Janes seems to specialize in heroines with significant back stories. But where Swimming in the Shadows (2014) took forever...
A team of detectives struggles to solve a case with both too few and too many clues.
The abduction and attempted murder of heiress Jude Thackeray is a thorn in DI Graham Ling’s side. There’s a detailed description of the kidnapper from Jude, since she lived with the man for several months before he unexpectedly tied her up, threw her into a closet, beat her, put a noose over her head, and drove her out to a deserted field where she was lucky or clever enough to escape. But no one else seems to have seen the miscreant except for a dog-walking neighbor, who describes him only as looking “angry.” There’s CCTV footage of him from a gas station. But his face isn’t clearly visible. As Ling’s team, including Jerry Wilkins, Joel McPartland, detail-oriented Hannah McMahon, and intuitive Peter Betts, struggles with a huge pile of information that somehow doesn’t add up to much, Jude seems to have moved on. She’s seeing Mark Medlicott, who chucked his well-to-do family’s Yorkshire business to seek his fortune in the South. In spite of her brother Robin’s pleas to be careful, Jude seems inclined to pursue this relationship toward a more committed end. Meanwhile, Peter begins a considerably less committed romance with Hannah. Both couples may end up with something they didn’t bargain for as Janes weaves an intricate web of deceit.
Janes seems to specialize in heroines with significant back stories. But where Swimming in the Shadows (2014) took forever to reach its conclusion, her current tale frontloads the complications and ends with a jolt.Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7278-8651-4
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Severn House
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an...
True love flares between two people, but they find that circumstances always impede it.
On a winter day in London, Laurie spots Jack from her bus home and he sparks a feeling in her so deep that she spends the next year searching for him. Her roommate and best friend, Sarah, is the perfect wing-woman but ultimately—and unknowingly—ends the search by finding Jack and falling for him herself. Laurie’s hasty decision not to tell Sarah is the second painful missed opportunity (after not getting off the bus), but Sarah’s happiness is so important to Laurie that she dedicates ample energy into retraining her heart not to love Jack. Laurie is misguided, but her effort and loyalty spring from a true heart, and she considers her project mostly successful. Perhaps she would have total success, but the fact of the matter is that Jack feels the same deep connection to Laurie. His reasons for not acting on them are less admirable: He likes Sarah and she’s the total package; why would he give that up just because every time he and Laurie have enough time together (and just enough alcohol) they nearly fall into each other’s arms? Laurie finally begins to move on, creating a mostly satisfying life for herself, whereas Jack’s inability to be genuine tortures him and turns him into an ever bigger jerk. Patriarchy—it hurts men, too! There’s no question where the book is going, but the pacing is just right, the tone warm, and the characters sympathetic, even when making dumb decisions.
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read.Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-57468-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
Nerve-wracking suspense leavened with romance and spiced with sex: another hit for the prolific Roberts (Blue Smoke, 2005,...
Murder mixes with anguish in steamy Savannah.
FBI-trained hostage negotiator Phoebe MacNamara is a lieutenant in the Savannah police department. Ever since Phoebe and her family were held hostage when she was 12, her mother has been agoraphobic, and Phoebe and her brother Carter still bear the psychological scars, but Phoebe’s used the memory to hone her skills. While talking a suicidal bartender off a ledge, she meets his boss, Duncan Swift. The charming millionaire coaxes her into meeting for a drink, and their relationship slowly deepens. But life takes a turn for the worse when a misogynist cop botches a hostage situation. Suspended, he blames Phoebe and retaliates by viciously attacking her in the precinct house stairwell. He loses his job, but his father’s connections keep him out of jail. Phoebe is physically and mentally injured, but her family and her blossoming relationship with Duncan help her cope until a dangerous pattern develops: A strange man keeps crossing her path. Dead animals begin appearing on her doorstep. A hostage taker is shot after she talks him into surrendering. Her ex-husband is brutally murdered by the mystery man, who phones her with sadistic threats. Is it the spiteful disgraced cop or someone from her past? Phoebe must identify the killer before he can carry out his final outrage.
Nerve-wracking suspense leavened with romance and spiced with sex: another hit for the prolific Roberts (Blue Smoke, 2005, etc.).Pub Date: July 10, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-399-15434-8
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2007
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