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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
No surprises and not as fresh as I have come to expect from her
8/28/20 re-listen, the story mostly held up over time, with a few exceptions. I'd maybe give it a B now. But I still enjoyed the story and the narration, and liked both the main characters.
Grade A-/B+
Narrated by Susan Ericksen
As a professional butler, Sarah Stevens is trained to manage large household down to the smallest details. She’s also skilled as a bodyguard, which comes in handy in her present position as butler to a retired Federal judge. When an obsessed admirer sets out to secure Sarah’s services by any means possible, Detective Thomas Cahill is brought in to lead the investigation. As the mystery deepens, Sarah finds herself drawn into the investigation. Complicating matters is the attraction that draws Cahill and Sarah to each other.
Susan Ericksen, best known for her outstanding narration of J.D. Robb’s In Death series, handles Dying to Please with the same skill. The pacing and dynamics of her performance are excellent. Ericksen’s reading feels natural and there is never any confusion about who is speaking during conversations. She proves her versatility by making Sarah and Cahill sound unique rather than copies of Eve and Roarke.
Sarah isn't a typical heroine. She’s capable and tough but not the sassy, bad-ass kind of heroine authors often employ when they want strong female leads. Sarah, in keeping with her butler training, is reserved and professional instead of snarky. Ericksen gives Sarah a cool, understated voice, one that conveys strength and humor.
Cahill is a great hero, although flawed and not always likeable. At one point in the story Cahill makes a huge error in judgment. Given Cahill’s job and his past relationship history, the error feels in character. Howard does a great job making us feel his pain when he realizes the damage he's done. It was refreshing to see Cahill take full responsibility for his actions, and I admired his determination to make it right. Ericksen aptly portrays Cahill’s wide range of feelings and emotions, always managing to make him sound completely male.
The dynamics between the Sarah and Cahill is especially well done. Their relationship takes some time to develop, and the conflict in the relationship wasn't a misunderstanding that can be cleared up with a five-minute conversation. Instead, it packs an emotional punch.
I recommend the audio version of Dying to Please for any romantic suspense fan. It’s a good introduction to Linda Howard, as well as a good introduction to the excellent narrative abilities of Susan Ericksen. In addition, there is this extremely hot wrestling scene, which is not to be missed.
Reviewed for Speaking of Audiobooks:
http://www.likesbooks.com/blog/?p=8483
Grade A-/B+
Narrated by Susan Ericksen
As a professional butler, Sarah Stevens is trained to manage large household down to the smallest details. She’s also skilled as a bodyguard, which comes in handy in her present position as butler to a retired Federal judge. When an obsessed admirer sets out to secure Sarah’s services by any means possible, Detective Thomas Cahill is brought in to lead the investigation. As the mystery deepens, Sarah finds herself drawn into the investigation. Complicating matters is the attraction that draws Cahill and Sarah to each other.
Susan Ericksen, best known for her outstanding narration of J.D. Robb’s In Death series, handles Dying to Please with the same skill. The pacing and dynamics of her performance are excellent. Ericksen’s reading feels natural and there is never any confusion about who is speaking during conversations. She proves her versatility by making Sarah and Cahill sound unique rather than copies of Eve and Roarke.
Sarah isn't a typical heroine. She’s capable and tough but not the sassy, bad-ass kind of heroine authors often employ when they want strong female leads. Sarah, in keeping with her butler training, is reserved and professional instead of snarky. Ericksen gives Sarah a cool, understated voice, one that conveys strength and humor.
Cahill is a great hero, although flawed and not always likeable. At one point in the story Cahill makes a huge error in judgment. Given Cahill’s job and his past relationship history, the error feels in character. Howard does a great job making us feel his pain when he realizes the damage he's done. It was refreshing to see Cahill take full responsibility for his actions, and I admired his determination to make it right. Ericksen aptly portrays Cahill’s wide range of feelings and emotions, always managing to make him sound completely male.
The dynamics between the Sarah and Cahill is especially well done. Their relationship takes some time to develop, and the conflict in the relationship wasn't a misunderstanding that can be cleared up with a five-minute conversation. Instead, it packs an emotional punch.
