Shoot the Moon

Ms Letts does have some skill in narrative, descritption and storytelling. She writes a clean, economical prose, and can describe a scene or event admirably. She is able to set a scene with just enough telling detail, without resorting to false sentiment or excessive grotesquery. The first chapter, or prologue, in which her writerly wirtues are on display is the best, and will draw you into the book.

The problems begin when actual characters enter the scene. Characters are a selection from recognizable tropes of American popular culture: city guy goes to the heartland, hippy girl comes home, son waits for decades for justice for his murdered, saintly father. From the geezers at the cafe to the woman who runs it, picked herself up after her husband left, natch, there is hardly a situation or plotline we have not seen or heard
before.

Compounding the triteness of her situations is her inability or unwillingness to write a single line of dialogue which sounds like something an actual human being might say. Ms. Letts' dialogue appears to be lifted from a selection of second rate movies and romance novels. The romantic scenes are so inept as to be embarrassing. The theme of contrast between city and country is over written; how many times do we need to be told that the protagonsit wears Gucci shoes? Minor characters are cliches and major characters become uninteresting. The main plot was interesting, and was the only thing which kept me reading. Ms. Letts can write a good detective or mystery story. I think she should stick to what she does well and stop trying to be an "important writer".

I read this as an unabridged audiobook and though the reader did a great job with all of the voices (and there sure were a heck of a lot of characters!) and kept up a nice casual pace which didn't put me to sleep, I found the book to be disappointingly average.

Shoot The Moon starts out describing life and gossiping about the inhabitants of a small town that is shocked when a young boy goes missing and his mother is found dead. The boy "Nicky Jack" is never found but his pajama bottoms are ominiously located. The book then fast forwards to the present day when the child, now a grown man, heads back to town to learn about his mysterious past.

Mark is now a successful veterinarian and has always had the very best that money can buy but when his adoptive parents die he finds evidence that maybe his life wasn't meant to be lead tending to pampered pooches in California. When he arrives in Oklahoma his appearance opens a great big moldery bag of worms.

Mark or "Nicky Jack" as he's known in Oklahoma is alright as characters go and the cast full of small time folks are "alright" as well. Unfortunately, it's all just "alright" or average. There isn't a lot of spark to hold this little mystery tale together and I have a feeling that if I were reading this as a regular book it would've been far too easy to put down. It needed more life, more humor, more something . . .

I enjoyed my time with these characters, especially the pregnant, disorganized Ivy, her valiant mother Teeve, and the Domino Boys, so much that I wanted to move to the fictional DeClare, Oklahoma, and for a beach girl like me, that is saying something. Billie Letts's writing draws you into her people's quirks and quandaries, so that even their smallest meanderings around town seemed like a journey worth taking. Maybe because Letts also writes screenplays, I could visualize the whole area, with its downtown clinging to life versus the pull of Walmart and its residents holed up for miles around, and this is one movie I would want to see, since I already enjoyed the movie in my head.

After reading Where the Heart Is, I knew that Billie Letts was a special author. Happily, I enjoyed Shoot the Moon nearly as much. So much so that I devoured it in only a couple of days!

Billie Letts has a way of writing that really makes you care about the characters. That is what keeps the reader wanting more, I think. This book was the perfect balance of mystery, a little romance set in a small town that provided a great background with stories of it's own. The main plot of the book though is about a man who is visiting a small town to find his birth mother, only to discover that she was murdered when he was 10 months old. Now, 30 years later he's trying to find a killer and get to know the family he never knew he had.

If you haven't read Letts, I really recommend her. I am already planning on reading her other novel, The Honk & Holler Opening Soon.

This book was a book club selection. Easy read, but the I never fully stood the hero's life or motivation. This is a book about mother's and the how their decisions impact their children (well into adulthood). The relationship with his "fake cousin" seemed forced. The romance element seemed like an afterthought and didn't add anything to the story. I would read this author again.

