High Energy is the first book by Dara Joy that I ever read. It is the book that got me hooked on this author. The book is a bit different, like all her books, so it is not for everyone. High Energy and the sequal are two of her more normal books. They are not typical books in any way, but I still love them.
I’ve read High Energy several times now - it shows because the book is looking a bit tattered now - and I still enjoy it every time I read it. This is one of my favorite books This book is a screwball comedy/romance/mystery. I’m not sure that my description is an actual category of books, but it is the best way I can think of to describe the book.
PLOT
When the book begins, Zanita Masterson and her best friend Mills - anybody else ever wonder how authors come up with some of these names? - are talking about men. Zanita had just broken up with her boyfriend. She decided to give up men. The two women talk for a bit longer and then Zanita leaves because there is a seminar on psychic development she wants to go to that evening. She is going to the seminar for research. She is a reporter for the local newspaper. She is planning to do a story, exposing a con man, Xavier LaLeach who claims to be a psychic healer. He cons sick people out of large sums of money by telling them that he can cure them with a healing. A friend of Zanita’s was one of LaLeach’s victims. Zanita really wanted to expose him. She thought she could get some background information from the seminar, but things don’t go the way she planned. She ends up in a physics seminar instead.
Tyberius Augustus Evans - my spell checker is going to be working overtime on the names in this book - was teaching the seminar. He is a brilliant scientist. He figures out how Zanita ended up in the wrong class - No, I’m not telling. She starts to leave, but he convinces her to stay, and to come to the rest of the sessions. Tyber is famous in his field, but he guards his privacy. He never gives interviews. Zanita realizes who he is, and sees it as an opportunity to get an interview from him. She is still planning her story of LaLeach, but she sees this as a way to get another story. After the last session of the seminar, Tyber invites her to a pool party at his home. Zanita agrees to go, thinking that everyone from the seminar will be there. She is also hoping to convince him to give her an interview. It turns out that Zanita is the only person he invited. She wasn’t happy about that, but decided to stay. She was still hoping to convince him to an interview. He shows her around his huge mansion, warning her not to wander off alone because one of his colleagues once got lost for two weeks in the south wing.
Zanita meets Tyber’s cook, Arthur Bloomberg. Everyone calls him Blooey. He used to be a brilliant mathimatician until his work drove him over the edge, and he had a breakdown. Now Blooey thinks that the house is a pirate ship and that Tyber is the Captain. Zanita also meets Hambone, Tyber’s cat. Hambone is a large cat that wears an eye patch over one eye - fits right in with Blooey thinking that the house is a pirate ship. Hambone is very unique, even for a cat. Zanita and Tyber spend the day getting to know each other. Zanita tells Tyber about LaLeach and the story she is planning to write. Tyber says that he can help with the investigation. He is very interested in having a relationship with Zanita, but she isn’t interested in getting involved with anyone. She gave up men. Tyber uses the investigation as a way to spend more time with her. He convinces her to move in by telling her it will be easier for them to work on the case if she is living there. Yes, he was a bit sneaky, but he was determined. They get to know each other better and become involved while they work on the case. They discover they have some things in common, like a love of really bad, old, science fiction/horror movies. Tyber has a satellite, so they can watch all kinds of bad movies. I really wonder if the movies they watched were real movies. In one, Earth is invaded by aliens. That it self isn’t so strange, but the aliens are giant, walking carrots.
Tyber and Zanita work on the investigation throughout the book. They go to some seminars and a retreat held by Xavier. Tyber now wants to expose LaLeach as much as Zanita does. There is an older woman named Elizabeth at the retreat who is very sick. LaLeach tells her he can cure her with a healing. LaLeach does the healing in front of everyone at the retreat. Tyber actually figures out how LaLeach pulled some of his cons off. Tyber and Zanita let LaLeach think that they are very interested in his work, and want to make a donation. They have a little dinner party at Tyber’s. He invites another scientist. Zanita invites Mills and her aunt, Auntie. The relationship continues to develop throughout the book. Tyber’s patience is tried a bit in dealing with Auntie. She runs over and completely flattens his motorcycle - Harley Davidson - and says it was his fault because it was parked in the middle of the road. It was parked in Tyber’s driveway. To find out how everything works out, read the book.
I love this book. It is one of my favorites, and Dara Joy has become one of my favorite authors. High Energy is a unique book, combining elements of a screwball comedy, romance, and mystery into one wonderful book. I wasn’t bored with any of the book. The book is well written and extremely descriptive. It was very easy for me to imagine Tyber’s huge home, and the elaborate grounds. Most of the book takes place either in his house or on the grounds. The house is huge, with several wings. Some of the rooms are uniquely decorated. There are a few other settings in the book, and they are as well described as the mansion and grounds. All of the characters are well described too. This book is rather strange, but it is one of Dara Joy’s more normal books.