I recommend the audio version of Dying to Please for any romantic suspense fan. It’s a good introduction to Linda Howard, as well as a good introduction to the excellent narrative abilities of Susan Ericksen. In addition, there is this extremely hot wrestling scene, which is not to be missed.
Reviewed for Speaking of Audiobooks:
http://www.likesbooks.com/blog/?p=8483
There are things about this book I like a lot. I find the idea of the female protagonist being a butler / bodyguard quite intriguing, I really enjoyed the interplay between her and her employers. I didn't much like the antagonist, he was almost a caricature of what a villain should be. From the few Linda Howard books I've read, I've come to the conclusion that she doesn't write her villains very well. I was also a little disappointed in Sarah's love interest, Det. Cahill. He was very much a genre specific archetype right down to the chiseled jaw.
Setting that aside, it was an entertaining way to kill some time and I enjoyed it for what it is.
Setting that aside, it was an entertaining way to kill some time and I enjoyed it for what it is.
En halunnut antaa yhtä tähteä, sillä varmaan joku voi tästäkin pitää, mutta en ainakaan minä. Ennalta-arvattava, hahmot minulle yhdentekeviä, kovien lihasten kuvailu kyllästyttävää. Armoa voisi antaa, että kirja on kuitenkin viitisentoista vuotta vanha, mutten anna. On hyviäkin vanhoja hömppäkirjoja - semmoisia missä voi oikeasti vähän jännittää! Siinä missä esimerkiksi Janet Evanovichin Stephanie Plum -kirjat (ainakin ensimmäiset) ovat jännittäviä koomisella toilailulla ja vauhdikkaalla sanailulla, tämä on liian vakavamielistä, toimintaa ei nimeksikään eikä ketterimmätkään sanailut yltä samalle tasolle.
Vähän kadun, että tuli tuhlattua aikaa, mutta ainakin tiedän etten tartu Howardin kirjoihin jatkossa.
Jännitys on kaukana! Epäilen vahvasti, että tämä ei mihkään jännityshyllyyn kuulu, vaikka muka muutama murha messissä.
Vähän kadun, että tuli tuhlattua aikaa, mutta ainakin tiedän etten tartu Howardin kirjoihin jatkossa.
Jännitys on kaukana! Epäilen vahvasti, että tämä ei mihkään jännityshyllyyn kuulu, vaikka muka muutama murha messissä.
Sarah Stevens is doubtless the kind of woman you’d want on your side under any circumstance. She’s well organized, has gone to Butler school to learn the fine art of service to others, and she has serious skills both with martial arts and with guns. If you’re an 85-year-old judge who has sent some evil dudes to prison, Sarah is perfect for you as an employee. And that’s all she is to the old gentleman who hires her. He misses his wife of many decades, and while he and Sarah come to think highly of one another, it is strictly as an employee/employer kind of thing. She keeps his place in perfect order at all times, and he knows she can easily and competently dispatch anyone who seeks contact with him for nefarious purposes. As the book opens, it is indeed Sarah who disables two burglars who assume the old judge would be easy prey. So effective is her effort that the story lands on the evening news, and it’s watched by a guy in his 60s who realizes that he must have Sarah at any cost, and have her he will!
A few weeks after the burglary incident, Sarah is enjoying some time off when the old judge entertains someone well known to him. It is his last act in life. When Sarah returns the following day to work, she finds her employer dead, and she’s a suspect.
Officer Tom Cahill was one of the cops who worked the burglary that Sarah so ably interrupted earlier, and he had been quite taken with her at the time. The feeling was predictably mutual. He is again on the scene when the old judge is declared officially dead, and from there, a romance begins.
Those who don’t want or need sexual descriptions in their books should move on to another title. This book is awash in the kind of sex that only book characters could ever accomplish. These scenes can nearly melt your audio book player and cause the voltage in its circuits to change in harmful ways. Once I figured out the lay of that particular piece of land, I found myself jumping through them to get at the rest of the book.
There’s plenty of creep factor here. Sarah’s stalker lets you inside his mind, and that’s enough to give you the shivers. You’re a smart enough reader to know right at the beginning of the book that Sarah will somehow be lured into this guy’s creepy influence, but your knowledge of that won’t lessen the yuck factor when it happens.
