tomaind's review against another edition
3.0
Good story with suspense. This was not one of Carla Negger's better books. I was frustrated that Susanna kept so many secrets from Jack. It just did not make sense to me when she was supposedly so in love with her husband.
addy1991's review against another edition
3.0
The plot is a really good one but some of the character personalities didn't sit well with me. I would have given this a higher rating if certain things were different but I won't mention what those things are because I don't wish to spoil things for others who might not see it like I did. The writing is really good and it combined with the action/suspense keeps you hanging until the very end. I plan to read more in this series.
nicolet2018's review against another edition
3.0
I was actually very excited by the premise. More so because it was about a married couple having problems and a female baddie. I was curious about how they would work it out as well as how a female villian would function. The thought process, the logic because it is very unusual to have a female villian in most books.
However, when an author is so well reviewed, proceed with caution.
I was up to lots of disappointment. In the summary, Alice was mad to sound like she was crazy, angry and bent on revenge for being sent to jail. It was very deceiving. The story began okay but soon I realized something was wrong. The character interaction and execution of the plot was poorly done. Terribly done. The conversations the characters had were repetitive on the same thing and nothing got settled. I was looking forward to good writing but it seemed that what I got was mediocre. Coming from an author that is supposed to be celebrated.
Here is a married couple whom are both forty years old and having a cold war. I wanted to slap Susanna because for nearly half of the book, they think about talking but it NEVER happens. She just found excuses to get out of situations. This was not what I expected for a couple married nearly 20 years.
I don't care if Jack says she is stubborn and tough. Tough? She cannot even tell her husband about her problems. She runs away from him and instead of having a short break like she said. She stays away for months on end. Who does that? She does not even try to reconcile with him but decides to wait. What the heck. I seriously feel like screaming some bad words at the nonsense I am reading.
Her reasoning were very loose and held no concrete justification. She even said she did not tell him because she did not want him to be a Texas ranger. Oh god, you should have known that when marrying a police officer you will have to deal with how tough his job is going to be on the marriage. The key is to talk! Not run away. Yeesh!
Honestly I could relate to Susanna on how worried she gets on how she will talk to Jack about certain issues. Keeping the secret on how much money they have was stupid too. She is a financial planner, she encourages her clients to be open about money and how it affects them and she cannot even follow her own advice and be honest with Jack about this? *facepalm* there were many in this book.
The stalking part was confusing but if you read on you will understand why.
Jack was another person I wanted to slap. He knows everything but does not tell Susanna he knows, choosing to keep quiet and allow her to talk to him. Oh come on, are we really playing this game? Again, the summary is wrong in the fact that he goes to Boston to win her back.
His children are nearly adults and they were okay but perhaps the author wanted them matured so that they would not be a bother to write. Then Jack followed them to the mountains, stays with his family but not really. There is so crazy stuff going on. They just keep avoiding their problems and think it will be fine.
The worst thing was, instead of talking like adults and solving the huge problems, they have 15 miunte sex and it is not even romantic. It seems perfunctory no matter what they say. Gosh, I felt that this was just stupid, immatured and crazy. These two are not animals but they act like it.
This was one of the worse couples in fiction ever because they act like little kids and do so many stupid things that could have been avoided if they stopped thinking for THEMSELVES only.
Alice was not even that scary villain I was expecting to be. She was timid, careless and not at all seeming like a baddie. Beau is the real mastermind.
I love Blackwater Lake and the mountains around it. It sounds nice for a summer retreat but not winter. It seemed ridiculously cold.
I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. Not even for the thriller and mystery.
However, when an author is so well reviewed, proceed with caution.
I was up to lots of disappointment. In the summary, Alice was mad to sound like she was crazy, angry and bent on revenge for being sent to jail. It was very deceiving. The story began okay but soon I realized something was wrong. The character interaction and execution of the plot was poorly done. Terribly done. The conversations the characters had were repetitive on the same thing and nothing got settled. I was looking forward to good writing but it seemed that what I got was mediocre. Coming from an author that is supposed to be celebrated.
Here is a married couple whom are both forty years old and having a cold war. I wanted to slap Susanna because for nearly half of the book, they think about talking but it NEVER happens. She just found excuses to get out of situations. This was not what I expected for a couple married nearly 20 years.
I don't care if Jack says she is stubborn and tough. Tough? She cannot even tell her husband about her problems. She runs away from him and instead of having a short break like she said. She stays away for months on end. Who does that? She does not even try to reconcile with him but decides to wait. What the heck. I seriously feel like screaming some bad words at the nonsense I am reading.
Her reasoning were very loose and held no concrete justification. She even said she did not tell him because she did not want him to be a Texas ranger. Oh god, you should have known that when marrying a police officer you will have to deal with how tough his job is going to be on the marriage. The key is to talk! Not run away. Yeesh!
Honestly I could relate to Susanna on how worried she gets on how she will talk to Jack about certain issues. Keeping the secret on how much money they have was stupid too. She is a financial planner, she encourages her clients to be open about money and how it affects them and she cannot even follow her own advice and be honest with Jack about this? *facepalm* there were many in this book.
The stalking part was confusing but if you read on you will understand why.
Jack was another person I wanted to slap. He knows everything but does not tell Susanna he knows, choosing to keep quiet and allow her to talk to him. Oh come on, are we really playing this game? Again, the summary is wrong in the fact that he goes to Boston to win her back.
Spoiler
Heck, he goes to Boston because the corrupt police officer, Alice he put away was spotted there. Not because of his wife.His children are nearly adults and they were okay but perhaps the author wanted them matured so that they would not be a bother to write. Then Jack followed them to the mountains, stays with his family but not really. There is so crazy stuff going on. They just keep avoiding their problems and think it will be fine.
The worst thing was, instead of talking like adults and solving the huge problems, they have 15 miunte sex and it is not even romantic. It seems perfunctory no matter what they say.
Spoiler
Not to mention it is disgusting to have a sex scene because Jack is injured.This was one of the worse couples in fiction ever because they act like little kids and do so many stupid things that could have been avoided if they stopped thinking for THEMSELVES only.
Alice was not even that scary villain I was expecting to be. She was timid, careless and not at all seeming like a baddie. Beau is the real mastermind.
Spoiler
The only good part was how the story tied up to the murder of Rachel Mccgarrity and Iris. That was good. That and the ending where the killer starts chasing the good people and holds hostages. As is the typical part of a thriller. Let me just say Jack's effort to romance Susanna at the end is corny and fake. He does not do that and makes no effort for 3/4 of the quarters.I love Blackwater Lake and the mountains around it. It sounds nice for a summer retreat but not winter. It seemed ridiculously cold.
I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. Not even for the thriller and mystery.
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