dog food commercials who's just been recruited to finish a four-day movie shoot. But as soon as Lucy Armstrong arrives on set, she discovers that the staff is in chaos, the make-up artist is suicidal, and the stunt director just happens to be her ex-husband. That, and the temperamental lead actor has just acquired as an advisor a Green Beret who has th...more
Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages
Published
May 1st 2007
by St. Martin's Paperbacks
(first published September 1st 2005)
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Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer are both well-known authors, each writing in different genres, and I enjoy reading each one. They joined together for "Don't Look Down" and overall their voices blended quite well. As for the plot and characterization, well, that's another thing.
Lucy Armstrong makes a living directing dog food commercials in New York. When she's asked by her former husband, stunt coordinator Connor Nash, to direct the action scenes for a movie being filmed in South Carolina, she ju...more
Lucy Armstrong makes a living directing dog food commercials in New York. When she's asked by her former husband, stunt coordinator Connor Nash, to direct the action scenes for a movie being filmed in South Carolina, she ju...more
This book's main problem is that it is actually two decent books with the exact same plot, cut up and interleaved to produce one rather mediocre book. Crusie co-writes this one with Bob Mayer, who may write a decent manly-men with manly-weapons adventure book, (on which subject, remind me later to mention the one point of I-believe-unintentional hilarious homoerotic innuendo) but whose ability at writing a fluffy romance hovers at slightly above zero. I actually attempted to discover if this was...more
The one where Lucy is brought in at the last minute to direct the end of a movie (though her specialty is ads for dog food) and J.T. is brought in as the "military consultant" for the star, and Pepper, Lucy's 5-year-old niece, is kidnapped.
Enjoyable, in a light-snack sort of way, but not something I'd go out of my way to read again.
Thrillers aren't much my style; a lot of the mystery stuff involving the Russian mafia and the stolen art implements and the IRA and the money laundering just *bored...more
Enjoyable, in a light-snack sort of way, but not something I'd go out of my way to read again.
Thrillers aren't much my style; a lot of the mystery stuff involving the Russian mafia and the stolen art implements and the IRA and the money laundering just *bored...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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A while back it seemed like three-quarters of the book-related blogs I follow were a-twitter over Don't Look Down, the collaboration between Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer. Apparently, the idea of a book written by a romance author working with a suspense author was a Shocking Thing, as if nobody had ever written a romantic suspense novel before. This is not to say the book wasn't good, because it was--I just didn't find it nearly as good as the last thing I read because of blog buzz, which was H...more
Movie Director Lucy Armstrong is self-made and self-sufficient. Against her better judgment, she accepts a four day job to finish the last scenes of a movie for which her ex-husband is the stunt coordinator. When she arrives at the movie set on the Savannah River she finds a depleted crew and total chaos, but no one will tell her why.
Green Beret Captain J. T. Wilder arrives from nearby Fort Bragg at the same time that Lucy does. Hired to be a stunt double for the movie's star, he is also a CIA p...more
Green Beret Captain J. T. Wilder arrives from nearby Fort Bragg at the same time that Lucy does. Hired to be a stunt double for the movie's star, he is also a CIA p...more
Feb 23, 2013
LG (A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions)
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I looked forward to reading this book, thinking it could be pretty exciting to pair Crusie’s talents with those of a thriller writer. The book is much more Crusie than thriller, however. For Crusie fans, that’s not a bad thing.
Lucy Armstrong, a director of commercials, arrives on the set of a movie for which she has agreed to direct the last four days of shooting. The previous director died unexpectedly, so her ex-husband, the stunt coordinator for the movie, called her and asked her to come. S...more
Lucy Armstrong, a director of commercials, arrives on the set of a movie for which she has agreed to direct the last four days of shooting. The previous director died unexpectedly, so her ex-husband, the stunt coordinator for the movie, called her and asked her to come. S...more
Too many cooks spoil the broth and this story is an example of what happens when two authors invite a crowd to give input. When Ms. Crusie and Mr. Mayer speak from their collective author's heart, the characters gain depth and insight. But when the plot seems driven by the need to toss in some action (wild, hot, toe-curling sex) and dialogue (it really is possible to overuse the phrase "cluster%$@#") to tantalize, the story begins to fall apart. It's too bad, really, because Lucy and J.T. are li...more
By Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer. Grade: B
I was quite surprised when I heard that Jennifer Crusie has started co-authoring with Bob Mayer. I have hardly seen any successful writer ever do that. Even though I’d never heard or read Mayer until then, I thought I’d give it a try.