There are so many funny things in High Energy. The funniest scenes involved Blooey and Hambone. Like when Hambone stole the rack of lamb and went running out around the swimming pool, with Blooey chasing after him. The character of Blooey was funny. Just the fact that he thought the house was a pirate ship and the way he talked was really funny. I loved Hambone, but a cat that wears an eyepatch is funny to me too. Zanita and Tyber are a bit quirky, and they say and do some strange or funny things. Zanita and Blooey did become friends and they discovered quickly that they could aggravate Tyber by working together. Blooey has a huge garden and it seems that he only planted butternut squash in it. He is thrilled that he got the squash picked before the frost, but Tyber is not looking forward to eating all kinds of strange dishes made with squash for months. Blooey even makes deserts with the squash. I like squash, but I don’t think I would want a squash pie. At first Zanita didn’t have a problem with all the squash food, but then she was trying to get out of eating it. Zanita also wears some rather unique outfits that sound funny looking.
The romance aspects of High Energy deal with the relationship between Tyber and Zanita. There are some sexual situations in the book, so if you are offended by those things, then this isn’t the book for you. There are several scenes that contain some sexual situations throughout the book. Tyber and Zanita did become intimate when they hadn’t know each other that long, so that could bother some readers. The scenes that describe sexual acts and situations and descriptive, somewhat explicit, and sensuous. These scenes may be too descriptive for some readers. There is some swearing in the book, but not very much. Just a word here and there. A certain word that rhymes with luck never makes an appearance in this book.
The mystery aspects of High Energy deal with Tyber and Zanita’s investigation of LaLeach. Tyber has some connections that he is able to use to discover more about LaLeach and his past. LaLeach claims to be a psychic healer and he cons people out of large amounts of money by claiming that he can heal them. Zanita gets involved because she was friends with an older woman who had been sick, gave LaLeach all of her savings, and died from her illness. Zanita wants to expose LaLeach as a fraud. Tyber gets involved after he meets Zanita and finds out what she is up to. He wants to spend more time with her, but after doing some investigating, he wants to expose LaLeach too. For the most part, this book wasn’t very suspenseful, but there are one or two scenes that are suspenseful. I wasn’t sure how some things would work out.
The characters in High Energy are pretty well developed, especially the main characters of Tyber and Zanita. Not much is told about the pasts of the characters, but some information is told. Some little quirks are found out about some of the characters. Some characters that are only in a few scenes weren’t developed much, but that didn’t bother me since those characters weren’t in many scenes. Most of the characters in this book have very unique names. There are characters with unique names in all of the books by Dara Joy that I have written.
CHARACTERS
Zanita Masterson - She is a reporter for the local newspaper. She has always been sent out on the fluff type of stories, and she is tired of that. She wants to do tougher, more serious stories. She is planning to do a story on a man who is conning sick people out of large sums of money. She knew a woman who was conned by that man, and wants him exposed so he can’t do it to anyone else. She has a few little quirks, and a unique way of looking at things. She loves old, bad, science fiction and horror movies. She can be very stubborn at times.
Tyberius Augustus Evans - Brilliant physicist. He has patents on several things he has invinted. He is a very private person, and never gives interviews. He lives in a huge mansion with his cat and cook. There is a hedge maze on the grounds, and topiaries of imaginary animals. He is eccentric in some ways. He helps Zanita with her investigation. He does use the investigation as a way to spend more time with her. He was a bit sneaky in their relationship, using the investigation as a reason for them to spend time together, and even as a reason for her to move in. He shares her love of bad movies.
Blooey - Tyber’s cook. His real name is Arthur Bloomberg. He use to be a mathematician until he had a breakdown. Now he thinks that the mansion is a pirate ship and Tyber is the Captain. Blooey is a very good cook, and a bit territorial in the kitchen. He grows a garden too, and had a huge harvest of squash. He was making everything with squash - muffins, cookies, cakes, even pie.
Hambone - Tyber’s cat. He is very unique, even for a cat. He wears an eyepatch. He eats people food like eggs, bacon, cheese, and he drinks coffee.
Mills - Zanita’s best friend. She only shows up a few times in the book, so not much is learned about her.
Auntie - Zanita’s aunt. She is very unique. She wears three hats at one time, drives like a maniac, and drinks straight bourbon. She ran down Tyber’s motorcycle in his driveway.
Xavier LaLeach - Con man Zanita wants to expose. He cons money from sick people by convincing them that he can cure them with a healing. He gives seminars, looking for new marks. He signals Zanita out for some attention at the seminars and the retreat.
Overall I really enjoyed High Energy. I found it to be very entertaining. The book doesn’t try to be serious or deep about anything. It is a book to read for enjoyment, to escape for a while. The book isn’t for everyone, but it can be enjoyable if you don’t expect to find answers for the world’s problems in the book. This is a different, unique book that is full of quirky characters. Some people may question my taste in books since I love this book - and several others - but that’s ok. I never claimed to have high class taste in books anyway.
If you don’t like romance, mysteries, or screwball comedies, then High Energy isn’t the book for you. Anyone who likes funny romances and mysteries should like this book. Also, anyone who has read and enjoyed other books by Dara Joy should enjoy this book.
High Energy
Dara Joy
Recommended:
