Gunshy

Jennifer Pierce Maine Mystery #2

by Sharon Lee

Having survived a run-in that destroyed her prized Camaro and almost cost her her life, Jen Pierce has settled into her unexpected role as respected small-town journalist.
That role includes certain social obligations. How could she guess a simple holiday dinner invitation might bring her face-to-face with someone who was near phobically, tragically, gunshy?

Sharon Lee and Steve Miller are well known for their Liaden Universe series, but Sharon also writes on her own. The Jennifer Pierce mystery series are set in 1980's Maine, during that dusty, musty time when 'going online' meant dialing up a bulletin board service. Remember when?

Genres: Mystery

243 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Sharon Lee has been married to her first husband for more than half her lifetime; she is a friend to cats, a member of the National Carousel Association, and oversees the dubious investment schemes of an improbable number of stuffed animals.

Despite having been born in a year of the dragon, Sharon is an introvert. She lives in Maine because she likes it there. In fact, she likes it so much that she has written five novels set in Maine; contemporary fantasy trilogy Carousel Tides, Carousel Sun, Carousel Seas, and mysteries Barnburner and Gunshy.

With the aforementioned first husband, Steve Miller, Sharon has written twenty novels of science fiction and fantasy — many of them set in the Liaden Universe® — and numerous short stories. She has occasionally been an advertising copywriter, a reporter, photographer, book reviewer, and secretary. She was for three years Executive Director of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc., and was subsequently elected vice president and then president of that organization.

Reviews

[Li · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm still loving the "retro-ness" of this mystery series.

What surprised me with this book is that the mystery sneaks up on you, unlike the first one Barnburner, where the resolution snuck up on me.

I would really like more in this series - I would totally love to see the relationship between Jennifer and Fox develop. There is so much potential there...

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite enjoyable, maybe even better than the first of this series.

[Estara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved that the focus of this book was on Jennifer finally making more connections - of her own volition and not just thrust upon her - within the community of Wimsy and of course with Fox. I also loved the fact that this is not a romance - the time frame would make that much too cliché. I missed Marian here, but there was a lot more about the other inhabitants of Wimsy.

Actually I could have done without the mystery altogether, it's just such a lovely slice of life of a person growing more comfortable with herself and the place she is at. There are hints that more books were planned. I'd buy the next one if I could get it.

1st read December 13th-14th, 2010
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There is no fantastic or magical realist in this second book, I should have added. And Marian does show up, she just doesn't have as important a role as in the first book. We do get a closer look at Jen's editor and her newspaper, which was interesting.

The Wiccan couple that was the focus of the crime in the first novel doesn't show up. I wonder if they moved.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite good!!

[Red · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really enjoying the Jennifer Pierce adventures. I like the setting (small town Maine), the characters, and the narrative style. Set in the mid-1980's there is a lot of historic technical charm as a lot of the action is based around the then current computer technology. That part seems very quaint and nostalgic. I really enjoyed this novella length story.

[Dlora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gunshy is the second book in the Jen Pierce mysteries series, although the “mystery” doesn’t become apparent until almost two-thirds of the way into the story. I wish there was a third in the series but I don’t think it is going to happen. I thought it was just a great little piece of whimsey continuing the themes of loving Maine and its eccentric characters, having fun browsing computer boards, and being a good newspaper reporter. I am always intrigued with why an author picks a title: I figured Gunshy was chosen because one character is extremely vocal on the board about hating guns—they make her sick; she can’t stand to even be in a room where there are guns. However, I later decided maybe the title was a reference to Fox, who was still “gun shy” about having a relationship. Loved the bit of history surrounding a small slice of time (1989) when computers and social networking was just beginning and many people used BBS—a bulletin board system. I also thought the book had a lot of autobiographical feel about it, that Lee based a lot of her characters and the setting on her own life. Sharon Lee and her husband Steve Miller living in Maine in the areas around the book’s fictional town of Wimsey; Steve was great with computers and started Circular Logic BBS, which became one of the state’s largest independent BBS systems, and Sharon had worked as a reporter (as did Steve) and they liked cats. I enjoyed a main theme running through the book about reporters, which unfortunately isn’t so true today: “A reporter has to be careful to give equal time to all sides of a story, when there are sides. If you give more ink to one side or another, if you only pull quotes that make one side look stupid or obstructive or . . . You can spin the story, make the readers believe what you want them to believe.”

[Tina Tessina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful read.

I love the books Sharon Lee writes by herself. She writes about Maine and its people. The Jennifer Pierce books (2) have great characters and fascinating stories. They have a lovely, small town ambiance, spiced up with a mystery. I wish there were more than two.

[Violet Catte · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this more than the first one. There is still that tinge of darkness that runs throughout these books but I'm warming up to it.

CW: gun violence, mentions of rape, mentions of physical abuse

[Jean Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cozy Mystery

In this sequel to Barnburner, Jennifer and Fox are stunned by the death of one of the members of their online bulletin board. They can't accept the police suggestion of suicide by gun as she couldn't abide guns.
The characters are likeable and the ending was not easy for me to figure out. This book is about life in a small town in Maine. The mystery plot is almost incidental.
The books in this series were full of the latest tech do-das back when originally written. They are now quaintly antique. So turn on your 'way back' machines and enjoy!

[Doreen Farrar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another awesome mystery

This book is Sharon Lee's second Jennifer Pierce mystery, and it's at least as good as the first. I'm looking forward to Book the Third, et al.

[Bill O'Driscoll · Rating 3 out of 5]

Further adventures of a computer nerd in the Maine winter woods.

[Barb in Maryland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Follow on to Barnburner is a good read, indeed. Clever mystery, nice atmosphere, well developed characters. A nice way to spend an hour or so.

[Simba · Rating 5 out of 5]

There really should be more of these!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good follow up to Barnburner.