Doris Fein: Murder Is No Joke, Dead Heat at Long Beach, and Legacy of Terror

In Doris Fein: Murder Is No Joke, Doris meets a young comedian, Steven Sachs, at a comedy club.  The two fall in love and have a whirlwind romance.  When a man is murdered, Steven is a prime suspect.  But Steven was on stage at the time, so he seemingly has a foolproof alibi.  Besides, Doris loves him, so he cannot be guilty.  Can Doris uncover the truth?

I did not enjoy this book very much.  I did not like Steven Sachs, and I never felt anything with the romance.  I hate reading about a romance that seems repulsive to me on every level.  I also felt that Doris behaves rather foolishly and not much like herself.

Additionally, I could not get into the story at all.

In Doris Fein: Dead Heat at Long Beach, Doris learns to race her expensive racing car.  While practicing, Doris meets racing enthusiast, Roderigo Alcala, who falls in love with her.  Doris cannot stand Alcala, but the spy agency IGO orders Doris to romance him in order to gain information about a group of revolutionaries.  As usual, Doris ends up in a lot of trouble.

I enjoyed this book.

In Doris Fein: Legacy of Terror, Doris travels to Chicago to meet the man who claims to be Harry Grubb's son.  Ashford Miller claims that his mother and Harry Grubb were his parents.  At stake is Harry's huge fortune.  Doris and Ashford become unlikely friends, and Doris becomes Ashford's ally against the organized crime of Chicago's underworld.

I enjoyed learning more about Harry's Grubb's past life.  Stories that explore the relationships between the important characters always have more meaning and are usually the better books in a series.

This is an excellent book.

I enjoyed reading the Doris Fein series.  The series is full of humor.

As I wrote in an earlier review, I wish that Carl Suzuki had been Doris' suitor throughout the entire series.  I enjoyed his character and wanted to see more of him.

Doris Fein: Mad Samurai and Deadly Aphrodite

In Doris Fein: The Mad Samurai, Doris and Carl attend Nisei Week in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo.  Carl introduces Doris to Ed Gilson, who is a personal family friend and Los Angeles police officer.  Gilmer takes the two friends on a guided tour of the festivities.  When Gilmer is asked to investigate the murder of a real estate baron, Carl and Doris assist.

In this story, the reader learns more about Japanese internment during World War 2.

This book marks a turning point in the series.  Near the end, Doris inherits a fortune when Harry Grubb dies.  Carl is suddenly insecure and feels that he and Doris have no future.  Since Carl is old fashioned, he does not wish to be "Mr. Doris Fein," so it becomes clear that he and Doris no longer have a future.

Even though Carl departs from the series, I still have hope that perhaps someday he and Doris might end up together.  Maybe Carl will someday inherit a fortune, then he will feel worthy of Doris.  It's a pipe dream, but I hold onto it.  I really like Carl, and I hated to see him go.

This is a very good book.

In Doris Fein: Deadly Aphrodite, Doris is now fabulously wealthy, living in Harry Grubb's mansion.  Doris no longer has Carl, and she finds that men only want her for her wealth.  Doris' alter ego Petunia takes control, and Doris eats compulsively, gaining a lot of weight.  When Doris learns that her old boyfriend, Larry Small, is returning home, she joins Aphrodite's, a weight-loss spa for the rich and famous.  Soon after Doris joins, she learns that some members have disappeared.  Doris begins to suspect foul play, and unfortunately, the spa's owners know that Doris is suspicious.

I neglected to mention Petunia in earlier reviews.  Doris maintains that her eating is due to Petunia, her alter ego who grunts when she wants food.  Doris is a sensible young woman who watches her eating habits, but Petunia frequently takes control, eating everything in sight.

Chapter 11 is titled "Doris Fein and Her Electric Swimming Pool."  A villain in this book is named Dr. Keene.  That might not necessarily mean anything, but taken with the title of Chapter 11, a mention of the Hardy Boys early in the series, and Harry Grubb's dogs the Rover Boys, I think Mr. Keene might be a sly reference to the author of the Nancy Drew series.

This is one of my favorite books in the series.  It is excellent.

