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Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun (Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries #1)
by
Lois Winston (Goodreads Author)
When Anastasia Pollack's gambling-addicted husband permanently cashes in his chips in Vegas, her life craps out. She's left with two teenage sons, a mountain of debt, and her nasty, cane-wielding Communist mother-in-law. Not to mention a loan shark demanding fifty thousand dollars.
Anastasia's job as crafts editor at American Woman magazine makes life even stickier when she...more
Anastasia's job as crafts editor at American Woman magazine makes life even stickier when she...more
Paperback, 301 pages
Published
January 8th 2011
by Midnight Ink
(first published December 1st 2010)
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Title: Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun (Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery #1_
Author: Lois Winston
ISBN: 9780738723471
Publisher: Midnight Ink
Synopsis (from BN.com):
When Anastasia Pollack's husband permanently cashes in his chips at a roulette table in Vegas, her comfortable middle-class life is suddenly kaput. She's left with two teenage sons, a mountain of debt, and her hateful, cane-wielding Communist motherin-law. Not to mention stunned disbelief over her late husband's secret gambling addictio...more
Author: Lois Winston
ISBN: 9780738723471
Publisher: Midnight Ink
Synopsis (from BN.com):
When Anastasia Pollack's husband permanently cashes in his chips at a roulette table in Vegas, her comfortable middle-class life is suddenly kaput. She's left with two teenage sons, a mountain of debt, and her hateful, cane-wielding Communist motherin-law. Not to mention stunned disbelief over her late husband's secret gambling addictio...more
I first discovered this book on a fellow writer's blog. It was interesting but I don't often find books that I see on blogs since my access is limited (I know I could go online but then my budget would never forgive me). Imagine my surprise when this book appeared on the list of new books at the library. When I finally worked my way down the pile of books from the library to this gem I devoured it. (Why is it that all my requests are available at the same time?)
Lois Winston has created a nice li...more
Lois Winston has created a nice li...more
Here’s a tip for all you dewy-eyed brides and bride-wanna-bees: Forget about saying “yes to the dress” by spending thousands of dollars on what you are, after all, only going to wear once. Rent or borrow a dress instead, and spend those bucks on getting the real lowdown on that hunky guy you’ve decided to spend the rest of your life with.
Sound crazy? Yeah, but crazy like a fox.
Too bad Anastasia Pollack, the feisty Jersey girl/heroine of Lois Winston’s funny new mystery, “Assault With A Deadly Gl...more
Sound crazy? Yeah, but crazy like a fox.
Too bad Anastasia Pollack, the feisty Jersey girl/heroine of Lois Winston’s funny new mystery, “Assault With A Deadly Gl...more
Jun 01, 2011
Jess
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommended to Jess by:
browsing
Shelves:
z_11,
mystery-suspense
When someone at work is killed via glue gun, Anastasia takes the case. Someone has to prove it wasn't her
Anastasia's list of troubles got to the point where it was a bit ridiculous. It was (almost) worse than what the hard boiled guys got. Also, a few too many quirks. For example: a Shakespeare quoting parrot adopted from former teaching aunt, her mother's cat who's named after a Russian princess who may or may not be a relation, and a ill-behaving communist dog who only likes the mother-in-law...more
Anastasia's list of troubles got to the point where it was a bit ridiculous. It was (almost) worse than what the hard boiled guys got. Also, a few too many quirks. For example: a Shakespeare quoting parrot adopted from former teaching aunt, her mother's cat who's named after a Russian princess who may or may not be a relation, and a ill-behaving communist dog who only likes the mother-in-law...more
Anastasia Pollack's husband, Karl Marx Pollack dropped dead at the roulette table in Las Vegas, leaving her up to her keister in debt, not to mention stripping their 401(K) plans, the kids' college funds and all their savings. Anastasia is left living with her mother-in-law, an unrepentant Socialist from the old days and her flea-laden French bulldog, Manifesto and her two sons. Anastasia is the crafts editor for American Woman magazine. Then Anastasia's DAR mother shows up with her Persian cat,...more
Originally posted at A Date with a Book
After reading book three, I went back and read book one a free download on my Kindle. Book one does cover more of the details I thought I was missing, but really book three did a very good job of keeping you in the loop.