"Shoot the Moon," by Billie Letts, is a fun, humorous, and serviceable work of popular fiction. Don't expect too much from this book and you might actually enjoy the short few hours it takes to read it. The prose is better than average; the plot moves along quickly with both surprising and predictable twists; the characters are unique, eccentric, and vividly drawn--but don't expect the plot or the characters to be very realistic. If anything, the singular beauty of this work is the endearing sense of place that Letts creates for the fictional town of DeClare, Oklahoma. If you remember anything about this book, a few weeks or months after finishing it, most likely, you will remember the town of DeClare. It's a loving satirical portrait of a small contemporary Okie town. Read it for that and you won't be disappointed.

I thouroughly enjoyed Ms. Letts two earlier books. Like many people here, I was thrilled to see a new release. This book was enjoyable, engrossing and I looked forward to picking it up each night. But it clearly lacked depth and needed further character development. The characters were flat and not entirely beleivable.

I, too, found Dr Mark's attraction for his aimless, drifting 'cousin' mystifying and this required a suspension of belief in order to get through the remainder of the story.

I also took exception to the preachiness that the author falls into. Billie Letts needs get past her elitist, academic view that republicans are illiterate - we read and buy books too!!! Taking cheap pot shots in her books may alienate some readers, myself included.

Overall a sweet little escape of a read.

Billie Letts is back with more southern charm, this time adding a twist of mystery to more of her quirky, yet loveable characters.

Mark Albright has arrived in DeClare, Oklahoma, in search of information about the woman who gave him up for adoption. When he arrives in town, he finds himself in store for more than he could have predicted. As you follow Mark in his pursuit of his roots and the mystery that surrounds his adoption, Letts' explores the importance we have of knowing who we are and where we came from and the treasures that await us when we can open up and allow ourselves to be loved by others.

While some of the other reviewers were disappointed with Shoot the Moon in comparison with Billie Letts earlier novels, I found the writing and story to be just as good~

Billie Letts has not written a book for many years so I was thrilled to get the chance to read her latest effort. Shoot The Moon is the story of Mark Albright. A veterinarian to the stars in LA who finds out after both of his parents pass on that he was adopted. He returns to DeClare, Oklahoma to find his mother but while there, he learns that she was murdered when he was just a baby, and everyone assumed he was dead as well. Marks appearance in DeClare stirs up alot of emotion and while some people in town want to find out the truth, others would like to bury the past and see Mark go home.

I would like to give you a warning...If you have read her past two books, Where The Heart Is or The Honk and Holler Opening Soon, you may not like Shoot The Moon because it is a mystery but keep an open mind. It is a great story written by a very talented author.

CD/Abridged/Mystery: I really liked this book. It's about a 30 year old murder of a mother and her son missing and presumed dead. Only when a Beverly Hills veterinarian comes to town to find his birth parents, only to find he is the missing son. There were great characters, great plot lines. The narrator is Lou Diamond Phillips and he did a wonderful job with the voices and reading. I don't think I could have handled unabridged. As it was, I had to take the CD out of my car and listen to it on my computer at work! I had to know who the murderer was. I definitely recommend it.

What an enjoyable story! It quickly grabbed my attention. I loved the mystery...Where is Nicky? Who did it? Who's the father? While I was reading it, I was afraid Mark would leave at the end without solving the mysteries. Billie Letts did a great job hooking the reader and keeping my attention until the end. Great book!

This is my first experience with Billie Letts, but it will not be my last. She tells a compelling story, with characters who live after the final page is turned. Mark or Nicky Jack, as he was named at birth, finds more than he hoped for when he travels to DeClare, Oklahoma, searching for the mother who birthed him.

The town is astir as they find out that Nicky Jack is alive. When the story leaks, reporters camp out and trail him. I can tell no more without giving away things the reader must discover for himself.

If I could wish for anything, it would be that the profanity not be included.

Having read and enjoyed Billie Letts' first two books, I looked forward to her third book. However, I was disappointed. Well-drawn and often quirky characters that she had drawn in her other two books were not present. Plot revelations arrived without drama, and in anticlimactic fashion. The principal character's quest throughout the tale to identify his father, and the murderer of his mother, ended in such a dull fashion that I actually didn't care. I came away from the reading of this book with an overall impression that the author's main objective was not to tell a good story with intriguing characters, but to espouse her own worldview.
If you champion political correct-ness, mulitculturalism, diversity, feminism, and relativism, then you very well may enjoy this book.
If you have a Christian worldview, you will not.
Enjoy well-written fiction with colorful, endearing characters? Do you like a book that draws you in, that refreshes, and is soul-satisfying? Then may I heartily recommend to you the books written by Fannie Flagg, Michael C. West, and Jan Karon.
Finally, if you do choose to read "Shoot the Moon", be sure to read Billie Lett's novel "Where the Heart Is", if you haven't already. The difference in quality between the two is striking.

