witandsin's review against another edition
4.0
Blue Ribbon Rating: 4 out of 5
Original Review Link
“Diamond Drop” by Roxanne St. Claire
A mysterious woman in leather and heels. A diamond drop worth two million dollars. An unknown threat in a European rail station… It’s all in a day’s work for Bullet Catcher Donovan Rush. Donovan’s got an assignment to impress a new Bullet Catcher client and not even a siren in killer platforms can stop him.
“Diamond Drop” kicks off the LOVE IS MURDER anthology with a bang! Author Roxanne St. Claire has written a sexy, stunning story that drew me in from the start. “Diamond Drop” reminds me of silver screen suspense films in that it’s energetic, edgy and just plain fun. I absolutely loved the vibrancy of “Diamond Drop” — this is a story I won’t forget.
“Diamond Drop” is part of Ms. St. Claire’s Bullet Catchers series, but since I haven’t read any Bullet Catchers books, I can safely say “Diamond Drop” stands on its own. That being said, I’ll definitely be checking out the Bullet Catchers novels now!
“B.A.D. Mission” by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Former B.A.D. agent Sam Garrett is being called back into the field, and this time it’s personal. The only woman he’s ever loved is being accused of selling a weapon to terrorists and Sam has to figure out if she’s guilty or is an innocent who’s in over her head.
I absolutely adore Sherrilyn Kenyon and Dianna Love’s B.A.D. Agency series, so I admit to being biased in favor of “B.A.D. Mission.” In Sam and Danielle’s story Ms. Kenyon has penned a fast and furious defeat-the-terrorists plot that’s mixed in with a sensual reunion romance. The sparks that flew between Sam and Danielle were my favorite part of the story, but that doesn’t mean the suspense plot isn’t engaging as well. Fans of the B.A.D. Agency series will undoubtedly be pleased with “B.A.D. Mission” and readers who haven’t read any of the books will get a glimpse into B.A.D.’s fight against the Fratelli de il Sovrano, a terrorist group that’s the overarching enemy of the series.
“Deadly Fixation” by Dianna Love
Belador warrior Devon Fortier has caught wind of some Noirre majik-wielding mercenary trolls and it’s up to him to bring them in to face justice. There’s just one problem: bounty hunter and thorn in Devon’s side Joleen Mac is after the same target. If he wants to bring down the bad guys — or trolls, as it were — Devon will have to make a bargain with his own personal devil.
Svart trolls and leprechauns and bounty hunters, oh my! Set in the world of Dianna Love and Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Belador series, “Deadly Fixation” is an exciting paranormal romantic suspense that will have you avidly turning the pages. The sexual tension between Devon and Jo is to-die-for and I thought the honorable Belador warrior and the kick-ass assassin with a secret were a great match. If you haven’t read the Belador series, “Deadly Fixation” provides a small sample of what the world of the books is like. I’m desperately hoping Jo and Devon show up again in the series because Ms. Love left me wanting more of these two!
“After Hours” by William Bernhardt
When Major Mike Morelli and his partner, Lieutenant Kate Baxter, are called to a homicide scene, they have no idea that this isn’t a straightforward murder. A beautiful woman’s been killed, and the clues to her killer lie in the fact that neither the victim nor her grieving boyfriend are what they appear to be.
Author William Bernhardt takes readers through a homicide case with plenty of unexpected twists in “After Hours.” Mr. Bernhardt’s writing drew me into the story from the start and I found the case itself fascinating. A dash of romance and a message about finding happiness rounds out “After Hours,” making it an all-around wonderful read.
