Review of Running Scared

Running Scared
Lisa Jackson
Zebra
512 pages
Everything old is new again, especially in this 1995 reissue originally titled Wishes. You’ll find the characters a little more developed and the suspense ramped up and if you’re familiar with the original novel you’ll recognize the story and the players.
Fifteen years ago Kate Summers did something that even with the purest of hearts was still illegal and to some unethical but so be it. Now however her past is about to collide with her present and the results might just be explosive. Daegan O’Rourke has matured in fifteen years from the angry young man with the chip on his shoulder, he has some secrets and done some things he’s not proud of. One of those voices from the past is about to shake up his life and shake it up good. Kate and Daegan are definitely attracted to each other but they both have hardened their hearts and maybe that’s a good thing.
In this classic Lisa Jackson romance turned romantic suspense the bare bones of Lisa’s talent is obvious even so many years ago and with it’s spit and shine for today’s audience it makes a grand entry. The dialogue flows smoothly. The plot is unique in it’s context and the original romance as previously written wouldn’t appeal to today’s more sophisticated reader so the update is needed. The characters are really well handled in their portrayals and well balanced so that every one of them has their place in the story and every place is needed to tell it. Her main protagonists Kate and Daegan along with Kate’s son Jon are especially likeable people and at times tragic in their roles and we readers will find empathy with them and at times be angry with them and at other times be sad with them. The romance is not at all your perfect boy meets girl scenario, but one loaded with perils and pitfalls and they climb mountains to get to their Happy Ever After. The love scenes are few in number but expressive and impressive enough to stay with you long after the scene is over.
So come try on for size one of Lisa Jackson’s early works revamped and revved up for the contemporary crowd. You won’t be sorry you did.

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Review of Live to Tell

Live to Tell
Lisa Gardner
Random House
400 pages

Those of us who have come to adore the writing of Lisa Gardner will stand up and cheer at her latest thriller Live to Tell.

Sergeant DD Warren has had some really bad cases before but she may have just been given the worst of her life. What looks like a whole family annihilation has just been doubled and now it looks as though it just might have been staged, but for who and why. Well DD will soon be looking for all the answers and isn’t she lucky that a retired cop turned professor is tagging along with her team to keep his feet in field work and just maybe lend a helping hand.

Lisa Gardner is one serious lady when it comes to crime dramas. She will wow her audience with her latest chilling thrilling tale of madness, mayhem and murder and she takes us deep into forbidden territories of the psyches of mentally ill children, their families and their caretakers, yet she does it with so much care and compassion that her audience will yet again celebrate her victory over some of the baddest dudes on the planet. Her quick paced dialogue is filled with tough cop speak and no nonsense narrative as she takes us on some of the most chilling and horrifying detective work ever to come out of someone’s imagination and yet during it all we get introspection into the characters by reading their thoughts, their hopes and their fears. Now let’s talk about her characters, they all really steal the show as they either inch their way into our hearts or our nightmares and not only her protagonist DD but her team of cops, the children, the care givers to the frazzled parents we get a realistic glimpse of a world most of us will never see or imagine as someone’s everyday life and then we get to see the malevolence of her villain as we try with usually no success to pick him/her out of the line up. As with all Ms. Gardner’s novels there is a love story of sorts, but this is definitely not a romance.

So if you’re up for being scared out of your mind, who else would you turn to but Lisa Gardner, if you want to read the results of a world class storyteller, that’s right Lisa’s your girl, if you want to kick some butt and take names go no farther that Live to Tell, your next must read, believe me you wont be sorry. Kudos to you Ms. Gardner.

