"A spoof of the old mysteries; fun but not filling."

After waiting so long for another book by Dara Joy, I enjoyed HIGH INTENSITY but it did not quite live up to my (perhaps over-exalted) expectations. I did not find it as much fun as HIGH ENERGY, the first book about these characters.

Tyber and Zanita are just as kooky and fun: they still watch improbably bad old science fiction movies; the "physics" lessons continue; the sex is even hotter. (Whoa, is it hot in a few places!) But this book was missing even the slight seriousness that gave the story in HIGH ENERGY a point. In HE, Tyber and Zanita really did have a serious purpose in exposing a con man, and there is a critical scene where the villain assaults and almost rapes Zanita, and the follow-on scene of Tyber's reaction. Those things gave the lightness of HE a grasp beyond the frothy fun. HIGH INTENSITY is pure camp, but doesn't quite land smack in the bull's eye. Maybe some of it was the distracting exposition in the first few chapters, designed to fill in the background for anyone who hadn't previously read HE. This is necessary, but it was not handled smoothly.

Then there was the preponderance of distracting and unnecessary secondary characters. Zanita's aunt, her friend Mills, acquaintance Gregor and his "adorable" (yuck) young son Cody were all introduced in the first book and show up again briefly in HI — for absolutely no reason. They don't contribute to the action or take any real part in the story. Maybe they are just there to lead to the implication that there may be a third book? (Perhaps focusing on Mills and Gregor?) But I found their side-play annoying because there is no resolution to their conversations.

The plot of the story involves trying to prove or disprove the existence of a ghost at an old New England inn. Tyber and Zanita investigate lots of strange happenings and track down clues, but don't try to read this as a mystery — it is actually a spoof of the old mysteries where the "detective" makes wild leaps of intuition, finds out information that he refuses to share with the others, and somehow discerns the truth from absolutely no factual basis, leading to the classic denouement where all characters are gathered together and secrets revealed. There are hidden passageways and secret staircases, clues written in blood, peepholes, mysterious lights, a skeleton, old family scandals, and ghostly goings-on. In fact, it reminded me very much of some of the early Nancy Drews! Being a big mystery fan, I enjoyed this aspect of the book a lot.

So it was fun, but didn't quite fill me up.

Reviewed by Raelene Gorlinsky
Posted September 16, 2001

Summary

WHAT IS HIGH INTENSITY? Silken Caresses. Steak bomb sandwiches. A hot press of lips. A haunted chef. Seductive touches in the dark. Spirits who gobble the haute cuisine. A master strategist. A miscreant ghost. And a very, very fat cat. Join the most sizzling, provocative physicist to ever solve a case or heat up a bedroom and his equally passionate partner as they investigate the perfect equation for love! Tyber and Zanita invite you to come along for their madcap, sensual journey into high intensity . . .