LOVE IS MURDER is a fantastic anthology with twenty-nine very different tales of romantic suspense. Editor Sandra Brown outdid herself with this collection. As with any mega anthology, there will be some stories readers like more than others. I highlighted four of my favorites, but there are a few other notable tales I’d feel awful if I didn’t mention. Heather Graham delivers a spine-tingling thriller with “Grave Danger.” A wedding and a honeymoon take a potentially deadly turn in Andrea Kane’s “Lockdown.” A dangerous stalker threatens two people who have nowhere to turn in “Vacation Interrupted.” A rescue mission turns into something more in Laura Griffin’s “Night Heat.” Julie Kenner does the unexpected in “The Honeymoon.” And there’s something incredibly haunting about Lee Child’s one paragraph tale, “I Heard a Romantic Story.” All in all, I recommend reading LOVE IS MURDER. With thirty incredibly talented authors delivering twenty-nine unique stories, LOVE IS MURDER is one anthology fans of romantic suspense won’t want to miss.
Note: My review was written for Romance Junkies and is cross-posted here courtesy of Romance Junkies.
Original Review Link
“Diamond Drop” by Roxanne St. Claire
A mysterious woman in leather and heels. A diamond drop worth two million dollars. An unknown threat in a European rail station… It’s all in a day’s work for Bullet Catcher Donovan Rush. Donovan’s got an assignment to impress a new Bullet Catcher client and not even a siren in killer platforms can stop him.
“Diamond Drop” kicks off the LOVE IS MURDER anthology with a bang! Author Roxanne St. Claire has written a sexy, stunning story that drew me in from the start. “Diamond Drop” reminds me of silver screen suspense films in that it’s energetic, edgy and just plain fun. I absolutely loved the vibrancy of “Diamond Drop” — this is a story I won’t forget.
“Diamond Drop” is part of Ms. St. Claire’s Bullet Catchers series, but since I haven’t read any Bullet Catchers books, I can safely say “Diamond Drop” stands on its own. That being said, I’ll definitely be checking out the Bullet Catchers novels now!
“B.A.D. Mission” by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Former B.A.D. agent Sam Garrett is being called back into the field, and this time it’s personal. The only woman he’s ever loved is being accused of selling a weapon to terrorists and Sam has to figure out if she’s guilty or is an innocent who’s in over her head.
I absolutely adore Sherrilyn Kenyon and Dianna Love’s B.A.D. Agency series, so I admit to being biased in favor of “B.A.D. Mission.” In Sam and Danielle’s story Ms. Kenyon has penned a fast and furious defeat-the-terrorists plot that’s mixed in with a sensual reunion romance. The sparks that flew between Sam and Danielle were my favorite part of the story, but that doesn’t mean the suspense plot isn’t engaging as well. Fans of the B.A.D. Agency series will undoubtedly be pleased with “B.A.D. Mission” and readers who haven’t read any of the books will get a glimpse into B.A.D.’s fight against the Fratelli de il Sovrano, a terrorist group that’s the overarching enemy of the series.
“Deadly Fixation” by Dianna Love
Belador warrior Devon Fortier has caught wind of some Noirre majik-wielding mercenary trolls and it’s up to him to bring them in to face justice. There’s just one problem: bounty hunter and thorn in Devon’s side Joleen Mac is after the same target. If he wants to bring down the bad guys — or trolls, as it were — Devon will have to make a bargain with his own personal devil.
Svart trolls and leprechauns and bounty hunters, oh my! Set in the world of Dianna Love and Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Belador series, “Deadly Fixation” is an exciting paranormal romantic suspense that will have you avidly turning the pages. The sexual tension between Devon and Jo is to-die-for and I thought the honorable Belador warrior and the kick-ass assassin with a secret were a great match. If you haven’t read the Belador series, “Deadly Fixation” provides a small sample of what the world of the books is like. I’m desperately hoping Jo and Devon show up again in the series because Ms. Love left me wanting more of these two!
“After Hours” by William Bernhardt
When Major Mike Morelli and his partner, Lieutenant Kate Baxter, are called to a homicide scene, they have no idea that this isn’t a straightforward murder. A beautiful woman’s been killed, and the clues to her killer lie in the fact that neither the victim nor her grieving boyfriend are what they appear to be.