Review of Barely a Lady

Barely a Lady
Eileen Dreyer
Hatchett Books
392 pages
Olivia was betrayed by the one person who should have believed in her and she’s survived these five years by relying solely on her wits, keeping her secrets buried deep and each day hoping for the best. That was until Waterloo. While stranded in Belgium she helps the wounded from battle, only one particular fellow is all too familiar and to make matters worse, he’s in the wrong uniform. Jack Wyndham the Earl of Gracechurch wakes up from the battleground only to have lost the last five years of his life where very important things have occurred that he no longer remembers, one of which is that he divorced his young wife. Put together in an uncomfortable situation it’s obvious that Olivia and Jack still have feelings for each other, she because she never quite got over him, he because he can’t remember. What will happen when they face the ultimate betrayal will they survive and will they do it together or alone.
Ms. Dreyer is most known for her contemporary chilling tales of suspense and that talent really shines through here in her first Historical Romance Barely a Lady. Her story line is well thought out and historically speaking pretty true and she embellishes the story with smooth and flowing dialogue that will catch the readers attention and not let it go. But don’t for one moment think that this is a fluff romance novel, her descriptions of battlefield scenes and the ravages that war cause are very dark and very realistic and she carries that darkness through the novel as she lays out the plot for her readers. But the real shining stars are her wonderful characters and I mean all of them from the one liners to the hero and heroine they all play their parts well and they all play a very important part in the telling of her tale. The hero Jack and heroine Olivia are incredibly detailed characters, characters that you cry with, feel fear with, sympathize and empathize with. The romance is one of my favorites that of second chances and Ms. Dreyer pulls her audience into the drama of the read. The love scenes are physical and descriptive, but done in the best of taste.
This is a historical romance that will appeal to all types of readers, lovers of romance, lovers of history, lovers of war stories. But most of all lovers of great characters and descriptive dialogue all wrapped up by a genius storyteller. Don’t miss out on a great end of summer read or any season for that matter. Kudos to you Ms. Dreyer you’ve definitely got a hit on your hands. Me I’m just (im) patiently waiting for the next in the series due out in Spring 2011.

Review of Antiphon by Ken Scholes

Antiphon
Ken Scholes
Tor Publishing
377 pages

Antiphon is the 3rd of 5 in the Psalms of Isaak series.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Mr. Schole’s brilliant imagination where in a world far- far away where the mode of transportation is still horseback he gives us unimaginable wonders like thinking talking metal men one of which is called Isaak and these are his Psalms.

In this volume “war is coming” as we were warned in the previous novel, but there’s more going on than meets the glowing eyes of the Mechoservitors . There’s unrest in the Ninefold Forest as well as all the other nations in the Named Lands. The problem is who is driving it? Is it Ria, the new queen of the Machtvolk who disposed her little sister? Is it the strange metal man known as the watcher? Or is it something more dire and more sinister. Well my friends you’ll have to read it for yourself to find out if the Andofrancine Order will survive, if the Younger Gods or the Wizard Kings have any part in this and what does the house Li Tam have to do with it all.

Ken Scholes is a master storyteller who’s imaginative mind brings us this make-believe world with some of the most unforgettable characters ever to grace a page of a book. His Named Lands and Nine Fold Forest come alive with his descriptive dialogue along with those characters mentioned before. Underlying plots are all going on at once and Mr. Scholes brings them all together brilliantly as he weaves his own “Whymer Maze” for his audience’s entertainment. He has many protagonists in his series so it’s hard to bring one to the forefront without ignoring someone else, so I’ll just say that they’re all amazing in their development and their portrayal. They are all an important instrument in bringing his story to life, and life is what this tale is all about, life and the pursuit of “the light”. And hidden beneath all the strife and hardships are classic love stories, stories about alliances that turn to love about two opposites who attract about love of family and love of friends, about sacrifices made for the love of a child, and about the love of one’s people and the need to go forward into the unknown for a better way of life. You readers will not want to stop turning pages in this epic adventure series any more than you’d want to stop breathing.

This series will appeal to a multitude of audiences, don’t be afraid to give it a try just because it bears the label Science Fiction. Inside lovers of mysteries will find a great one, thriller lovers will find none more chilling, lovers of adventure will find it hard to catch their breath, lovers of romance will get their love story and lovers of make believe will get it all. So bring out your inner child and use your imagination and enter the magnificent mind of Mr. Ken Scholes. This novel is a great story on it’s own, but if you neglect the first two you will loose valuable information given there.

Review of Infamous

Infamous
Suzanne Brockmann
Ballentine Books
433 pages

Infamous is an amazingly intense, superbly written example of romantic suspense by the queen of suspense herself Suzanne Brockmann.