I enjoyed the crime in book one better than book three. I’m not exactly sure why, but it kept me entertained. The characters the author has created are all very quirky and fun. My favorite is the mother-in-law. When you talk mother-in-law,...more
After reading book three, I went back and read book one a free download on my Kindle. Book one does cover more of the details I thought I was missing, but really book three did a very good job of keeping you in the loop.
I enjoyed the crime in book one better than book three. I’m not exactly sure why, but it kept me entertained. The characters the author has created are all very quirky and fun. My favorite is the mother-in-law. When you talk mother-in-law,...more
Assault with a deadly glue gun—Lois Winston.
Meet Anastasia Pollack. She is a forty something recently widowed crafts editor for a women’s magazine. Her life is a mess and getting worse by the minute. Her husband died in Vegas feeding a gambling addiction and cleaned her out. The mob is after her to pay back the money and a fashion editor is found murdered at Anastasias desk. She lives with two teenaged boys, a Shakespeare quoting parrot and her commie mother in-law. Don’t ask if it gets worse be...more
Meet Anastasia Pollack. She is a forty something recently widowed crafts editor for a women’s magazine. Her life is a mess and getting worse by the minute. Her husband died in Vegas feeding a gambling addiction and cleaned her out. The mob is after her to pay back the money and a fashion editor is found murdered at Anastasias desk. She lives with two teenaged boys, a Shakespeare quoting parrot and her commie mother in-law. Don’t ask if it gets worse be...more
I have read many books but this I must say, is the first where the heroine, sleuth has so many many problems to deal with. In fact it was slightly overwhelming to me.
Anastasias husband has died, leaving debt, mysteries, loan sharks, bad mother-in-laws, new renters to deal with. Then to put the cherry on the sundae, Anastasia's Mother drops in, herself a new widow, and Anastasias job is at jeopardy since a body is found glue gunned in her office cubicle.
As I said, perhaps too much? I was breath...more
Anastasias husband has died, leaving debt, mysteries, loan sharks, bad mother-in-laws, new renters to deal with. Then to put the cherry on the sundae, Anastasia's Mother drops in, herself a new widow, and Anastasias job is at jeopardy since a body is found glue gunned in her office cubicle.
As I said, perhaps too much? I was breath...more
This was a Kindle free book.
This book is listed as #1 in a series. I hope that the author continues to write because I think she has a lot of potential. The voice of the narrator is reminiscent of Stephanie Plum, the protagonist of the Janet Evanovich mysteries, and this story is also set in New Jersey, The characters and story line are also comedic. However, the elements of the story and the overall feel is much less well-organized. I think this series does have some potential to become a winne...more
This book is listed as #1 in a series. I hope that the author continues to write because I think she has a lot of potential. The voice of the narrator is reminiscent of Stephanie Plum, the protagonist of the Janet Evanovich mysteries, and this story is also set in New Jersey, The characters and story line are also comedic. However, the elements of the story and the overall feel is much less well-organized. I think this series does have some potential to become a winne...more
I got this one either free or at a much reduced price. It was really quite fun. It's a totally fluffy, cozy mystery, but I enjoyed it. The main character was a dumbass though. So, your husband dies, leaving you in debut from his gambling and this guy calls you telling you that you owe him $50k and the first thing you do isn't to go to the police? I mean, you aren't the one that incurred the debt. What an idiot. I also thought the police were entirely unprofessional in this one. Plus, the main ch...more
This looks like this could be a very cute series. I like the fact that there are crafts in general for a change.
Anastasia’s husband sets the ball rolling by falling in his chips. He then leaves behind 2 teenage sons his lovely Communist mother and debt for Anastasia to have to deal with. The debt wasn’t enough, there is a loan shark after her also. To make matters worse (as if they could get any worse) a co-worker Marlys Vanderburg is killed and glued gun to Anastasia’s office chair.
Anastasia be...more
Anastasia’s husband sets the ball rolling by falling in his chips. He then leaves behind 2 teenage sons his lovely Communist mother and debt for Anastasia to have to deal with. The debt wasn’t enough, there is a loan shark after her also. To make matters worse (as if they could get any worse) a co-worker Marlys Vanderburg is killed and glued gun to Anastasia’s office chair.
Anastasia be...more
Over the top? Yes. Formulaic? Yes. Annoying supporting cast of characters? Yes. Implausible? Yes. Ridiculous, even? Yes. Did I still like it as a fluff piece of curl-up-and-read-on-a-winter-afternoon? Absolutely.