Author William Bernhardt takes readers through a homicide case with plenty of unexpected twists in “After Hours.” Mr. Bernhardt’s writing drew me into the story from the start and I found the case itself fascinating. A dash of romance and a message about finding happiness rounds out “After Hours,” making it an all-around wonderful read.
LOVE IS MURDER is a fantastic anthology with twenty-nine very different tales of romantic suspense. Editor Sandra Brown outdid herself with this collection. As with any mega anthology, there will be some stories readers like more than others. I highlighted four of my favorites, but there are a few other notable tales I’d feel awful if I didn’t mention. Heather Graham delivers a spine-tingling thriller with “Grave Danger.” A wedding and a honeymoon take a potentially deadly turn in Andrea Kane’s “Lockdown.” A dangerous stalker threatens two people who have nowhere to turn in “Vacation Interrupted.” A rescue mission turns into something more in Laura Griffin’s “Night Heat.” Julie Kenner does the unexpected in “The Honeymoon.” And there’s something incredibly haunting about Lee Child’s one paragraph tale, “I Heard a Romantic Story.” All in all, I recommend reading LOVE IS MURDER. With thirty incredibly talented authors delivering twenty-nine unique stories, LOVE IS MURDER is one anthology fans of romantic suspense won’t want to miss.
Note: My review was written for Romance Junkies and is cross-posted here courtesy of Romance Junkies.
jonetta's review against another edition
4.0
I will read other stories over time.
This review is for Diamond Drop by Roxanne St. Claire ★★★★
Bullet Catcher Donovan Rush is picking up and delivering a diamond purchase to a new client in Paris. Along the way, he encounters some very interesting challenges.
This is a cleverly written story, reminiscent of the early style of the series. While it’s short, it manages to pack intrigue, romance, witty banter and a startling twist in a few pages. It’s so well done. It’s also the last story in the series but not quite the fitting end I had in mind.
This review is for Vacation Interrupted by Allison Brennan (10/12/20) ★★★★
FBI Analyst Lucy Kincaid and Private Investigator Sean Rogan attempt yet another crime-free vacation. This time it’s on Cape Cod and things are looking pretty promising until Lucy answers a call to help a man in distress in the water. She later determines that the man thinks someone tried to kill him.
This is a really short story (22 pages) and I couldn’t imagine this being all that interesting. Silly me because once I started I was completely engaged. Well done, especially considering its brevity. Guess Lucy & Sean will never have that true vacation.
This review is for Diamond Drop by Roxanne St. Claire ★★★★
Bullet Catcher Donovan Rush is picking up and delivering a diamond purchase to a new client in Paris. Along the way, he encounters some very interesting challenges.
This is a cleverly written story, reminiscent of the early style of the series. While it’s short, it manages to pack intrigue, romance, witty banter and a startling twist in a few pages. It’s so well done. It’s also the last story in the series but not quite the fitting end I had in mind.
This review is for Vacation Interrupted by Allison Brennan (10/12/20) ★★★★
FBI Analyst Lucy Kincaid and Private Investigator Sean Rogan attempt yet another crime-free vacation. This time it’s on Cape Cod and things are looking pretty promising until Lucy answers a call to help a man in distress in the water. She later determines that the man thinks someone tried to kill him.
This is a really short story (22 pages) and I couldn’t imagine this being all that interesting. Silly me because once I started I was completely engaged. Well done, especially considering its brevity. Guess Lucy & Sean will never have that true vacation.
jazzrizz's review against another edition
5.0
What a great compilation book! Serious talent contributed to this. I'm usually meh on these types of books, but each story was great.
A bunch of my must read authors had stories in here, along with a couple of authors I'm going to have to track down their back list of books.
