Getting Rid of Bradley

Author: Jennifer Crusie

Detective Zachery Warren is afraid to grow old. He's a man of action who goes with his gut and makes split second decisions. For a man like him getting old means slowing down and slowing down means death. Detective Anthony is Zach's partner and the thinker of the duo. He's afraid that Zach is going to burn out, but isn't sure how to keep it from happening. Zach is too busy trying to catch Bradley to worry about any of this navel psychobabble that his partner is so fond of. When a tip about Bradley leads them to a diner where they overhear a couple of attractive women talking about getting rid of Bradley as they walk out, Zach's sure they've caught the break they've been waiting for. The partner's split up to follow the women, but Zach's barely manages to get the woman's attention when someone shoots at them. Zach's not the most popular guy with everyone, but he's pretty sure she's the target and it's possible that Bradley might be trying to get rid of her.

Lucy Savage is a physics teacher who loves logic and making well thought out practical decisions. The one time she made a spontaneous decision resulted in marriage to Bradley, whom she's just divorced. Now she's got this cop on her doorstep, who looks more like a criminal than an officer of the law, telling her that her dull uptight ex-husband is a criminal and that someone may be trying to kill her. She doesn't believe it, of course, because it's illogical that someone would want to shoot at her. She feels she's been proven correct when it turns out that the criminal he's looking for is not her ex, Bradley Porter, but a man named John Bradley. Sure the signs that someone has been trying to break in to her house are a bit disturbing, but it's a far cry from attempted murder. Unfortunately, the car bomb is not. This, coupled with a yearbook linking both Bradleys, leads Zach to move in with Lucy for protection and to find what someone wants from Lucy's house.


I really liked Zach. He very clearly had issues and he fought his attraction to Lucy, but once he decided to fall he did it all out. Lucy was really cute, I really like nerdy characters, but she had some serious TSTL moments that were just ridiculous. I hate it when a character decides they're going to be free or independent and then proceed to make the most boneheaded decisions all in the name of this new resolution and, of course, if anyone dares to cut up about whatever idiocy they've committed they're filled with righteous indignation and anger towards the person they perceive as trying to stifle or control them. It's annoying and makes me think less of the character, especially when that character is supposed to be smart, like Lucy is. Some might say that it's simply a lack of street smarts on her part, but I think anyone with half a brain would think it a bad idea to go out for a solo morning jog when a cop has told you to stay indoors because someone has tried to break in to your home repeatedly and might possibly be trying to kill you. Then to go out alone again just to get your hair done without so much as calling someone to let them know where you are going to be after someone sets of a bomb in your car? This coupled with the fact that she refused to leave her home for her own protection, even after a bomb is set off in the house, really made me want to slap some sense in to her. I like this book, but I don't love Lucy ... or at least I don't love her bad choices..