SHE is a director of dog food commercials who’s just been recruited to finish a four-day movie shoot. But as soon as Lucy Armstrong arrives on set, she discovers that the staff is in chaos, the make-up artist is suicidal, an...more
I was quite surprised when I heard that Jennifer Crusie has started co-authoring with Bob Mayer. I have hardly seen any successful writer ever do that. Even though I’d never heard or read Mayer until then, I thought I’d give it a try.
SHE is a director of dog food commercials who’s just been recruited to finish a four-day movie shoot. But as soon as Lucy Armstrong arrives on set, she discovers that the staff is in chaos, the make-up artist is suicidal, an...more
Ah, this book... I don't know. I love Jennifer Crusie and everything she has to offer, but this book fell flat for me. It was, sadly, quite boring. I didn't laugh out loud because it wasn't humorous, I didn't feel that tingle for the romance, the action didn't really excite me, and all the happenings were just "eh". In a way it's a bit like Agnes and the Hitman, but even that was kind of ridiculous, to be honest. Don't Look Down just felt like a book that was trying way too hard to get all of th...more
Dec 13, 2010
Lemunty
added it
Let me make one thing clear. I am a colossal nerd, it's true. I read complicated, boring books for fun; this is also true. I read vast amounts of chick-lit; this is also a fact. Undeniable. If it doesn't seem to fit, well, I don't care. I'm perpetually on the hunt for good chick-lit, given how many, many, many, bad examples of the genre litter the literary landscape these days. I have a few authors that I may rely upon for sufficiently interesting characters, a plot that extends beyond millionai...more
I was annoyed and irritated with the writing style. Lucy was constantly being interrupted.
For example, A said something to Lucy. B said something on a different subject to Lucy. Lucy answered B. A said something else again. Lucy then answers A. There were many times that two or more conversations were happening at the same time interrupting each other. Later when Lucy was alone with Wilder, she asked him a question, but before he could answer, her cell phone rang, so we didn't get to hear his an...more
For example, A said something to Lucy. B said something on a different subject to Lucy. Lucy answered B. A said something else again. Lucy then answers A. There were many times that two or more conversations were happening at the same time interrupting each other. Later when Lucy was alone with Wilder, she asked him a question, but before he could answer, her cell phone rang, so we didn't get to hear his an...more
Good thing that Crusie & Mayer didn't stop with this book! I read Agnes and the Hitman first, and just trust me: put this one down and go get Agnes. MUCH better.