Though the novel held my attention (I listened to the audio book) there were some pretty big holes in the plot (for instance, how could an intelligent man like Dr. Albright have researched his adoption and not discovered the sensationalized story on the internet, and thus known the truth about his mother before he got to town?) Also, I wasn't thrilled with the sermons the author preached on the pro-choice agenda, anti-adoption, gay rights, Democratic politics, and just about every other liberal issue you might think of.

Lou Diamond Phillips did a terrific job with the narration, giving just enough difference to the various characters' voices, but not so much as to be annoying.

I'll probably read Billie Letts again, but I'll hope she just tells the story and leaves the sermons to the politicians and preachers.

In an entire lifetime of reading wonderful fiction I've come across few books that match Billie Letts' three superlative novels; Where the Heart Is, The Honk and Holler Opening Soon, and now Shoot the Moon. When it comes to capturing Oklahoma (a state that I have great affection for, having broken into broadcasting in Frederick, Oklahoma,in 1967) no one does it better--not even the late William Ralph "Bill" Scott, writing as Weldon Hill. Letts writes a crackling good story, and in this particular tome, there is a good deal of mystery and "who did it..." For me, Shoot the Moon was a true page-turning one-sit read.

The front cover promised "A great story... a little bit of mystery, a small piece of romance, and a whole lot of Billie Lett's special touch." as a quote from the Oklahoman.

I hate quotes on the front of books. They're very disheartening. Quotes should read like, "Truly Trashy Tales from the Trailer" or "From Bill Blass to Billy Bob in a Nascar Minute".

Quotes always tend to overpromise like movie trailers. They should really stop putting quotes on book covers.

This book is good, but not great. Yeah, there's some mystery all right. But you can kind of figure out who the shady characters are in the book. And it all fits together nicely. I might have given this book a B+ grade had it not been for the expectations I had.

I am sure that others have already done many a quick synopsis of the book. So, I'll just note where I think it fails.

1) Lame quote on cover.
2) Nicky Jack? His name is Nicky Jack? Knick-Knack-Paddy-Wack-Give-Yer-Dog-A-Better-Name
3) The "steamy" parts could have been written significantly better. What good is a book that has white trash sex if it ain't raunchy? For Pete's sake even Bill Clinton can get raunchy.

That's about it. Good book. Not great, not even remotely bad.

This book is about a thirteen-year-old girl named Gina Gari who wins a 10 day trip to Italy. She wins this trip because the ice cream parlor where she works is holding a yo-yo competition. Her grandfather taught her how to yo-yo before he passed away.when she godes to Italy, she and her chaperone Maddy meet a cute Dutch boy named Stefan. Her grandmother's last wish before she dies is that Gina go to a chapel in the Italian city of Assi to feed the birds. She wont tell Gina why, but she keeps saying to Gina,"The date is very important.It must be on the fifth day of July and no other,do you hear me?" So Gina goes to Italy to fulfill her "mission" only to find out some things about her grandmother's past that really shocks her.
My favorite part of the book is when Gina gets to Italy because that is where the most exiting part of the entire book happens. For example, Gina gets stuck on a subway that is going to Rome, when her friends are still back at the station.She gets stuck on the train because she had left a bag of sunflower seeds on the train, and she had to get them to feed the birds with. Also, she makes many new friends: Stefan, Ceci, the Australians Barb and Bluey. She also meets this old man that was once her grandmother's boyfriend or something, and when she had to leave him to go to San Fracisco to marry Gina's grandfather, she never saw him again. The reason that it had to be July fifth was because that was the day they parted, and the old man had been coming up to this chapel every July fifth for the last sixty years. Gina felt so sad after hearing this from the old man. When the old man told her that his name was Salvatore, Gina was amazed because her grandmother had named her only son after the boy she had to leave behind. The end is kind of sad because Gina has to leave all of her new friends behind. The saddest one is when she has to say good bye to Stefan because she kinda likes him. This is a really fantastic book. I really liked it.

