Status
Available
Call number
Description
When detective Rick Montoya returns to the city to try to clear his name after being accused of taking a bribe, he discovers someone is living in his apartment. Before he can find out who it is, the apartment house goes up in flames. Rick watches covertly as the police remove two bodies. Was the firebombing meant for him? Who exactly was killed in the fire? And why? What was his landlady Cheryl doing at home in the middle of the afternoon? And why is her daughter Susanna acting strangely? Then his estranged wife arrives at the scene of the fire. The questions mount up, along with the suspects.
Genres
Collection
Publication
Rapid Reads (2010), 136 pages
User reviews
LibraryThing member tardis
The Spider Bites by Medora Sale (Rapid Reads Series)
Rick “Spider” Montoya is a suspended cop with a broken marriage and a need to clear his name. After a summer working as a farm labourer, he comes back to the city to deal with the corruption charges and discovers someone living in his basement
This book is part of Raven Books' new “Rapid Reads Series,” a series of short, easy-read, larger print, fast-paced novels for adults. It really was a fast read for me – probably under an hour. The vocabulary is not noticeably “dumbed down” but the story is definitely “mystery lite.” I think characterization suffers a bit from the need to keep the story short and fast and I didn't totally buy the solution to the case the first time around, although going back the second time I did see where the author had salted the story with a few clues. I may just have read it too fast the first time. On the whole, I did enjoy the story and would recommend it for older reluctant readers or adults in ESL or literacy programs.
Reviewed from copy received through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program.
Rick “Spider” Montoya is a suspended cop with a broken marriage and a need to clear his name. After a summer working as a farm labourer, he comes back to the city to deal with the corruption charges and discovers someone living in his basement
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apartment. It's late and Rick doesn't know who's there so he goes to a hotel for the night. By the time he gets back, the house is in flames and two people are dead. Lots of questions, lots of suspects.This book is part of Raven Books' new “Rapid Reads Series,” a series of short, easy-read, larger print, fast-paced novels for adults. It really was a fast read for me – probably under an hour. The vocabulary is not noticeably “dumbed down” but the story is definitely “mystery lite.” I think characterization suffers a bit from the need to keep the story short and fast and I didn't totally buy the solution to the case the first time around, although going back the second time I did see where the author had salted the story with a few clues. I may just have read it too fast the first time. On the whole, I did enjoy the story and would recommend it for older reluctant readers or adults in ESL or literacy programs.
Reviewed from copy received through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program.
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LibraryThing member Smilee306
While I'm in the middle of too many books, when I received The Spider Bites yesterday I was intrigued by the concept of books that can be read in one sitting, so I had to give it a try last night. True to the ideal, I read the book in less than an hour, in one sitting. The characters were
This was an interesting little mystery, and I think many people would enjoy it. For readers like myself, I might say this would be the perfect book to read at Barnes and Noble when you're trying to kill an hour - you would get through and be satisfied in the completion. It's not one that I will need to read again, but I am still thinking about the characters, and I've now been encouraged to pick up another novel by Medora Sale. I would also be interested to see the other novels in the series, to see how other authors deal with the apparently imposed 128 page limit (although The Spider Bites is 131!) I hope others enjoy this!
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interesting even though we only get a glimpse of their personalities and motivations. At first I found the prose clunky, but that may have been partly the aim of the Rapid Reads, as they are also marketing to "those struggling with literacy challenges." as per their marketing flyer that came included with the book. I have received books from LibraryThing though where the prose was bad to the point of distraction; that was not the case here, it just didn't flow as well as I would have liked. Eventually I didn't worry about the prose anymore, just the story, but I would be interested to read Sale's award winning book to see if this is her personal writing style or if she went easy on the readers in this book. It was a good story, and pretty interesting, but I don't know that it would have kept me reading if I hadn't had the goal of reading it in one sitting. The print is quite large, like a YA novel, and the chapters were very short, so it was very easy and palatable to read in one sitting. I just feel like I may not be the type of reader to benefit from this short format. What bothered me the most is that it seemed like we got to the solving of the mystery much too quickly. All of a sudden, there it was, without much warning that we were at the end. I do think that the concept is great, and that you wouldn't necessarily want to add any length to the work, but I would have been happy to have a couple of extra chapters between chapters 16 and 17. It was very refreshing to be able to sit down and read a book in a sitting, but I suppose that I'm one who doesn't mind luxuriating and maybe having a few too many novels in queue, as long as the tradeoff is great detail and story.This was an interesting little mystery, and I think many people would enjoy it. For readers like myself, I might say this would be the perfect book to read at Barnes and Noble when you're trying to kill an hour - you would get through and be satisfied in the completion. It's not one that I will need to read again, but I am still thinking about the characters, and I've now been encouraged to pick up another novel by Medora Sale. I would also be interested to see the other novels in the series, to see how other authors deal with the apparently imposed 128 page limit (although The Spider Bites is 131!) I hope others enjoy this!