With a title like this, I wasn't expecting anything more than it was. Thus, I wasn't disappointed. Anastasia was a bit of a frustration for me. As were some of the plot developments. But then, again, with a title like this there was no way I was expecting more.
A solid 3 stars for liked...more
With a title like this, I wasn't expecting anything more than it was. Thus, I wasn't disappointed. Anastasia was a bit of a frustration for me. As were some of the plot developments. But then, again, with a title like this there was no way I was expecting more.
A solid 3 stars for liked...more
There's bad luck, and then there's bad luck. First Anastasia's unpleasant mother-in-law moves in with her, then her husband who was supposed to be at a sales meeting in Harrisburg drops dead in Las Vegas, after gambling away all their money (house loan, insurance policies, everything). Now she finds the much-hated fashion editor at the magazine where she runs the crafts department glue-gunned to Anastasia's chair, and guess who the cops suspect? What else could happen? Well, there's a loan shark...more
When I first began Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun, I chuckled. A few more pages into it, I almost stopped reading because it seemed like characters and incidents were overwhelming me. I'm glad I stuck with it as I found that the mad-capped things happening on each page were hilarious, especially when I got into the rhythm of Winston's dry sense of humor. The end of the book flew. Although I nailed who-dun-it early on, I'm looking forward to Winston's next book in the Pollack series. I think she...more
Figuring out the "whodunnit" early on in the book did nothing to distract from this cozy mystery.
Anastasia discovered her perfect husband was not quite perfect after his death. Deeply indebted in gambling losses, the only thing her husband left her was his communist mother.
Not only is Anastasia dealing with mountains of personal problems, she finds an unpleasant co-worker murdered in her office with evidence pointing her direction.
The characters were colorful and fun. I will definately look up m...more
Anastasia discovered her perfect husband was not quite perfect after his death. Deeply indebted in gambling losses, the only thing her husband left her was his communist mother.
Not only is Anastasia dealing with mountains of personal problems, she finds an unpleasant co-worker murdered in her office with evidence pointing her direction.
The characters were colorful and fun. I will definately look up m...more
I had to chuckle when I thought about a murder being committed using a crafter's glue gun. This story is about a recently widowed woman, her two sons and their 2 grandmothers who reside in a very small home. One grandmother is a proud Communist and the other grandmother has been married several times with each of her husbands dying of tragic deaths. Anastasia is the poor unfortunate who is suspected in the murder. Read on as you try and discover who the actual murder is amongst a group of possib...more
I am in a mood and cozies were the only thing I could really enjoy during my vacation. This book grabbed me and made me laugh and that's is exactly what I needed. Between Anastasia's communist mother-in-law, her self absorbed mother (who ended living under the same roof), and the host of other zany co-workers, it was these over-the-top, exaggerated characters that made the book. The mystery portion was just okay and although unpredictable, the resolution of it was kind of blah.
I think I will co...more
I think I will co...more
I liked the premise of this book and the suspense, but I feel like there was a lot of unnecessary fluff. How many times did we actually NEED to read 3 paragraphs about how the mother's cat & mother-in-law's dog hated each other and would growl and hiss at each other? we get it, move on! Sometimes there was so much going on, I felt like I was watching an I Love Lucy episode where everything was just piling on, and I prayed to God all the antics got wrapped up somehow.
That being said, I liked...more
That being said, I liked...more
Anastasia Pollack has just lost her husband. This happened while he was gambling in Las Vegas, when he should have been working. If that wasn’t enough, he had hocked everything there was, his communist Mom and her Devil Dog were ensconced in her home, a woman everyone hated, at work, was killed and left glued to her chair, AND she was being hounded by a mobster. What we have here is Stephanie Plumb meets Barbara Marr. It’s a riot! This being a craftsy mystery, there are crafts, with full instruc...more
I didn't think it was possible, but this book was so horrible I never finished it. I really tried. I got 2/3 through hoping it would get better until I couldn't stomach any more of it. If your in the mood for a story line that gets distracted by anything shiny, cheesy character names that get repeatedly referred to (Just in case you "missed" how silly they were - did you catch how silly they were, did ya, did ya, huh?), and a main character who....oh never mind. Im getting bored just writing the...more
This may be your kind of mystery if you like first person narrative (I don't), annoying quarrelsome family members and pets (live-in MIL vs Mother, contentious dog,cat), constant reminders of personal details (MIL is a communist--got it the first three times).