The plot in DLD is convoluted, and there are certain twists that never seem fully explained. The attraction between Wilder and Lucy just feels forced. It's immediately assumed to be love at first sight, which is just not something I'm sold on. By the end I was racing to get through just to be done. Crusie's usual laugh-out-loud humor...more
The plot in DLD is convoluted, and there are certain twists that never seem fully explained. The attraction between Wilder and Lucy just feels forced. It's immediately assumed to be love at first sight, which is just not something I'm sold on. By the end I was racing to get through just to be done. Crusie's usual laugh-out-loud humor...more
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I was not overly impressed. It was a pleasant read, with likable characters, but there was always the sense that it could be better. Most of that came from the male lead, J.T., who was the Green Beret Hero Type. I liked him, but most of the time I was also rolling my eyes thinking he sounded like he was written by a grown up kid who liked to play pretend being a soldier (I was honestly surprised to read Bob Mayor was a former green beret - maybe I'm wrong, but....). A lot of "out of the killzone...more
She never should have trusted Connor Nash. It's not like she didn't know he was a schemer and a liar and a cheat. After all, she was married to him, once upon a time. Then again, Connor Nash isn't the reason Lucy Armstrong took this job. When he'd called her up and offered her big money to direct the last four days of shooting on a feature film, Lucy's answer wasn't just 'no,' it was 'hell, no.' Then her sister Daisy, who just happens to be the script supervisor on the movie, had called and begg...more
Unabridged audiobook version - review written for Speaking of Audibooks column 2/04/10:
Narrated by Renee Raudman and Patrick Lawlor
Upon its release in 2006, I participated in a Pandora’s Box discussion of Don’t Look Down – a joint effort between well known romance writer Crusie and Mayer, a former Green Beret and multi-genre author. Although it’s categorized as fiction, there’s enough to satisfy most romance readers if you’re open to a very male point of view. Last month I listened to the audio...more
Narrated by Renee Raudman and Patrick Lawlor
Upon its release in 2006, I participated in a Pandora’s Box discussion of Don’t Look Down – a joint effort between well known romance writer Crusie and Mayer, a former Green Beret and multi-genre author. Although it’s categorized as fiction, there’s enough to satisfy most romance readers if you’re open to a very male point of view. Last month I listened to the audio...more
For a book that was actually supposed to be a quick read, this one took me forever. Not because it was bad. On the contrary, like the rest of the Crusie novels I’ve been reading, it was pretty enjoyable. Some books just seem to stretch longer depending on what’s going on at the time with life.
This one was another collaboration between Crusie and Mayer; in fact, I believe, the first one (let me know if I’m wrong on this). Lucy Armstrong has been asked to direct a movie after the death of the pre...more
This one was another collaboration between Crusie and Mayer; in fact, I believe, the first one (let me know if I’m wrong on this). Lucy Armstrong has been asked to direct a movie after the death of the pre...more
I had fun with this one, but I have to admit that it can be described pithily by a word that is very over-used in its pages: clusterfuck.
There is ALOT going on in this book all the time. It's kinda hard to pay attention to what's happening and suspension of disbelief is very necessary to enjoy this book, much like the Die Hard movies. I just went along for the ride, which was fun once I stopped trying to make sense of it.
Aside from the abundant humour, Crusie's draw for me is her characters. Fun...more
Lucy Armstrong is regretting letting her sleazeball of an ex-husband talk her into flying to Savannah to finish the last four days of filming some movie he's stunt coordinator on. She wanted to see her sister and five-year-old niece, but so far her sister Daisy seems worn-down and strung-out, and her niece Pepper is manically pretending that nothing is wrong with the grown-ups around her. The movie set is a mess, the previous director died, most of the crew have quit, the stunts Lucy is supposed...more
Jun 30, 2012
Amy
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Any Romantic Suspense lover
Recommended to Amy by:
Myself
I was a little biased going in, although I am not sure it was in one direction or the other. I had high expectations, but also expected to be disappointed (as things are always too good to be true) turns out I was right, about the high expectations. There are VERY few books I am not overly critical of, and even fewer I have challenges putting down. This is one of the books I will put on my shelf with a huge smile. It was all I wanted, sexy, smart, fun and real. JT Wilder, and the Amazonian Lucy...more
This was a collaboration between two authors i've never read before. I guess the guy author writes more adventurey books and the woman author writes more chick lit books, and they each write in the book from their POV when they're writing the two main characters (a film director woman and a soldier guy). It was pretty cliched and sorta boring. The book dragged on, and there was too much about the five year old girl, who talked weirdly. Basically, the woman is brought in to finish directing a wei...more
"Klappe, Liebling!