This book was ok. Definately readable to the end, but it was a little on the 'weak' side as far as believability and character depth. The mystery of Nicky Jack's mother's murder unfolded so quickly that it was anti-climatic for me. I wanted more meat!!! I still can't figure out Ivy and her lack of interest in her pregnancy. That kinda went no-where quick!!! It was worth reading, but I found it lacking after reading "Where the heart is", which was deeper and much more developed than this novel.

A wonderful story of family, heartbreak, love and forgiveness. This book kept my interest from page one, as it pulled me in with getting to know each character. I finished the book in one day. That might not seem that amazing to some... But, as a mother of 6 kiddos all home on summer vacation.. That's nearly a miracle. :)

This book is a passionate journey into the lives of a community that was damaged by the murder of a young mom and the disappearance of her infant son. When the missing child reappears some 30 years later, the mystery resurfaces as well. But it wasn't just the unraveling of the whodunit of this book that was fascinating. The characters are incredibly vivid and Letts' storytelling ability wraps you up in her tale like a cozy blanket. I can't wait to read more from her!!!

I got this book randomly in the bookstore. I read the back said "Ehh...maybe.." and then noticed it was the same author as "where the heart is". I really enjoyed the book as well as the movie, so i figured i'd give it a try. If anything, it was a fast read. I enjoy her writing style, and she wrote well from a man's perspective. I had some trouble following a few characters, i dont know if its my lack of memory, or that she kinda jumped around a lot. But all in all, it was enjoyable.

Spent the whole weekend reading this book in between things I had to do, it's intriguing! I really like the characters, and the story is definitely a winner. I usually don't want to read anything Oprah promoted but I found this one in a thrift store and it sounded so good (I also liked the cover design and the author's name and title) I decided for 99 cents to try it. Now I plan to read MORE Letts!! I recommend this book, it's just delicious.

Shoot the moon isn't your typical chick lit. Nor is it really a mystery or a romance. It was however, good. As one other reviewer wrote, it's a bit odd that Letts continues to use the pregnant heroine as a main character who falls in love, however, she does it quite well. There is no blinding passion. There is no bodice ripping in this book....but its so much more down to earth and real life that it's interesting. I had to finish it, so of course, no work got done today!

The story idea is great and full of potential but the book is very poorly written. Ms. Letts - you do NOT have to begin every sentence of dialogue with the name of the character being addressed! That is not how people speak. I enjoyed the mystery and the ending. I think a good screenwriter could turn this book into a nice little tv movie. But keep the author away from the writing room!

Shoot the Moon is a quiet mystery which winds slowly along gradually revealing a small town full of characters most of us no longer see in our hustle and bustle in the big city. The personalities are diverse, some touched with the curret culture of the Cherokee, giving us a further look into a way of life so different from ours. You feel comfortable and familiar with these people although it is nearly impossible to identify with any of them.

Billie Letts dialogue is just unequaled in today's novels,making the book easy to read. Her character studies are not overly deep, but the charm of small town Oklahoma and the excellent dialogue and many diverse personalities are cleverly presented around the diary excerpts of a young girl murdered many years ago.

The book is well worth reading.

This is an unforgettable book - and so much better than her other two. As I read I could picture the actors who will portray the characters. This book tugs at your heart, makes you laugh, makes you want more. Billie Letts knows how to get into each of her people, especially Gaylene as a young girl writing her diary. I was still hungry for more when I turned the last page. Don't be left out when Hollywood makes this --- READ THE BOOK FIRST - you won't be sorry.

This book is terrific and made even better by the wonderful narration of Lou Diamond Phillips. He reads with clarity, excellent articulation, perfect tempo and with good character voices (although the "Oklahoma" accent is a bit more Deep South than "Okie"(I lived in OK for three years). Quality of narration is key to any audio book and Mr. LDP gets it just right.

