4.0 out of 5 stars "For Sale: Wedding Dress. Never Worn.", June 26, 2009

This review is from: Missing Mark (Hardcover)

I had selected Missing Mark from Amazon Vine before I realized it was the second in a series so of course I had to get Stalking Susan and read it first. That's just an idiosyncrasy and even though it fleshes out the backstory of our intrepid heroine, Riley Spartz, it really isn't necessary to read it prior to enjoying this book. This sequel is just as well done as the debut.

Featu More...

Missing Mark, by Julie Kramer, b-plus, narrated by Bernadette Dunn, produced by Random House audio, downloaded from audible.com. This is the second one in the Riley Sparks, t.v. anchorwoman series, in Minneapolis.

In this second book, Riley, always on the look for odd stories that will bring up their ratings during the sweepstakes in May, sees an ad in the paper: “Wedding Dress for sale, never worn.” She decides to look into it thinking that the back story might make an interesting story. She fin More...

Riley Spartz is a TV reporter in Minnesota who keeps having crazy adventures while chasing her sweeps stories. The ad she spots about an unworn wedding dress plunges her into a missing person/murder mystery. Unfortunately, her news director isn’t big on the story and wants her to pursue a stolen fish. And while all that’s going on, Riley has been entrusted with the care of a police dog that has drug-ring assassins after him!

I think I would’ve liked this book more if the main character didn’t wor More...

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, Stalking Susan, so I had high hopes for this one. Thankfully, it delivered! Riley Spartz is nothing if not persistent. Sweeps are coming up again, and she’s under pressure, as usual. TV news is changing, and the chances of her ending up with a story as big as the last one are low. When the ad for a never worn wedding dress shows up in the paper, she hopes she can find a story there. Along the way we get to visit with some of our favorite characters More...

When investigative reporter Riley Sparkz see an ad in the paper for a never worn wedding dress, she decides there must be more to the story and begins an investigation.

Wealthy socialite Madeline was to marry down-and-out stand-up comic Mark three months after meeting him. But on the day of the nuptials, Mark didn't show up at the church and has vanished. Was it his ex-girlfriend or something more?

Meanwhile, the largest bass in the state of Minnesota is bass-napped by an animal rights group and More...

#2 Riley Spartz 'amateur sleuth' mystery set in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul. Riley is an investigative television reporter trying to come up with an interesting story for the upcoming "sweeps week" when ratings are even more important than usual. Perusing the want ads in the newspaper, she sees an ad that piques her interest: "For Sale: Wedding dress, never worn."

Intrigued, she answers the ad on the pretense of wanting to buy the dress to learn why the bride-to-be never got to wear More...

2 1/2 stars
Missing Mark is the second in a series about investigative reporter Riley Spartz. The first is Stalking Susan, which I have not read. Even though I didn't read the first one, I didn't feel as though I missed anything--anything pertinent to the story was recapped quickly.

The story was decent enough, but I felt like it missed in a few places. First, I kept figuring things out way before they were revealed. Maybe too many hints were given or just not enough red herrings to keep the reade More...

Other people have suggested that if you are a fan of Stephanie Plum Novels by Janet Evanovich, that you would like this series by Julie Kramer. They are similar in the sense that they both have a strong leading lady who solves crimes-even though they aren't supposed to-and catch bad guys. I would say that Missing Mark is much more wordy than anything by Janet Evanovich. I was exasperated by all the in depth details about being a news reporter. I found myself wanting to skip ahead very early on i More...

Readers were first introduced to Channel 3 television reporter, Riley Spartz in author Julie Kramer’s debut novel Stalking Susan. Now Riley is back in getting in over her head again in Missing Mark.

Riley has recovered from her scare in Stalking Susan and is ready to get back in action. She sees an ad for a wedding dress for sale. To anyone else they would just glance at the ad and maybe pass it over but not Riley. She believes there is a story behind the ad. She contacts the owner, Madeline to More...

Missing Mark by Julie Kramer was not only an enjoyable read, it turned out to be an educational one as well. Prior to reading Kramer's book, I had never heard of an obscure disorder called Prosopagnosia, a neurological condition that renders a person incapable of recognizing faces (even those of family).

The story's protagonist, TV news journalist Riley Spartz, comes across as advertisement for the sale of a "WEDDING DRESS, NEVER WORN" and is intrigued. Feeling that this would be an ideal subjec More...

Minneapolis investigative reporter Riley Spartz is intrigued by a want ad in local paper. Why do people try to sell unworn wedding gowns? With sweeps coming up and news director Noreen wants Riley to come up with a big hit for the hot female ad age group. Riley pursues Madeline's tale of being left at the alter six months earlier by her groom, Mark. I really enjoyed the twists and turns this mystery took and the insider view of the newsroom life. There is a lot of local flavor as well, I don't t More...

I so enjoyed Julie Kramer's first novel, Stalking Susan, and was thrilled when her follow up came out. Happy to say, I wasn't disappointed. Her mysteries are well written with many dashes of humor thrown in the mix. But I must admit to the two favorite writing tricks that really drew me towards her books. First of all, she is a native Minnesotan and refers to many physical landmarks and legal landmarks that have occured in the state. And to top it all off, her main character is named Riley Spart More...