Doris Fein: Quartz Boyar and Phantom of the Casino

In Doris Fein: Quartz Boyar, Doris becomes a courier for a top-secret agency.  Her employers are not entirely honest with Doris, so she has no idea of the delicate nature of her task or of the grave danger that faces her.  By the end of the story, Doris is highly annoyed with the situation.

I did not enjoy this book as much as the previous book.  I never care much for books that involve constant traveling from country to country.  There is a lot of intrigue, and it tired me.

In Phantom of the Casino, Harry Grubb, Doris, and Carl travel to the island of Santa Catarina.  At first, they plan to return home immediately, but they instead end up staying for a few days.  While Doris and Carl dance, the rotating reflector ball crashes down onto the dance floor.  Doris and Carl learn of additional accidents plaguing the hotel, and they begin an investigation.

I was quite thrilled so see Carl again.  I love his character.  I also was quite pleased with the setting.  Books set in specific locations without lots of travel are the ones that I enjoy the most.

Reading this book helped me to understand the unfairness of Japanese internment camps during World War II.  When I studied the war in school when I was young, the lessons focused on the Germans and their actions.  The Japanese were mentioned as well along with internment, but internment would have mentioned in a positive fashion.  This story explains how the internment caused Carl's relatives to lose their property.

It is important to note that the author, T. Ernesto Bethancourt, married a Japanese-American woman.

The culprit is surprising.  This is a very good book.

Dr. Doom: Superstar and Doris Fein: Superspy

The Doris Fein series consists of eight books written by T. Ernesto Bethancourt.  It is a young adult mystery series.

1.  Doris Fein: Superspy, 1980
2.  Doris Fein: Quartz Boyar,  1980
3.  Doris Fein: Phantom of the Casino, 1981
4.  Doris Fein: The Mad Samurai, 1981
5.  Doris Fein: Deadly Aphrodite, 1982
6.  Doris Fein: Murder is No Joke, 1982
7.  Doris Fein: Dead Heat at Long Beach, 1983
8.  Doris Fein: Legacy of Terror,  1984

Doris Fein (pronounced FINE) was actually introduced in Dr. Doom: Superstar, which was published in 1978.  Dr. Doom: Superstar is not part of the Doris Fein series, since the book is not narrated by Doris, but the book does introduce the characters and sets the premise for the Doris Fein series.

Doris Fein lives in Santa Amelia, California.  Doris' boyfriend from high school, Larry Small, works for the town's newspaper.  Harry Grubb is an eccentric millionaire who owns the newspaper.  Doris' other suitor is Carl Suzuki, a New York police officer and later assistant district attorney who appears in a few of the books.

Doris is feisty, independent, and overweight.  Doris is quite into women's rights, and she is quick to let the men around her know what she thinks.  Doris' weight is depicted in a positive fashion, and men find her attractive.  I am unclear about how overweight Doris really is, but I assume that she is at least 25 pounds overweight.  Also, Doris' weight fluctuates up and down throughout the series, which is quite realistic.

In Dr. Doom: Superstar, Larry Small hopes to land a job writing for Rolling Stone magazine.  Larry plans to interview Danny Breckinridge, known as Dr. Doom, when he performs in Santa Amelia.  If Larry can get a good interview, then he might be able to land his dream job.  With the help of Harry Grubb, wealthy newspaper owner, and good friend, Doris Fein, Larry gets the chance for his interview.  As the friends get to know Danny Breckinridge, they learn that someone is planning to kill him.  Can they prevent a murder?

Harry Grubb calls his dogs the Rover Boys.  Both of them are named Rover, so together, they are the Rover Boys.

This is a good book.

In Doris Fein: Superspy, Doris Fein travels to New York to stay with her aunt and uncle.  Plans go awry when her aunt and uncle disappear!  Doris suspects foul play, since Uncle Claude is a diplomat in a country that is having a revolution.  Doris goes to the police to get assistance, but they don't believe her.  Fortunately, Carl Suzuki overhears the story and decides to assist Doris during his off-duty time.  Doris and Carl find themselves in the middle of dangerous intrigue.

This book is full of pop culture references, many that I didn't get.  I was too young at the time this book was published to be aware of most of them.

I really like Carl Suzuki and wish that he had been in all of the books in the series.

The Hardy Boys are mentioned on page 153.

This is a very good book.