The Greeks of Beaubien Street is a wonderful mystery story about a brutal murder, tempered by colorful family relationships. Jill Zannos is a homocide detective working the murder case. The victim is the daughter of a retired officer. Jill is an excellent detective, and is aided by her sixth sense, a type of intuition she has no control over, but has helped her in the past. Jill has a bad feeling about this case, and the end result is nothing I ever could have imagined.
The mystery is tantalizing and kept me turning pages, but even more so I liked the interactions between Jill and her family. Jill is from Greektown in Detroit and has a deep Greek heritage that she sometimes tries to escape. The author does an excellent job in describing Greektown, so much so that you feel as if you’d recognize it walking the streets of Detroit. These were the best parts of the story for me, because I liked learning about the culture and traditions of the Greeks.
The story is really well done, though a bit graphic in nature. I’d just like to throw that out there for my YA readers. The plot moves along at a perfect pace. The characters, especially Jill are well developed and believable as real people. I loved the relationships between Jill and her family. They were very relatable. I really enjoyed this book and cannot wait to read the next book in the series.
A murder investigation unfolds inside Detroit’s tightknit Greek community.
The brutal rape and murder of a young woman, Gretchen Parker, sparks the plot of this appealing mystery from Jenkins (Family Dynamics, 2012, etc.). Detroit’s police dispatch calls detective Jill Zannos, a longtime veteran with deep roots in Detroit’s “Greektown” enclave; she was raised there by her gruff father, Gus, after the death of her mother and the institutionalization of her mentally impaired brother. She joins her detective partner, Albert Wong, and begins the investigation into Parker’s disappearance and death, all the while juggling the demands of her outspoken, extended family and her hapless boyfriend Alex, (Gus, we’re told, is “resigned to the fact that his only daughter would probably never leave this sad and broken man”). Jill brings her dogged professionalism to the investigation, along with an acute instinct that she’s comfortable chalking up to a touch of extrasensory perception. “Being Greek,” Jenkins writes, “living above the family grocery store, having a mentally retarded brother, a dead mother, and a little ESP cemented Jill’s outcast standing in the community.” She’s a skilled detective, however, and as she tells her father, she’s “not just another pretty face.” After a series of well-deployed plot twists, Jill zeroes in on the culprit. Jenkins complicates and expands the domestic and detecting halves of the plot with a deft, sure touch, and her portrayal of Gretchen Parker’s final day is unflinchingly stark. Jenkins also expertly captures the exotic sights, sounds, and smells (oregano, mint, garlic, feta, olive oil, tomato, etc.) of the neighborhood.
An effective, memorable police-procedural whodunit.
the mythical Greek American family while simultaneously
offering a portrait of a strong Greek American woman.“The book is brilliant. I’m excited for the sequel.” Rebecca Thiele, NPR (in an email)
Don’t You Forget About Me – Suzanne Jenkins (2011)
After Pam’s husband Jack dies of a heart attack on the train, three women – Pam, her sister Marie and Sandra – are drawn together in a way they never thought would be possible. Both Sandra and Marie had been having a relationship with Jack and now Sandra is expecting his child. When Pam is hospitalised suddenly, yet another shock awaits the three women as Pam is diagnosed with a deadly medical condition which the other two soon find out they share. How many others out there are also affected? Pam also has to deal with both Jack’s and her mother’s and her brother-in-law Bill’s problems. This is a beautifully told story which had me gripped from the beginning. Although this book is the sequel to Pam of Babylon, it is written in such a way that if you haven’t read the prequel you will easily pick up, follow and enjoy Don’t You Forget About Me. (LM)
This book is great. It’s great in the kept-me-up-until-2:00AM way. It’s great in the I-didn’t-want-to-read-too-fast-because-then-it’d-be-finished way. It’s great in the wow-I-sure-hope-this-is-going-to-be-a-series way.
The central character is Detective Jill Zannos of the Detroit Police Homicide Division. Jill is investigating the brutal rape and murder of a beautiful young suburbanite whose body was dumped in a downtown Detroit alley. The reader meets Jill’s family, boyfriend, and colleagues and gets a glimpse into the life of old Greektown, all the while the plot is moving toward a horrific conclusion. As the rapist and killer are revealed (SPOILER–no, they’re not the same person), most readers will be thinking, “Oh, please no, it just can’t be!”
Suzanne Jenkins’ style is to write from a compelling third person omniscient point of view which allows us to creep into the minds of all the characters. I’m just not sure we want to. But I am sure we’ll all want the next book.
Betty rated it 
Without giving too much away or any spoilers, The crime has a twist that I wasn’t expecting, very much a shocker and I loved it! It is a bit explicit on the crime it’s self and where it takes you but AGAIN as with the Pam of Babylon series, if you can’t handle reality then the book may not be for you. This book is about real life and the crimes people commit against each other. I worked law enforcement for 6 years and for every time I hear a person say “Oh I want work like they do on CSI!” Yeah think again because if you can’t handle reading about it, you are not going to make the cut to be a CSI. Lot’s of secrets to uncover in this book–best part of a book is wanting to know why right?!I can’t wait for the next book in the series. One word “BRAVO!”
Prayers for the Dying by Suzanne Jenkins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Of course I gave it five stars!
A man’s infidelity rocks the lives of many New York women five months after his death, as former lovers discover that he was infected with more than just an electric personality.
After a wealthy man of high reputation suffers a heart attack and dies, three women are left to grapple with the aftermath of his death and the twisted details of their past in this riveting fiction novel.
The story, a continuation of Jenkins’ Pam of Babylon (2011), sets out to explore the life and grief of the wife, the sister-in-law and the mistress of Jack, the deceased. From the beginning, the reader understands that all three women are aware of their positions in Jack’s life and to each other.
An intriguing first novel that revolves around a husband’s death and hidden secrets.
Pam Smith lives an apparently charmed life as a well-to-do Babylon, N.Y., homemaker in a large house by the water. In her 50s with her children grown, Pam is happy with her exemplary husband Jack. After he has a heart attack on the subway, however, the protagonist finds out more than she ever wanted to know about Jack.
