Chained

Sam Jones #6

by Lauren Henderson

When art chick-cum-sleuth Sam Jones groggily awakens to find her wrists chained to a ceiling plank in a cockroach-infested basement, she knows that her blackout, pounding headache, and body restraints are not the results of a drunken encounter with some S&M freak.

No, she's been kidnapped in a case of mistaken identity, plucked right off a TV production set where she's been working as a stunt double on a hot new miniseries with her boyfriend, Hugo. And when a chum's boyfriend turns up dead, it's clear that the kidnappers have more than pranks on their minds. If she doesn't watch her back, she'll end up topping the endangered species list. Will Sam crack the case before the body count rises?

Lauren Henderson fans will delight in this new adventure for the brassy, lovable, kick-ass detective in stilettos. And mystery lovers who crave an irreverent, murderously funny heroine will find themselves Sam Jones converts before they reach the thrilling conclusion of this uproarious romp through 'tart noir' territory.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Contemporary, Chick Lit

327 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Born in London in 1966, Lauren Henderson read English at university and then worked as a journalist for - among other publications - the New Statesman, Marxism Today, the Observer and Lime Lizard, a much-mourned indie music magazine. Lauren now divides her time between Italy and London and, when not wine-tasting, writes full-time.

Reviews

[Jackson Burnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chained gets four stars for its humor and it bawdy characters. As crime fiction or mystery, it would be entitled to no more than three stars. Good for a laugh.

[Amanda Larkman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Number 6 of the Sam Jones series now re-read and great to see more of Lurch, first introduced in Freeze my Margarita.

This is my least favourite of the series - though I love them all - because it is the darkest. It opens with Sam chained in a cellar being tormented by two men, one of whom is horrific and described in revoltingly gory detail.

I found the vivid descriptions of Sam's injuries harder to take in my old age. When I first read it in my 20's I was too young and full of health to empathise quite as much! Still, a good tale and I enjoyed the delicious Hugo's banter with Sam.

[Writerlibrarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average 3 ⭐️ More violence and gore than in the other titles of the series. Mostly for shock violence most of it is not plot driven but fills in holes in the narrative. The culprit wasn't obvious but not an out of nowhere villain. So so.

[Jen MacInnis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Got to page 44 and threw the book away. So many
characters I didn’t know who was who or who was talking. It took 44 pages to get through seemingly one hour of their life. Wouldn’t even bother handing it off to a friend.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars tops. The story was ok but didn’t flow and then the end (g g ox) was just an afterthought. It wasn’t the worst thing I read but was by no means the best

[Paul Close · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very comfortable, good characters and believable situations. Some very funny parts (IKEA)

[Claire]

Not in library

[Simeonberesford · Rating 2 out of 5]

Apparently Ms Henderson is a leading light of something called Tart Noir. Well noir it is not. Laddette Crime is probably a better description. Lots of mostly off stage sex and violence. mixed with plenty of onstage soft drugs and alchol. it bounces along the cynicism of Noir replaced with the flippancy of a Heroine who knows she is invunerable. I was not even emotionally involved during an attempted rape scene...[return]Not objectionable just too damned lightwight.

[Pamela Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it. Surprisingly. And I am interested in checking some of the other Sam Jones books. It took a bit for me to get used to the British slang but it was entertaining. Much more of a mystery/crime novel than I expected which was nice.

[Lain · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was so "not me" that I set it down after five pages. I couldn't understand what was happening or who was who, and the language was so foul I couldn't stand it. Read at your own risk.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my least favorite of this series, probably because it is--by far--the most implausible.

[Randi Stout]

I really liked this book. At the beginning of the book, it was very hard to understand who was who and what the characters were doing. The entire book was so impulsive that i couldn't put it down.

[Tiina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good, starts in a way that it's easy to become engaged in the story. Different main character. Very fresh read.

[Mira · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the earlier Sam Jones novels but although this was a good read it lacked some of the Cool Britannia energy of it's predecessors.

Interested to try some of Henderson's other series

[Paulette Gerkovich · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not nearly as good as the others in the series. It was bearable .... kept me mildly entertained in parts, and I like Sam's attitude. But I wouldn't go out of my way for it.

[Joan Horkey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sam Jones is a unique heroine. She is gutsy, brassy, funny, and loveable. A great read.

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

quick enjoyable read.

[Lmcampognone · Rating 4 out of 5]

My fav of the Sam Jones adventures

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series is so entertaining you can almost overlook how silly this particular plot is. Almost.

[Dani · Rating 1 out of 5]

Chaotisch, ohne wirkliche Richtung, zu langatmig und ich musste mich zwingen es fertig zu lesen.