Others have said it before: We all waited a long time for a new Billie Letts book but this just disappointed me. Her first two were so incredibly well-written with such colorful characters and great endings. This just seemed to fall short. I did enjoy reading this and in true Letts fashion, the ending didn't leave you saying "what the..."? It brought everything together leaving you with a smile.

I totally LOVED this book. I read Where the Heart Is and The Honk and Hollar, loved both of those also.

Great Story! Yeh, you may have guessed who the killer may have been, but so still a GREATTTTT story!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I believe the Honk & Holler is a masterwork of American fiction, so I expected a lot of Shoot the Moon.

It's an entertaining read, but the ending blatantly promotes Letts' biased agenda. Letts - who has a huge following among teen-age girls - obviously feels unwed mothers should NOT put their babies up for adoption, indeed, should tough it out and try and raise the kids on their own. Never mind what's best for the child!

Ivy and her mother, Teeve, are portrayed as heroic for wanting to keep the baby, when the heroic thing for them (indeed, anyone in that situation)to do is to allow the child to be adopted by a stable couple unable to have children of their own. Children aren't possessions, they're people, and any child of an aimless, immature woman who thinks nothing of one-night stands deserves better.

And - not to give the ending away - how is it possible for any woman other than the child's mother to give it up for adoption? I know she SAID she was Nicky Jack's mother, but obviously she would have had to PROVE it - things like that aren't as easy as Letts implies.

Billy Letts has a way of making her characters likable. I have read Where the Heart Is, The Honk & Hollar Opening Soon and Shoot the Moon and look forward to more of her books with her good story lines and likable characters. I always feel good after reading her books which are lighthearted and sweet from start to finish. I look forward to another good book by Billy Letts!

Billie Letts has a wonderful way of conveying the Oklahoma culture with her story. As a native Oklahoman, I really appreciate the way she translates what the characters are thinking in clear and understandable vernacular.

As always when reading a Letts book, I am amazed. I really felt close the Gaylene in this book, as I was an Oklahoma high school graduate in 1970. It was wonderful to see the references to Dr. Angie Debo. If you want to read comprehensive, true native American history; find Dr. Angie's books. I also enjoyed reading about basketball in Gaylene's diary pages. This book is an excellent read if you like; Oklahoma, a little mystery, a little suspense and a lot of love.

Authors can write several different types of books and this one is not, and does not claim to be, related to Where the Heart Is! That said, if people can stop and read this book and stop analyzing it as if it is a sequel to Letts's other great tales, this truly is an intruiging, captivating story. I read it in one day because I could hardly wait to find out the many truths that are revealed throughout. Love it!

Billie Letts' latest novel was so disappointing in that it takes a vehement stand against adoption. Basically it asserts that mothers who give up their children don't love them enough to keep them. That's patently untrue, and caused me to be concerned about, 1) young women who might read this novel and feel that this is a prevailing opinion, and 2) men and women who have been adopted feeling that their mothers didn't care about them.
Frankly, this spoiled the whole book for me.

After waiting for another book by this author, I was truly disappointed by a run of the mill whodunnit. I should probably call it a "whocarewhodunnit". I found Ms Letts's first two novels engaging;filled with interesting characters. This story is simplistic, filled with a cast of characters one can barely keep straight and in the end everything and everyone seemed forced. Shoot The Moon was neither a good mystery nor an interesting character study. Without giving anything away, the questions that Nick (the main character) gets answers for and the relationships that he forms are not remotely fulfilling or well-defined. I wish I had waited for a library copy...it's definitely not worth the money.

Billie Letts has once more proven herself to be one of the most talented and grounded writers today. Shoot The Moon reads like a movie script with vivid descriptions to ignite the imagination. It's funny and heartwarming. A lovely book by a lovely woman...I met her at a book signing and she was so down to earth and kind.

In her long awaited book, Billie Letts delivers another heartwarming and page turning novel. Shoot the Moon lives up to the expectations from her previous books. If you are looking for a book that offers mystery and family love, then you'll love this book! It follows the heartwarming writing method that Billie Letts offered us in her previous novels. Enjoy!

Billie Letts creates a wonderful story in Shoot the Moon. She holds you captive until the very end with her twists and turns in the plot. Her characters are so intriguing. I highly recommend this book.