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Nina Zero #5
Zero to the Bone: A Nina Zero Novel
Robert Eversz's edgy and endearing heroine Nina Zero is back...and this time she's embroiled in her most dangerous case ever -- investigating L.A.'s underground S&M scene while getting caught up in sex, lies, and babysitting. It's opening night of Nina Zero's first gallery show, and her staged photographs of Hollywood pulp scenes are attracting the interest of actual art connoisseurs, not just the usual gossip rag readership. But the excitement of the evening shifts to alarm when Nina receives an anonymous package containing an amateur bondage video that may have ended in death. As she and her editor at "Scandal Times" watch the rape and strangling of a young woman, Nina Zero recognizes a distinctive tattoo on the woman's right shoulder, and suddenly realizes why one of her models has missed the opening.
Who sent the tape? And more important, what happened to the woman? Nina starts investigating her model and discovers a parallel life of S&M phone sex, blogs written in code, an illicit relationship with a celebrity hypnotherapist, and ties to the son of a billionaire film director. Her "Scandal Times" coverage of the case enrages the LAPD and attracts death threats from anonymous sources. Luckily, Nina has her trusted (but toothless) Rottweiler by her side, as well as a sexy but mysterious detective who keeps landing in her bed. Just when events begin to spin from her control, Nina's deeply dysfunctional family enters the fray, making life even more complicated for this ex-con with a soft heart and a chip on her shoulder.
Set in a vividly sunny and sinister Los Angeles, "Zero to the Bone" is the best (and sexiest) Nina Zero novel yet.
Who sent the tape? And more important, what happened to the woman? Nina starts investigating her model and discovers a parallel life of S&M phone sex, blogs written in code, an illicit relationship with a celebrity hypnotherapist, and ties to the son of a billionaire film director. Her "Scandal Times" coverage of the case enrages the LAPD and attracts death threats from anonymous sources. Luckily, Nina has her trusted (but toothless) Rottweiler by her side, as well as a sexy but mysterious detective who keeps landing in her bed. Just when events begin to spin from her control, Nina's deeply dysfunctional family enters the fray, making life even more complicated for this ex-con with a soft heart and a chip on her shoulder.
Set in a vividly sunny and sinister Los Angeles, "Zero to the Bone" is the best (and sexiest) Nina Zero novel yet.
- GenresFiction
288 pages, Hardcover
First published February 21, 2006
1 person is currently reading
38 people want to read
About the author
Robert Eversz
15 books12 followersA graduate of the University of California at Santa Cruz and UCLA's MFA Program in Film, Television, and Digital Media, ROBERT EVERSZ pounded the mean streets of Hollywood for a decade before fleeing to Europe to write Gypsy Hearts, an expatriate novel set in Prague and Budapest, and his five novels about Nina Zero and the American Obsession with celebrity culture.
Among other distinctions, his novels have been translated into 15 languages and have appeared on the critical best-of-year lists of The Washington Post, Oslo Aftenposten, Bookpage, the Manchester Guardian, and January Magazine.
At least a part-time resident of Prague since 1992, he helped found the Prague Summer Writer's Workshop, now the Prague Summer Program, and serves on its permanent faculty. He has also lived, at various times, in San Pol de Mar, Spain, Morelia, Mexico, and Silvi Marina, Italy. In 2007, he judged the Association of Writers and Writing Programs' Award Series In the Novel, and is currently Writer in Residence at Western Michigan University.
Among other distinctions, his novels have been translated into 15 languages and have appeared on the critical best-of-year lists of The Washington Post, Oslo Aftenposten, Bookpage, the Manchester Guardian, and January Magazine.
At least a part-time resident of Prague since 1992, he helped found the Prague Summer Writer's Workshop, now the Prague Summer Program, and serves on its permanent faculty. He has also lived, at various times, in San Pol de Mar, Spain, Morelia, Mexico, and Silvi Marina, Italy. In 2007, he judged the Association of Writers and Writing Programs' Award Series In the Novel, and is currently Writer in Residence at Western Michigan University.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 7, 2018
This is my second Nina Zero story and I'm even more surprised that our heroine is drawn by a guy, author Robert Eversz. Nina, our heroine comes across as a bad-ass ex-con who can't help herself get drawn into typical bad S&M shit, LA style. This is something that dozens of male writers can admirably do. However, Eversz conveys Nina as a sympathetic character full of caring and love. In this version, we come to learn how Nina's childhood with an abusive father propelled her rage and explains some of her passion and emotional dysfunction. The pace is unrelenting, which I often find indicative of weaknesses in character development. Her lovable toothless dog Rott gets plenty of attention as does the undercover cop who can't keep his clothes on or morals straight. The writing itself verges on the pulpy side, which is good, at least for me. Rape, drugs, S&M, cover-ups, power, and influence. Pretty much right on with today's rebellion of male power & degradation.
December 30, 2022
This book, in theory, had a good plot. However, the writing was jumpy and hard to follow, paired with random bits of information that were either irrelevant to the story or not enough to figure out what the author was trying to say. The ending also get quite rushed in comparison to the rest of the book.
March 22, 2018
Loved it but also sad that it is the last one in the series 😞. Nina really grows on you. The final book will not let you down!
October 12, 2021
The 5th installment of original book: Shooting Elvis by Robert Eversz.
A modern L.A. Noir story featuring tough chick, Nina Zero.
Just like the previous 4, I was into this book for hours.
A modern L.A. Noir story featuring tough chick, Nina Zero.
Just like the previous 4, I was into this book for hours.
January 11, 2017
I really feel for the Nina Zero character.
