shahrun's review against another edition
2.0
My first Tess Gerritsen reading experience. I found this book OK. It was a quick easy read.
bibliobethreads's review against another edition
3.0
Really enjoyed this book, it was the first of hers that I have read and will definitely be reading more!
coffeecakesandbooks's review against another edition
2.0
Normalerweise gefallen mir die Romane von Tess Gerritsen sehr gut. Dieses Buch gehört zu ihrem Frühwerk und dieses blieb nicht unbemerkt. Es handelt sich um eine Spionagegeschichte zwischen Washington, London, Berlin und Amsterdam. Die Charaktere sind recht flach gestaltet und ich konnte keine wirkliche Verbindung zu ihnen aufbauen. Dennoch blieb die Handlung spannend, wenn auch keine allzu unerwarteten Dinge geschahen.
belladonna_nox's review
2.0
Went into this expecting an espionage/suspense/thriller story, which I got in some degree, but the amount of romance rubbish was just awful, cringe inducing and so poorly written.
Thank god Gerritsen's writing has improved since this.
Thank god Gerritsen's writing has improved since this.
halebugs's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ducky's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
emilyshuttleworth05's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
si0bhan's review against another edition
3.0
I’m a big Tess Gerritsen fan, and I’m always happy to dive into more of the author’s work. In the wait between new releases, I like to work on the author’s backlist. With Call After Midnight, we have one of Gerritsen’s earliest works.
Call After Midnight certainly had me hooked throughout. I was happy to turn the pages, curious as to how the story would play out. Things were predictable, some aspects required the suspension of belief, but it was an addictive read. In many ways, I would label this an easy read.
If you’re a fan of Gerritsen, it’s interesting to read this one to see how she’s grown as an author. If you’re looking for a place to start, Call After Midnight is addictive but it does not show the author at her best.
Call After Midnight certainly had me hooked throughout. I was happy to turn the pages, curious as to how the story would play out. Things were predictable, some aspects required the suspension of belief, but it was an addictive read. In many ways, I would label this an easy read.
If you’re a fan of Gerritsen, it’s interesting to read this one to see how she’s grown as an author. If you’re looking for a place to start, Call After Midnight is addictive but it does not show the author at her best.
thelogophile's review against another edition
3.0
Blog: https://thelogophile.wixsite.com/blog
Call After Midnight is my first Tess Gerritsen book. Gerritsen was recommended to me by the same person who insisted I read the JD Robb collection, so I had to give it a go.
Call After Midnight tells the story of Simon Dance (alias Geoffrey Fontaine), who fakes his death in a Berlin hotel room. His wife, Sarah, searches for the truth and is led on an espionage chase around Europe. Alongside her is the dependable Mick O'Hara of the US State Department, helping her find her husband.
Gerritsen combines romance, action, and violence into neatly packed 250 pages. However, this also results in the character substance slightly lacking. The characters were stock and not very believable. The plot was quite standard, but well thought through.
Although I found Sarah irritating and two-dimensional, I enjoyed Nick's character. He was the most rounded character of the book, and the most believable.
Gerritsen writes the suspense/thriller parts of the book well, and the plot twists and turns ensure pages are kept turned - you want to see what happened. However, I found that the book read as more of a romance/romantic thriller, than a pure crime thriller/espionage story.
Although I wasn't too impressed, Gerritsen did leave me with enough that I am now reading the first of her Rizzoli and Isles series (The Surgeon), which I am finding a lot more enjoyable.
Call After Midnight is my first Tess Gerritsen book. Gerritsen was recommended to me by the same person who insisted I read the JD Robb collection, so I had to give it a go.
Call After Midnight tells the story of Simon Dance (alias Geoffrey Fontaine), who fakes his death in a Berlin hotel room. His wife, Sarah, searches for the truth and is led on an espionage chase around Europe. Alongside her is the dependable Mick O'Hara of the US State Department, helping her find her husband.
Gerritsen combines romance, action, and violence into neatly packed 250 pages. However, this also results in the character substance slightly lacking. The characters were stock and not very believable. The plot was quite standard, but well thought through.
Although I found Sarah irritating and two-dimensional, I enjoyed Nick's character. He was the most rounded character of the book, and the most believable.
Gerritsen writes the suspense/thriller parts of the book well, and the plot twists and turns ensure pages are kept turned - you want to see what happened. However, I found that the book read as more of a romance/romantic thriller, than a pure crime thriller/espionage story.
Although I wasn't too impressed, Gerritsen did leave me with enough that I am now reading the first of her Rizzoli and Isles series (The Surgeon), which I am finding a lot more enjoyable.
joliendelandsheer's review
3.0
Review first published on my blog The Fictional Reader
I bought a copy of this in a secondhand shop in Dublin because a) it was super cheap and b) I love Tess Gerritsen’s mysteries. And it seemed to be about 300-330 pages at first. Until I realized that the last 60 or so pages are previews of two of her other books.
This book only has like 250 pages! For a mystery book, I feel like that’s difficult. In my opinion, a mystery needs time to develop and build the tension, and this book lacked in that department because of the length.
In general though, I quite liked the mystery. It starts with an assassin murdering an assassin. And then Sarah gets a call. Her husband has been found dead in a hotel in Berlin. Only Sarah thought he was in London. She doesn’t believe he died, and wants to find out what happened -which is where Nick O’Hara from the U.S. State Department comes in. I had fun with the mystery -even though I had to suspend my disbelief at times.
The biggest reason I only gave this book 3 stars -aside from the length- is the romance, and how prevalent it was. First of all, Sarah had only married Geoffrey 2 or 3 months ago. She had only known him for 6 months. How do you marry someone you’ve only known for 6 months? That aside, she discovers some things about Geoffrey that make her believe she never really knew him. (I’ll try to hold in my DUH! here). And that’s where the romance with Nick starts. And I feel bad for not liking the romance, because I LOVED Nick’s character. He was an honest, smart and kind person. But you can’t fall out of love with someone in a few days, and fall in love with an entirely new person! Especially when you are a) so dependent on the new person and b) he must be intertwined with your husband’s tragedy in your mind.
I bought a copy of this in a secondhand shop in Dublin because a) it was super cheap and b) I love Tess Gerritsen’s mysteries. And it seemed to be about 300-330 pages at first. Until I realized that the last 60 or so pages are previews of two of her other books.
This book only has like 250 pages! For a mystery book, I feel like that’s difficult. In my opinion, a mystery needs time to develop and build the tension, and this book lacked in that department because of the length.
In general though, I quite liked the mystery. It starts with an assassin murdering an assassin. And then Sarah gets a call. Her husband has been found dead in a hotel in Berlin. Only Sarah thought he was in London. She doesn’t believe he died, and wants to find out what happened -which is where Nick O’Hara from the U.S. State Department comes in. I had fun with the mystery -even though I had to suspend my disbelief at times.
The biggest reason I only gave this book 3 stars -aside from the length- is the romance, and how prevalent it was. First of all, Sarah had only married Geoffrey 2 or 3 months ago. She had only known him for 6 months. How do you marry someone you’ve only known for 6 months? That aside, she discovers some things about Geoffrey that make her believe she never really knew him. (I’ll try to hold in my DUH! here). And that’s where the romance with Nick starts. And I feel bad for not liking the romance, because I LOVED Nick’s character. He was an honest, smart and kind person. But you can’t fall out of love with someone in a few days, and fall in love with an entirely new person! Especially when you are a) so dependent on the new person and b) he must be intertwined with your husband’s tragedy in your mind.