History Professor Allison Carter hired to consult on the filming of a movie about the life of an American West legend Silas Quinn isn’t prepared to have that legend’s name tarnished. A J Gallagher is going to do just that, you see his great-grandfather Jamie Gallagher was the villain to Silas’s hero, except according to AJ the story is backwards. Allison and A J have some major sparks flying, but she’s not going to let that get in the way of the truth, and the truth is hard to take especially when sexy AJ claims to see Jaimie’s ghost. But specters are the least of this couple’s worries when bodies start showing up, the question is will they become one of them.
Suzanne Brockman takes a rest from her Troubleshooter’s series to give us a whopper of a stand-a-lone. Her story line is quite unique giving a ghost a starring role in her novel, a novel that’s not a paranormal tale, but rather a wonderful contemporary romantic suspense that just so happens to have a ghost on board as one of the main characters. Her dialogue is all you’d expect on the set of a motion picture from the tough talking troublesome male hero to the all demanding Diva. Speaking of divas and heroes, her characters are a combination film professionals, film stars, film extras, set employees and those all important bad guys and they all are a necessary part of the telling of the story, from the villains who are some of the most notorious you’ll ever see to the one liners we only see for an instant. Her hero and heroine are exceptional studies in humanity, both with skeletons in their closets and both afraid of them falling out, both tortured by their own personal demons, both afraid to step out of their comfort zone, that is until one or both of them is put in danger which brings the tiger out in them to defend their mate. They are sensational examples of love is blind and yet the readers will see in them something that must bring them together when so many things conspire to keep them apart. This duo really earns their happy ever after. The romance will have you scratching your head one minute, laughing the next and sitting on the edge of your seat one minute after that. The love scenes are emotionally charged and very physical and yet the author gives her audience that sense of rightness about it too.
So if you like your romance served up with a healthy dose of suspense, a roller coaster emotional thriller set in a contemporary scene, let this be the one you choose. Suzanne Brockmann is a quintessential genius in the genre of romantic suspense and she will not disappoint any reader with this exceptional example of her skills. It’s the perfect end of summer read, the perfect novel to sink your teeth in as you see the kids off to the bus for the first day of school. So treat yourself to a novel you won’t soon forget and give Infamous a try.

Review of Austin by Linda Lael Miller

Austin – The McKettricks of Texas
Linda Lael Miller
Harlequin
378 pages

Austin is book three of the McKettricks of Texas series

Youngest McKettrick brother Austin is the hell raiser of the bunch, only staying in one place long enough to ride the rodeo, but he never forgot his first love Paige Remington and now that her two sisters are marrying his two brothers that puts them in close proximity more than is comfortable for him because part of his guilt about the past has a lot to do with Paige. Paige is between jobs and between homes so she finds herself staying at the McKettrick ranch and within arms distance of her old nemesis Austin, he caused her a lot of pain in the past when he broke her heart so when she’s asked by his brothers to be his nurse she has to wonder if her heart will stand being so close to the only man she’s ever loved enough to hurt her.
Linda Lael Miller is the quintessential western romance author and there’s no better subjects then her cherished McKettrick tribe who’s numbers are countless and members who range from sea to shining sea and this McKettrick part of the family lives up to it’s larger than life persona, they are the descendants of Clay McKettrick the grandson of the grand patriarch Angus, Clay moved to Texas from Arizona to carve out his own story. Her plot is far from unique and yet she makes us crave every word she writes, her dialogue is sometimes a little on the rowdy side but there’s plenty of Texas chivalry and good manners in there to let you know what kind of mamma raised these boys. Her characters like I said before are larger than life and yet they are down to earth enough to come to the aid of any one they meet who needs it. The romance of Austin and Paige is that of unfinished business, reacquainted love and that’s my favorite kind, because there’s no better character than one with a past that gets reexamined. Her love scenes are hot, spicy and sensual but on the sensitive and sweet side also.
So if you like the kind of romance where there’s boots under the bed and you’ve never given Linda Lael Miller a try this is the series you should start with. I would recommend that this series be read in order. Tate – Garrett – Austin.