Eigentlich dreht Regisseurin Lucy Armstrong Hundewerbespots, aber nun soll sie einspringen, um die letzten Szenen eines Actionfilms zu Ende zu drehen. Doch am Set herrscht das reinste Chaos - zerstrittene Darsteller, ein unverständliches Drehbuch - und dann auch noch das: Kriminelle nutzen die Dreharbeiten für ihre illegalen Machenschaften. Lucy versucht entschlossen, den Ganoven das Handwerk zu legen. Dabei findet sie in Stuntman J.T. Wilder mehr als nur einen hilfreichen Verb...more
Eigentlich dreht Regisseurin Lucy Armstrong Hundewerbespots, aber nun soll sie einspringen, um die letzten Szenen eines Actionfilms zu Ende zu drehen. Doch am Set herrscht das reinste Chaos - zerstrittene Darsteller, ein unverständliches Drehbuch - und dann auch noch das: Kriminelle nutzen die Dreharbeiten für ihre illegalen Machenschaften. Lucy versucht entschlossen, den Ganoven das Handwerk zu legen. Dabei findet sie in Stuntman J.T. Wilder mehr als nur einen hilfreichen Verb...more
I was hoping for another great Mayer-Crusie collaboration like Agnes and the Hitman. In that novel, the writers’ styles blend seamlessly and there’s a perfect mixture of action, humor, and romance. *sigh* It just may be one of my favoritest books ever. This one isn’t.
The writing doesn’t quite mix. It was definitely missing the humorous element and I’m not sure I bought into the romance. There were also times, especially during the action sequences, that I had to go back and re-read paragraphs t...more
The writing doesn’t quite mix. It was definitely missing the humorous element and I’m not sure I bought into the romance. There were also times, especially during the action sequences, that I had to go back and re-read paragraphs t...more
I think I'm starting to OD on Jennifer Crusie, lol. This is the second book that was written by both Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer that I've read, the first being Agnes and the Hitman. I really loved Agnes and the Hitman, this one...not as much. I think that - for me - it felt like I really didn't get to know the characters well enough to care about them too much. Like the movie they were filming, they felt a little flat.
With that being said, I didn't dislike the book. It's decent and probably...more
With that being said, I didn't dislike the book. It's decent and probably...more
Ok, so the plot wasn't great. By the end, I found myself shrugging and saying, "meh, whatever," about most of the plot details.
But the real fun part about this book was the characters. I really think the interplay between male and female worked well. In romances especially, it's hard to get the male point of view, I suspect because most romance writers are female (and even if they aren't, are trying to appeal to the female demographic). I enjoyed reading the male point of view portions of the bo...more
But the real fun part about this book was the characters. I really think the interplay between male and female worked well. In romances especially, it's hard to get the male point of view, I suspect because most romance writers are female (and even if they aren't, are trying to appeal to the female demographic). I enjoyed reading the male point of view portions of the bo...more
I read this book a few years ago and thought it was pretty funny. I recently saw it on audio at the library and decided to listen. Its still a good story. I get a laugh out of the male point of view offered by Bob Mayer. I'm pretty sure he's responsible for the liberal sprinkling of 'clusterfuck' throughout the book.
The two voices (Crusie and Mayer) blend really well. The story has elements of farce but it is well anchored with relationships; the two sisters, the aunt and her niece, the aunt a...more
The two voices (Crusie and Mayer) blend really well. The story has elements of farce but it is well anchored with relationships; the two sisters, the aunt and her niece, the aunt a...more
Another Jennifer Crusie book but with a twist it is co-written with Bob Mayer. Very nicely done. Once you read page 1 get ready for a nonstop ride. In classic Jennifer Crusie style I couldn't put the book down. Lucy a director of dog commercials is asked to step in and finish the last four days of shooting of an action movie. She says no. She turns down the offer from her ex, his sister, but when her niece gets on the phone and cries Lucy has no choice but to come down and help fix this mess. J....more
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Jenny Crusie is the NYT bestselling author of twenty some novels and lots of other stuff. Her latest novel, Maybe This Time, hit shelves in August, 2010.
Jenny lives on the Ohio River where she often stares at the ceiling and counts her blessings.
More about Jennifer Crusie...
Jenny lives on the Ohio River where she often stares at the ceiling and counts her blessings.
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“Wilder watched Armstrong head back to video village under the lights of the set, attacking another apple as she went, and thought, Apples and women. Not a good history there.”
—
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