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LibraryThing member gtippitt
I applaud this publishers attempt to introduce novels for readers with literacy difficulties. That being said, I do not think this book is good or easy. Nathaniel Hawthorne very accurately said “Easy reading is damn hard writing.” Blaise Pascal similarly said, "I have made this letter longer
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than usual because I lack the time to make it shorter." Show Less
LibraryThing member Readanon
The story was enjoyable, but there was too little of it for my taste - it was more like reading a short story than a regular book. It lived up to its description as a "Rapid Read" and is perfect for someone with a short attention span or with very limited time to devote to reading.
LibraryThing member redrose
A very quick read, as it was intended. This book is one of a new series geared to be quick reads, and useful for adults who are working on learning to read better. I am not the target audience.
The plot was very simple, but interesting enough that I kept reading to see how it turned out. There's a
I really like the idea of books that are simple, but deal with adult topics, because they will probably be more interesting to adults who are learning to read than kids books would be.
I've already passed it on to an ESL friend of mine.
The plot was very simple, but interesting enough that I kept reading to see how it turned out. There's a
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fair amount of incluing, and not much info-dump.I really like the idea of books that are simple, but deal with adult topics, because they will probably be more interesting to adults who are learning to read than kids books would be.
I've already passed it on to an ESL friend of mine.
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LibraryThing member CeeDeeGee
This was my first "rapid read" and I really enjoyed the quick and smooth flow of the characters and plot. I would recommend it definitely!
LibraryThing member NorthernStar
This is a short mystery written for the Rapid Reads series. I found that it was a quick, fun read, and the mystery kept me guessing. Despite the simplified vocabulary and grammar, I did not find the story lacking in any way. The main character was sympathetic and engaging. I would recommend it for
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any reader who wants a quick read, but especially for those who may struggle a bit with longer books. I will be recomending this book and the Rapid Reads series to friends who work at the college and our local literacy society. Show Less
LibraryThing member bailey9189
I received this book as part of the LibraryThing giveaway program. I think that it is a nice little story that can be read in a couple of hours. The mystery itself wasn't very complicated but was somewhat of a surprise as to who did it. The story was well told, I think, and didn't spend time in
My only complaint was the price- I doubt that I would pay $9.95 for a book like this. I can get a regular new paperback for $6.99 at Borders.
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endless descriptions of people, places, backgrounds etc. That helped to keep it to its short length. The series is geared to those who want to read but don't want to commit to a longer book. Also this series is good for those to whom reading is somewhat of a challenge. I can see these books being used for YAs who really don't like to read but need to for school and also this would be helpful for ESL or adult literacy programs. My only complaint was the price- I doubt that I would pay $9.95 for a book like this. I can get a regular new paperback for $6.99 at Borders.
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LibraryThing member mphchicago
This book, from the Publisher's new Rapid Read Series, was adequate for what it is advertised as: a quick easy read. I think a little more background would have helped it enormously without going beyond the "Rapid Read" format. Where does it take place? A little more detail on who the characters
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are and how they know each other. It had the feel of being redacted from a larger work and signaled a likely follow-up book at the end. A lot was left hanging. While not for me (I like a little more meat to my mysteries), I can see that it might have a nice niche in airport stores, hospital gift shops and maybe for some beach readers. The shorter story, larger print size and light weight would also be nice for older folks. As a former volunteer tutor for a literacy program and for English as a Second Language, I agree that it would be great for these teen and adult learners too. However, I think the price is a bit steep ($10.00) for such a small, coarse grade paperback. Show Less
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2010
Physical description
7.25 inches
ISBN
9781554692828
Other editions
The Spider Bites by Medora Sale (Paperback)