A bunch of my must read authors had stories in here, along with a couple of authors I'm going to have to track down their back list of books.
literaryfeline's review against another edition
3.0
http://www.literaryfeline.com/2012/06/bookish-thoughts-thriller-3-love-is.html
lorihenrich2021's review against another edition
3.0
Lucy and Patrick are on a ski weekend at a mountain retreat. While there one of the other guests is found dead. Lucy jumps into action and examines the room and body. She discovers something that leads her to think this is a accidental death. When other mysterious things happen Lucy is sure that there is something amiss.
I liked this but reserve judgement until I can read a complete novel.
I liked this but reserve judgement until I can read a complete novel.
hollie313's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
ibeforem's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
This large collection of romantic suspense short stories was a little hit or miss. Some of the authors I was familiar with, and some I would add to my TBR. But I think that calling some of these stories romantic suspense was a stretch. I think it's hard to build up the "suspense" part of the romantic suspense in the length of a short story. Some of them were "action action action, kiss at the end". But sometimes it's nice to read something you can digest in bite-sized chunks.
dararm's review against another edition
3.0
This is a series of short stories by various authors. I only gave it a 3 because some stories I liked a lot and some not so much. Sandra Brown is an excellent writer of thrillers with some romance along with the mystery; she definitily has a variety of authors and styles in this compliation. I found this on CD and it was mainly one I listened to when driving alone. It is one worth listening to or reading, but it is very graphic for the gore and the sexual situations.
melsbookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 Stars
There is something about a good romantic suspense. The thrills and danger puts you in a certain frame of mind, so that when the romance hits, when it is done well, it’s breathtaking… I had to give these short stories a go after I saw the cover.. But the cover was a bit deceiving, I would read ANYTHING Sandra Brown writes, but she only edited it and did a brief sentence or two to introduce you to all the stories. I guess they did the cover for suckers like me who see Sandra Brown and go “OK IM READING IT!”. Having said that though, some of the stories were really good, however others were not so good.
I’m not going to go through all the stories as there were WAY too many of them to review one at a time. So I will mention the stand outs. I really enjoyed “Hot Note” even though it was more a paranormal story. Last Shot was another stand out about a very special scanning machine. Again more paranormal, but it was a great story! I also enjoyed Without Mercy, far from a romance I thought, but a great story… I guess the better ones for me were actually the ones with a better story and less romance. I felt a bit let down by the quality of the stories to be honest.
I can see how it is difficult to develop romantic suspense in a short story. After all it takes tension to get a good romantic build up. Therefore the majority of the stories involved two people who already know each other, and have been apart for a while, only to come back together. This is fine and lovely, but it got old after a while. The only story I feel that got a good new romance blossoming with an original story was the first one, Diamond Drop. I felt this was extremely clever compared to the others. Otherwise the story was about a couple who were already an item and something else happens to bring them closer together. These stories got old fast too.
I just didn’t love it enough to rate it higher. The good stories did not outweigh the average ones in my opinion, and for a compilation of romantic suspense stories, I felt a lot of suspense, but was totally let down in the romance department!
And that last story?? WTF was that Lee Child?? That was the first Lee Child writing I have ever read and its not making me want to pick up any Jack Reacher books any time soon!
The narration however, was superb! How fantastic were Christopher Lane and Shannon McManus! They totally salvaged this book for me! I am so glad I had listened to the narration rather than read it, because I don’t know if I would have made it through otherwise!
Would I recommend it?
As I said, a few of the stories were good, however mostly It was a bit of a let down. If you are interested, the audio version was really well done and made it much more enjoyable.
For more reviews visit my blog
www.booksbabiesbeing.com
Find me on Twitter
www.twitter.com/BBB_Mel
There is something about a good romantic suspense. The thrills and danger puts you in a certain frame of mind, so that when the romance hits, when it is done well, it’s breathtaking… I had to give these short stories a go after I saw the cover.. But the cover was a bit deceiving, I would read ANYTHING Sandra Brown writes, but she only edited it and did a brief sentence or two to introduce you to all the stories. I guess they did the cover for suckers like me who see Sandra Brown and go “OK IM READING IT!”. Having said that though, some of the stories were really good, however others were not so good.