Julie Kramer is the reason I started reading mysteries again. I really enjoyed “Stalking Susan;” not so much, “Missing Mark.” I can’t quite figure out what’s missing with this one – maybe there was just too much going on – there are at least 3 sub-stories. It was clear to me early on who the murder was, but it wasn’t as much fun seeing the story progress. Kramer is a local author, and uses White Bear Lake, MN as the backdrop to this story, where “Stalking Susan” was set in Minneapolis, so maybe More...

Julie Kramer was kind enough to send me this audiobook to donate to my local library, which I'm happy to do now that I've listened to it.

The sequel to 2008's Stalking Susan has investigative reporter Riley Spartz trying desperately to find the right story for sweeps season. A newspaper ad for a never-worn wedding dress leads Riley to a search for a Mark Lefevre, who vanished just before his wedding. Did he get cold feet and run away, or has something more sinister happened?

When Mark's mother is More...

Riley Spartz is looking for a story, and she thinks she might have one when she sees an ad for a wedding dress, unworn. The groom left the bride at the altar, and he hasn't been heard of in six months. No activity on his banking, no news whatsoever. As Riley follows the story as well as that of the missing fish, a state recording holding bass, and finding bodies, she uncovers hiddens secrets among the wealthy.

And did I mention Riley has a knack for finding bodies?

TV reporter Riley Spartz is starving for a story when she sees an ad for a wedding dress that was never worn. A wealthy young woman's beau did not show up for their wedding and he has not been seen since. Riley encounters various obstacles in trying to get to the bottom of the groom's disappearance. Not the least of which is her editor who seems more interested in the story of Big Mouth Billy Bass, Minnesota's biggest fish, who is missing from his aquarium. Riley is likeable and has understands More...

another fairly mediocre mystery....the story was interesting, and I appreciate the multiple storylines playing into the life of an investigative reporter...but those stories were poorly resolved in the end. Like the first book, there were also so many benign and frivolous references to the Twin Cities which didn't move the story along, it was distracting (As a Minneapolis native, I can appreciate them, but it hinders the writing).

Okay, I am totally drawn to the Minneapolis locality of these novels! Our heroine, Riley Sparks is up to her you know what once again in TV reporting gone amok! This gal has a knack for stumbling into mystery and danger. A menagerie of interesting characters, some survive while others do not. These are wonderful summertime escape from it all stories. I hope there are more to come.

More than a cozy but not quite A or B list. The sleuth-by-accident is a female TV investigative reporter. This is the second book in this series. I do like this character better than many of the intrepid female reporters out there so I'll probably keep following this author. I also am partial to mysteries set in Minnesota which could be why I wish I could give this book 3 1/2 stars.

I enjoyed the first book, but this one fell flat for me. It was difficult to get into, far too much explaining of her work stuff, and the suspense wasn't believable. It had some interesting plot ingredients, they just didn't turn into anything substantial. The occasional "love" interest was annoying to me - no idea why she even bothered with that.

I wasn't as crazy about this sequel as I was for the first book, Stalking Susan. It was still a good mystery, but I felt that it didn't focus on the life of the main character as much as it did in the first book. I also didn't see as much of a behind-the-scenes look at TV journalism as the first book laid out. Overall, I liked the story and hope that there may be another with this character!

This book (and the first Riley Spartz) book get four stars reviews from me. I like to listen to audiobooks when I exercise, and am always on the look up for something in which the story moves along quickly - something not too cerebral, but something that keeps me entertained. This series, so far, fits the bill.

I admit I get sucked in by these types of plot-driven mystery novels. The appeal of this one is the light-hearted tone and the setting. Missing Mark takes place right here in Minneapolis, St. Paul, White Bear Lake and Hudson. It was fun to read this murder mystery-romp in places I'm familiar with, and with current local events thrown in. I haven't read her first novel but may put it on my list just for the local setting.

The sequel to Stalking Susan and another murder mystery. I found this one a bit harder to believe - do news reporter really discover than many dead bodies and have their lives threatened regularly? It is a fun read and I did not catch the reason for the main murder until it was revealed.

Good for people who like to read about things that happen in Minnesota.

For me it is so-so, the narrator is ok, but not my favorite. The voice got a bit annoying toward the end.

It's an enjoyable read and should have wide appeal especially for those familiar with the area.

Why I read It
This is book two of Julie Kramer's series and I really enjoyed book 1 Stalking Susan. Plus Kramer is a local writer, so even better. These books were originally recommended to me by a coworker.

The Good
Great mystery and wonderful writing. It also opens up a lot of the inside world of TV news reporting. Plus if you have any Minnesota experience you can have “secret insider” knowledge that just adds to the book. We had just been to several of the places mentioned (Underwater World and More...

This was my second Julie Kramer and it was a fun book to read. It was not as good as Stalking Susan and I think she took a number of slightly unbelievable liberties for the sake of the plot, but it was still a fun book to read.

Riley Sparks is a new TV newsperson with a knack for discovering dead bodies. When she sees an ad for a wedding dress "never worn" she senses a story that leads her to nearly being set up as a killer, if she survived the sweeps at work.