Although the series title says Crafting Mystery, there is precious little evidence of that.
Still with all the negative (for me), I would like to see how the second book works out because I basically liked Anastasia and her sons and felt a...more
Although the series title says Crafting Mystery, there is precious little evidence of that.
Still with all the negative (for me), I would like to see how the second book works out because I basically liked Anastasia and her sons and felt a...more
The first book in another Stephanie Plum wannabe series. I don't like books like this. I don't find the one-liners funny. The "charming, eccentric" characters are implausible and annoying. And it was so freaking predictable that it was ridiculous. The only thing I liked about it was that it was a quick read. I don't read books like this for fun; I read them for work. If I didn't feel like I had to read them, I wouldn't. If you like this type of book, you will probably like this one, because it's...more
Anastasia Pollack, crafts magazine editor, inherits a mountain of debt from her late husband, including a fifty thousand dollar loan to a mobster. But she’s got worse things on her mind when her mother-in-law moves in, a colleague is killed, and her house is trashed. Will she keep her sanity enough to catch the murderer? Craft making tips are sprinkled throughout this delightful cozy. Zany characters, a potential love interest, and surprise twists will keep you turning pages.
The plot of this book is pretty interesting and appealed to my curiosity. The author gave you a real sense of how overwhelmed the main character was. Unfortunately, the author overwhelmed the reader with too many references to books, plays, t.v. shows, etc. and laid on a triple-thick layer of similes and metaphors. They were good ones, but way too many. After the first few chapters she toned down the feeling of trying-too-hard and it was much easier to read, and therefore more enjoyable.
A humerous cozy about a woman (Anastasia) whose husband has died and gangster who he owed money to has started harrasing the widow for it. This book has a mother and a mother-in-law that know one would want. There is also a dog, a cat and a parrot besides two sons all residing with her. The loan shark keeps after her and there is a murder at the publishing company she works for and three break ins at her home. This is a first in a new series.
Anatasta Pollack's husband dies while gambling away their life savings; then she learns he had borrowed $50k from a loan shark that is wanting the cash paid back now. She then finds her boss when she returns to work one night dead in her cubicle hot to her keyboard chair and chair. Her life gets worse and spirals out of control. Good humorous read with no effort involved except for your enjoyment of senseless wit and the trail to the end in proving she is not prime suspect.
I wanted to like this book more than I did. I felt like there were too many scenes with the main character, her mother, mother-in-law, and their animals. At first, it was funny but quickly became tedious. I did enjoy reading about her crafts and life at the magazine.
All in all, while parts of the book were fun and interesting, the story became bogged down by the main character's mothers and horribly unfortunate situation.
All in all, while parts of the book were fun and interesting, the story became bogged down by the main character's mothers and horribly unfortunate situation.
I LOVE how you write! I can so put myself into your shoes. (Really glad I don't have to. What a bus-load of problems!) Whatever happened to the hunky Renter? I would have liked to see him figure in the story more. At one point I had him pegged for the culprit, but he almost faded into the ether. I'm wondering where her next dime is coming from too. I bet she is too...;o) Bring on more crafty ghoulishness! I'm ready for it.
New widow Anastasia Pollack considers her situation. Not only did her deceased husband leaver her with a mountain of debt, he was into a mob loan shark for 50K. The mobster wants his money--bad. Just when Anastasia thinks her life can't get any worse, she stumbles across a body at work, and the weapon is Anastasia's own hot glue gun. First in a humorous new series. Very funny--can't wait for the next book.
I really wanted to like this book more than I did but it just seemed like too much bad luck for the main character all at once. It was a bit disconcerting, even though there was humor to leaven all the heavy-duty bad luck. Still, the craft suggestions were okay. The communist mother-in-law seemed a bit "over the top" with the hard life of the protag and really got on my nerves. Heck, I wanted to run over her with a car... and her little dog too! (And I'm a dog lover!) Ah well. Maybe the next one...more
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Award-winning author Lois Winston writes the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries series published by Midnight Ink. ASSAULT WITH A DEADLY GLUE GUN, the first book in the series, was released in Jan. 2011 and received starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Booklist. Kirkus Reviews called it, "North Jersey's more mature answer to Stephanie Plum." Lois plans to have that quote on her tombsto...more
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Jan 12, 2012 08:57pm