I’m not going to go through all the stories as there were WAY too many of them to review one at a time. So I will mention the stand outs. I really enjoyed “Hot Note” even though it was more a paranormal story. Last Shot was another stand out about a very special scanning machine. Again more paranormal, but it was a great story! I also enjoyed Without Mercy, far from a romance I thought, but a great story… I guess the better ones for me were actually the ones with a better story and less romance. I felt a bit let down by the quality of the stories to be honest.
I can see how it is difficult to develop romantic suspense in a short story. After all it takes tension to get a good romantic build up. Therefore the majority of the stories involved two people who already know each other, and have been apart for a while, only to come back together. This is fine and lovely, but it got old after a while. The only story I feel that got a good new romance blossoming with an original story was the first one, Diamond Drop. I felt this was extremely clever compared to the others. Otherwise the story was about a couple who were already an item and something else happens to bring them closer together. These stories got old fast too.
I just didn’t love it enough to rate it higher. The good stories did not outweigh the average ones in my opinion, and for a compilation of romantic suspense stories, I felt a lot of suspense, but was totally let down in the romance department!
And that last story?? WTF was that Lee Child?? That was the first Lee Child writing I have ever read and its not making me want to pick up any Jack Reacher books any time soon!
The narration however, was superb! How fantastic were Christopher Lane and Shannon McManus! They totally salvaged this book for me! I am so glad I had listened to the narration rather than read it, because I don’t know if I would have made it through otherwise!
Would I recommend it?
As I said, a few of the stories were good, however mostly It was a bit of a let down. If you are interested, the audio version was really well done and made it much more enjoyable.
For more reviews visit my blog
www.booksbabiesbeing.com
Find me on Twitter
www.twitter.com/BBB_Mel
pandemoniumpizza's review against another edition
What an amazing short story anthology. After finishing this book it’s going to be hard to find a book with one great author in it let alone the 30 odd in this one.
The book obviously has some very high calibre authors many of them are names I know very well and usually when I read a short story anthology by various authors I find some that aren’t very good but in this book I loved every single story. They are all extremely well written and well thought out. They’re all absolutely brilliant.
I really liked Sandra Brown’s commentary before each story. It was short and to the point and peaked my interest in ever story.
This being the third anthology and the third I read I feel as though it was even better than the previous two anthologies.
Oftentimes it’s hard to talk about short story anthologies because some of the stories are bad, some are good, you’re not sure whether to talk about each individual story and what you thought of it. As I was reading this one I was trying to figure out this for myself but every story I came upon was amazing.
If there was one thing that I got out of this book was entertainment. I feel as though every single story had entertainment value. Some of the stories I thought they were a little odd to start with but once I had gotten to the end it all made sense and it wasn’t awful anymore.
All that being said, just go read this book. I don’t care if you don’t like short stories, this is one anthology that is definitely worth reading.
The book obviously has some very high calibre authors many of them are names I know very well and usually when I read a short story anthology by various authors I find some that aren’t very good but in this book I loved every single story. They are all extremely well written and well thought out. They’re all absolutely brilliant.
I really liked Sandra Brown’s commentary before each story. It was short and to the point and peaked my interest in ever story.
This being the third anthology and the third I read I feel as though it was even better than the previous two anthologies.
Oftentimes it’s hard to talk about short story anthologies because some of the stories are bad, some are good, you’re not sure whether to talk about each individual story and what you thought of it. As I was reading this one I was trying to figure out this for myself but every story I came upon was amazing.
If there was one thing that I got out of this book was entertainment. I feel as though every single story had entertainment value. Some of the stories I thought they were a little odd to start with but once I had gotten to the end it all made sense and it wasn’t awful anymore.
All that being said, just go read this book. I don’t care if you don’t like short stories, this is one anthology that is definitely worth reading.