A few weeks after the burglary incident, Sarah is enjoying some time off when the old judge entertains someone well known to him. It is his last act in life. When Sarah returns the following day to work, she finds her employer dead, and she’s a suspect.
Officer Tom Cahill was one of the cops who worked the burglary that Sarah so ably interrupted earlier, and he had been quite taken with her at the time. The feeling was predictably mutual. He is again on the scene when the old judge is declared officially dead, and from there, a romance begins.
Those who don’t want or need sexual descriptions in their books should move on to another title. This book is awash in the kind of sex that only book characters could ever accomplish. These scenes can nearly melt your audio book player and cause the voltage in its circuits to change in harmful ways. Once I figured out the lay of that particular piece of land, I found myself jumping through them to get at the rest of the book.
There’s plenty of creep factor here. Sarah’s stalker lets you inside his mind, and that’s enough to give you the shivers. You’re a smart enough reader to know right at the beginning of the book that Sarah will somehow be lured into this guy’s creepy influence, but your knowledge of that won’t lessen the yuck factor when it happens.
Diverse cast of characters:
No
This book has a slight undertone of misogyny.
The progressing of their relationship was a bit weird but the reamining plot was quite good actually. And that scene in the interrogation room when she said she had wanted to call Cahill wrecked me. That was some peak writing. All in all, decent read with some exceptionally good bits inbetween.
I was in the mood for something a little on the angsty side, so I decided to do a reread of this. I remember being devastated while reading it the first time. Though it didn't pack the same emotional punch this time around, I did enjoy it. Sarah and Cahill are a good match. I like the build up of their relationship. The mystery is rather weak, but I like the romance.
Another enjoyable story by [a:Linda Howard|16961|Linda Howard|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1238749914p2/16961.jpg], this time with a kick-ass heroine as well as hero.
Sarah has an unusual job and skill-set, working as a butler/bodyguard for a retired FBI judge. Things have been quiet at her post until a night of an attempted burglary which she stops without much effort and gains the attention of the press.
Her reluctant 15 minutes of fame bring her to the attention of a villain, while her involvement in the burglary led to her meeting detective Tom Cahill, a man whom she's intensely attracted to.
Despite her attraction, she has a plan and it does not involve a relationship. Her plans change, however, when the villain murders her beloved employer and detective Cahill is the one investigating the case.
Tom has been burned by his cheating ex-wife and is pretty bitter and distrustful, but Sarah's feelings are not one-sided and after clearing her from his suspect list, he starts pursuing her.
The two are combustible together and things move fast, but suspicion and bad past experiences come between them, especially when.
Fast paced, with a villain who turned out to be a complete creep and an intense romance with ups and downs, this was an engaging story that, combined with [a:Susan Ericksen|717304|Susan Ericksen|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1297816994p2/717304.jpg]'s excellent narration, kept me up and listneing until very late (who needs sleep anyway?).
Looking forward to the rest of the author's back-list, which I'm binging on lately.
Sarah has an unusual job and skill-set, working as a butler/bodyguard for a retired FBI judge. Things have been quiet at her post until a night of an attempted burglary which she stops without much effort and gains the attention of the press.
Her reluctant 15 minutes of fame bring her to the attention of a villain, while her involvement in the burglary led to her meeting detective Tom Cahill, a man whom she's intensely attracted to.
Despite her attraction, she has a plan and it does not involve a relationship. Her plans change, however, when the villain murders her beloved employer and detective Cahill is the one investigating the case.
Tom has been burned by his cheating ex-wife and is pretty bitter and distrustful, but Sarah's feelings are not one-sided and after clearing her from his suspect list, he starts pursuing her.
The two are combustible together and things move fast, but suspicion and bad past experiences come between them, especially when
Spoiler
the villain strikes again and Sarah's new employers end up dead as wellFast paced, with a villain who turned out to be a complete creep and an intense romance with ups and downs, this was an engaging story that, combined with [a:Susan Ericksen|717304|Susan Ericksen|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1297816994p2/717304.jpg]'s excellent narration, kept me up and listneing until very late (who needs sleep anyway?).
Looking forward to the rest of the author's back-list, which I'm binging on lately.