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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
Intrigue and romance that will keep you reading!
-Kris E.
-Kris E.
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
I was hoping this would be a good suspenseful mystery book and the start of a good series. After all the blur promises "a riveting tale of dark family secrets ready to explode with the devastating force of a Southwestern earthquake" and deems Lowell, "one of today's top masters of suspense".
The book opens with the murder of a New Mexico senator who left behind a wife in a coma, a spiteful sister-in-law and a son with Presidential aspirations. The sister-in-law hires a genealogist to write her family's history. But someone wants to stop any investigation of the family secrets.
It sound good on paper. But the execution just didn't match the set-up.
I enjoyed the genealogical parts of the story when Carly was sorting through pictures and records to piece together the Castillo family tree. I didn't believe that she could cross-reference birth and death records of children with suspect parentage so quickly to narrow down the suspect pool AND that said records would include height, weight and coloring.
The plot drags along with lots of nothing happening between small incidents related to the mystery. There's nothing to draw you into the family to want to learn more. Why don't we learn more about Sylvia? What happened to her? What caused the stroke? The grandson was shipped to rehab quickly and never heard of again. Why write him in at all then?
I found it very unlikely that people would befriend and confide Carly so quickly. Especially in a small town where everyone knows about everyone else's family business and the Quintrells are the biggest name around. How random that the one guy to help her 1) is the brother of the newspaper editor 2) is the only guy who knows how to work the archives and 3) has some sort of spy/law enforcement/military/secret clearance training and equipment that will come in handy later in the book. Oh, and of course he'll be hunky, brooding and wounded.
I also found it implausible that Carly and Dan became an item in a matter of minutes. The romance seemed forced and trite. Is it a requirement for novelists to give all amateur girl sleuths have curly hair so she can wind a long curl around her finger when she's nervous, pensive or horny??
I didn't find the conclusion very plausible because the villain just couldn't have been in all those places.
I listened to the audiobook version and the narrator was wonderful. I enjoyed her characterizations and style. I just didn't enjoy the book she had to read.
The book opens with the murder of a New Mexico senator who left behind a wife in a coma, a spiteful sister-in-law and a son with Presidential aspirations. The sister-in-law hires a genealogist to write her family's history. But someone wants to stop any investigation of the family secrets.
It sound good on paper. But the execution just didn't match the set-up.
I enjoyed the genealogical parts of the story when Carly was sorting through pictures and records to piece together the Castillo family tree. I didn't believe that she could cross-reference birth and death records of children with suspect parentage so quickly to narrow down the suspect pool AND that said records would include height, weight and coloring.
The plot drags along with lots of nothing happening between small incidents related to the mystery. There's nothing to draw you into the family to want to learn more. Why don't we learn more about Sylvia? What happened to her? What caused the stroke? The grandson was shipped to rehab quickly and never heard of again. Why write him in at all then?
I found it very unlikely that people would befriend and confide Carly so quickly. Especially in a small town where everyone knows about everyone else's family business and the Quintrells are the biggest name around. How random that the one guy to help her 1) is the brother of the newspaper editor 2) is the only guy who knows how to work the archives and 3) has some sort of spy/law enforcement/military/secret clearance training and equipment that will come in handy later in the book. Oh, and of course he'll be hunky, brooding and wounded.
I also found it implausible that Carly and Dan became an item in a matter of minutes. The romance seemed forced and trite. Is it a requirement for novelists to give all amateur girl sleuths have curly hair so she can wind a long curl around her finger when she's nervous, pensive or horny??
I didn't find the conclusion very plausible because the villain just couldn't have been in all those places.
I listened to the audiobook version and the narrator was wonderful. I enjoyed her characterizations and style. I just didn't enjoy the book she had to read.
3.5 stars
A somewhat convoluted plot, with science! used to find the final answer.
I enjoyed the heroine. The hero worked well enough for me.
A somewhat convoluted plot, with science! used to find the final answer.
I enjoyed the heroine. The hero worked well enough for me.
Who forces Thierry mother to recount a severely painful past for the sole benefit of his girlfriend? It pained me to go over the place in the book where they are literally browbeating this poor woman. Everyone has the right to their privacy, I thought.
The number of people killed in this novel is astonishing. I was interested in who was killing everyone which is the ONLY reason I finished this book.
The incest and rape that are major components of this book were a bit much for me.
The number of people killed in this novel is astonishing. I was interested in who was killing everyone which is the ONLY reason I finished this book.
The incest and rape that are major components of this book were a bit much for me.
As with other books by Elizabeth Lowell, this book had the "female expert gets involved in something dangerous" plot. Was it good? Yes. Was it the most original plot ever? No. However, I wasn't reading it for originality. I'll definitely read the next one in this series.
3 STARS
"The powerful Quintrell family of New Mexico has spent decades in the public eye. Now the recent death of the clan's patriarch, a former U.S. senator, has placed his son, Governor Josh Quintrell, squarely in the spotlight as he prepares his run for the highest political office in the land. It is not a good time to be rattling skeletons in the family's closets.
Researching personal histories isn't just Carolina "Carly" May's profession, it's her passion. When the governor's eccentric Aunt Winifred invites Carly into the Quintrells' private Taos compound to compile a genealogical record of the illustrious residents, she can hardly believe her good luck. But digging into the past is raising troubling questions about the would-be president's private life, his late father and catatonic mother, and the grisly street crime that left his notorious drug-addicted sister dead. And it soon becomes frighteningly apparent that the motivation of the dotty old woman who hired Carly might be something more akin to revenge -- and that someone is determined to remove the inquisitive genealogist from the picture by any means necessary.
As a dark world of twisted passions and depraved crimes slowly opens up before Carly, she realizes that there is no one whom she dares to trust -- perhaps least of all Dan Duran, a dangerous and haunted mystery man who's somehow tied to the Quintrells' past. But she will need an ally to survive the terrible secrets a father carried to the grave and an even more devastating evil that lurks among the living -- because following the bloodlines of the wealthy and power-hungry can be a bloody business ... and some dead secrets can kill." (From Amazon)
An okay romantic suspense - shows promise so will try book two in the series.
"The powerful Quintrell family of New Mexico has spent decades in the public eye. Now the recent death of the clan's patriarch, a former U.S. senator, has placed his son, Governor Josh Quintrell, squarely in the spotlight as he prepares his run for the highest political office in the land. It is not a good time to be rattling skeletons in the family's closets.
Researching personal histories isn't just Carolina "Carly" May's profession, it's her passion. When the governor's eccentric Aunt Winifred invites Carly into the Quintrells' private Taos compound to compile a genealogical record of the illustrious residents, she can hardly believe her good luck. But digging into the past is raising troubling questions about the would-be president's private life, his late father and catatonic mother, and the grisly street crime that left his notorious drug-addicted sister dead. And it soon becomes frighteningly apparent that the motivation of the dotty old woman who hired Carly might be something more akin to revenge -- and that someone is determined to remove the inquisitive genealogist from the picture by any means necessary.
As a dark world of twisted passions and depraved crimes slowly opens up before Carly, she realizes that there is no one whom she dares to trust -- perhaps least of all Dan Duran, a dangerous and haunted mystery man who's somehow tied to the Quintrells' past. But she will need an ally to survive the terrible secrets a father carried to the grave and an even more devastating evil that lurks among the living -- because following the bloodlines of the wealthy and power-hungry can be a bloody business ... and some dead secrets can kill." (From Amazon)
An okay romantic suspense - shows promise so will try book two in the series.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Minor: Incest, Sexual assault, Sexual violence