October 26, 2013
RATING: 5.0
PROTAGONIST: Nina Zero, photographer
SETTING: Los Angeles
SERIES: #5 of 5
Most mystery readers have several series that they faithfully follow. There are those that are so prized that even the stingiest of us will buy the book in hard cover upon publication. Even with the most favorite of our series, though, there is always the dreaded thought that creeps in to your head when you hear about the next book coming up: "Is this the one that's going to be the stinker?" Well, Nina Zero fans, I'm here to tell you that ZERO TO THE BONE is not that stinker. In fact, I consider it to be the very best book of the five featuring our intrepid photographer.
Nina Zero's life has been anything but a bed of roses. Suffering from terrible abuse at her father's hands during childhood, she fled from home, served a stint in jail and eventually became a paparazza, with most of her work being used by one of the tabloid rags, Scandal Times. Her work has finally garnered her some recognition, with an opening at an upscale art gallery. The joy of that event is greatly mitigated by a package that Nina receives, a snuff film showing the death of one of the models that Nina used for her photographs.
Why did someone send the film to Nina? Are they hoping that she will use the film to determine who killed her? As Nina soon finds out, the model, Christine, was no paragon of virtue. She lived on the edge, engaged in sadomasochistic sex and played around with some very dangerous people. And those people are now the ones that Nina is pursuing and the ones that cause her and her faithful sidekick, a toothless Rottweiler by the name of Baby, enduring harm. On the flip side, the investigation has added another dimension to Nina's life in the form of Sean Tyler, a cop with whom there is an instant chemistry.
At the same time, Nina is dealing with family matters. Her 15-year-old niece, Cassie, is looking for a connection. Although Nina's teen years were anything but ideal, Cassie is an even rougher character, well trained by her mother, Nina's sister, in the art of the con. Cassie decides that she wants to stay in the area and intends to move in with Nina's father. The thought horrifies Nina—her father abused all of the members of the family and was the direct cause of most of Nina's problems in adulthood. Cassie's situation pushes Nina and her father together. It seems that the man has changed, that he genuinely regrets his past behavior. Or is that a con too? Is it possible that he and Nina will be able to coexist? Can Nina move beyond her victimization mindset and forgive him for all the wrongs that he did?
ZERO TO THE BONE is an incredible work of love and loss and hope and sacrifice. Eversz is a masterful writer who has created characters that come to life for the reader. He never takes the easy way out. The resolution of the book is extremely painful, yet extremely truthful, sad yet satisfying. ZERO TO THE BONE was a wow book for me. I expect that it will have a permanent place on my bookshelf of favorites.
PROTAGONIST: Nina Zero, photographer
SETTING: Los Angeles
SERIES: #5 of 5
Most mystery readers have several series that they faithfully follow. There are those that are so prized that even the stingiest of us will buy the book in hard cover upon publication. Even with the most favorite of our series, though, there is always the dreaded thought that creeps in to your head when you hear about the next book coming up: "Is this the one that's going to be the stinker?" Well, Nina Zero fans, I'm here to tell you that ZERO TO THE BONE is not that stinker. In fact, I consider it to be the very best book of the five featuring our intrepid photographer.
Nina Zero's life has been anything but a bed of roses. Suffering from terrible abuse at her father's hands during childhood, she fled from home, served a stint in jail and eventually became a paparazza, with most of her work being used by one of the tabloid rags, Scandal Times. Her work has finally garnered her some recognition, with an opening at an upscale art gallery. The joy of that event is greatly mitigated by a package that Nina receives, a snuff film showing the death of one of the models that Nina used for her photographs.
Why did someone send the film to Nina? Are they hoping that she will use the film to determine who killed her? As Nina soon finds out, the model, Christine, was no paragon of virtue. She lived on the edge, engaged in sadomasochistic sex and played around with some very dangerous people. And those people are now the ones that Nina is pursuing and the ones that cause her and her faithful sidekick, a toothless Rottweiler by the name of Baby, enduring harm. On the flip side, the investigation has added another dimension to Nina's life in the form of Sean Tyler, a cop with whom there is an instant chemistry.
At the same time, Nina is dealing with family matters. Her 15-year-old niece, Cassie, is looking for a connection. Although Nina's teen years were anything but ideal, Cassie is an even rougher character, well trained by her mother, Nina's sister, in the art of the con. Cassie decides that she wants to stay in the area and intends to move in with Nina's father. The thought horrifies Nina—her father abused all of the members of the family and was the direct cause of most of Nina's problems in adulthood. Cassie's situation pushes Nina and her father together. It seems that the man has changed, that he genuinely regrets his past behavior. Or is that a con too? Is it possible that he and Nina will be able to coexist? Can Nina move beyond her victimization mindset and forgive him for all the wrongs that he did?
ZERO TO THE BONE is an incredible work of love and loss and hope and sacrifice. Eversz is a masterful writer who has created characters that come to life for the reader. He never takes the easy way out. The resolution of the book is extremely painful, yet extremely truthful, sad yet satisfying. ZERO TO THE BONE was a wow book for me. I expect that it will have a permanent place on my bookshelf of favorites.
February 17, 2009
i am reading a galley, so i'm not sure if its quite the same. the style is interesting, the content can be a little disturbing at times.
actually to be honest i never finished reading, or even got very far
actually to be honest i never finished reading, or even got very far
December 25, 2012
Fast-paced thriller set in Los Angeles -- a fun and easy read with a great detective in Nina Zero, an ex-con paparazza. It's a great ride following Nina through the city of Angels, stalking celebrities and uncovering a murderer.
November 11, 2007
Read my thoughts at: Thoughts of Joy...
May 1, 2011
I like this hero: Nina Zero And I like her neighborhood: The greasy side of Hollywood.
April 2, 2013
Great book, really enjoyed it.
March 1, 2015
Full on action! Will definitely read more of the Nina Zero Novels.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews