#32 CRYSTAL CLEAR by Jane Heller

Number of Book #32
Date Began and Finished 5/18- 5/24 2008
Genre - Women's Fiction/Humorous
Year It Was Published - 1998
Publisher - Kensington Fiction
Number of Pages 380
Mass Market paperback
Reason for reading: Tbr/trade with friend
Rating 3.5/5 stars

Blurb or Synopsis: Crystal Goldstein is an accountant living in Manhattan. Her life is very orderly and quiet. She's been seeing a boyfriend for a number of years now but realizes it's going nowhere. She had been content, but now feels that she's wasting her time with him. When she discovers he's been cheating on her with his ex-wife, she's just about had it. Her best friend, Rona, coaxes Crystal to make a visit to Sedona for a vacation and also to help find herself and find some direction in her life.

So, Crystal makes the trip, checks into a very posh resort, and signs up for a 5 day "Sacred Earth" jeep tour, something she would never have done before this idea of even GOING to Sedona came up. This could be a sign, but the leader of their tour was none other than Crystal's ex-husband from years ago, a man she never thought she'd set eyes on again. Terry looked even better than when she saw him last, but as she got to watch him in action, she realized he'd also grown up. he was no longer that immature young man she had been married to, a man that was more like a boy who had no real direction in life. Crystal had always had more discipline, knew how she wanted to lead her life, and Terry was holding her back. She couldn't stay with a husband that had no goals or direction.

But now here they were, together again on a jeep tour. Terry was actually the owner of the company who ran the tour, and he looked happy. The two still feel the sparks, but Crystal hears that he's got a woman in his life, not really sure if it is his wife or girlfriend, but she is disappointed that he's not free to carry on where they had left off.

It is during this jeep tour that one of the customers of the tour disappears. Amanda Wells Reid, an international jet-setter who for some reason or another was on this tour (along with her entourage), has been kidnapped and now the company and the town of Sedona are the hot spot for the media. This is big news. Suspects include Amanda's husband, all of her entourage, as well as Terry's business partner and friend Will Singleton, a Lakota Sioux who was the last person to be seen with Amanda.

In the meantime, Crystal's boyfriend (ex-boyfriend?) wants to see her, and now she's not so sure she wants him back in her life. She's rediscovered Terry, and likes what she sees.

I've read a few books by Jane Heller, and this one is probably the oldest of them all. I didn't' quite like it as much as the others; the humor seemed a bit forced and the characters were all rather stereotypical on top of that. The story was enjoyable however, and I had fun trying to figure out who actually was guilty of kidnapping Amanda.

Crystal was the main character, but I think her romance story between Terry and her troubles with the boyfriend back home for me held the same interest as the story of Amanda's kidnapping. I didn't' like nor dislike Crystal's character; i just didn't' really care about her. It wasn't a bad book, but i think if i hadn't read this book at all, it wouldn't have been a missed opportunity. This is the type of book one would take on an airplane to read - light humor, beach read. I give it a mild recommendation.