Kathy Clark (1)Rezensionen

This is the first book that I have read by Kathy Clark. It was a very pleasant surprise. This book was especially good because it centers around spousal abuse and the victim advocates that are there to help them. I found it a great read as well as very interesting. I live in a country that does not offer those services and I was fascinated. I have the greatest of admiration for the police, firemen and volunteers supporting victims every day.

Ok, story. Not my particular cup of tea, but it was a good story.

DESCRIPTION, NOT REVIEW: As a victim’s advocate for the Denver Police Department, Julie Lawrence is always on call for survivors of abuse, fighting for the justice she never got for herself. It’s a high-risk job that makes a lot of enemies—one of whom seems to be now targeting Julie. But teaming up with firefighter and local hero Rusty Wilson sparks a different kind of danger. As Julie surrenders to intoxicating passion, she finds herself breaking her own rules, caring about Rusty in a way she thought she’d sworn off forever.

When a domestic incident escalates into a deadly hostage crisis, Rusty is willing to risk everything to protect those who really need his help—like Julie, the breath of fresh air who fills his days with purpose and his nights with pleasure. He just hopes he’s not too late to stop a chillingly orchestrated act of payback that puts the woman he loves at the mercy of a madman’s rage.

I really wanted to love this book but I just couldn't. I do love the premise of the book, the first responders,specifically emt's, were great and Chris is perfection. However, there just wasn't anything wow in this story. There were times that could have been WOW but were more fluff than anything. It was interesting to read about some of the calls they responded to, but I felt too much of the book was devoted to those specifics rather than to the relationship between Chris and Sara. This one was just OK for me.

Killer Date is the second novel in Kathy Clark’s Scandals series, but it works well as a stand-alone young-adult romantic suspense, and I enjoyed it very much despite not having read the first. The series centers around an unlikely group of half-brothers and sisters, children of different mothers, who somehow inherit their estranged father’s detective agency, mansion, eye-color and more. They’re a cool bunch – a seriously grown-up Secret Seven or Famous Five perhaps (or Scooby and co – am I showing my age?). And stage magician Reno makes a great protagonist for this tale.

Reno has stage presence, skills with deflection and minor explosions, and a deep unwillingness to commit to anyone because everyone always leaves. Jenny has great memories of family life, and a missing sister. When Reno and co are hired to find the sister, Reno finds his stage persona crumbling under a serious temptation to like a girl who’s not his type. Meanwhile Jenny just might be falling for him. And Jenny’s sister might be falling into serious trouble.

Danger comes knocking at the door after a perfect date, and fast action ensues, pitting federal cutbacks against drug cartels, and revealing Reno’s hidden depths – perhaps even his hidden self. Sensual and detailed romance scenes fit very naturally into that has as much romantic suspense as it does suspenseful danger, and Killer Date is fast exciting read that will definitely leave you looking for more, and just might provide a touch of food for thought.

Disclosure: I was given a free ecopy and I offer my honest review, with apologies for taking so long to get to it.

After Midnight tells a tale of cops with guns where injuries are real, people die, and the walking wounded don’t get straight up from their sickbeds to fight again. But Sam is determined to find out why his friend died, and there’s definitely something strange about the hooker-who’s-not-a-hooker.

“Car nine, out of service. End of watch. We thank you for your sacrifice...” Powerful words, powerfully portrayed in a funeral that stays with the reader, giving depth and sincerity to this tale. Tragic circumstances are offset with the delightful humor and genuine affection of pitch-perfect dialog, as Sam falls in love, his siblings tease, and a beautiful woman finds her life in danger.

Great characters, great romance, sensual sex scenes, intriguing mystery (yeah, I guessed, but that’s me), and a cool location (made all the better since I’d just visited Denver for the first time before reading)... After Midnight is a fast enjoyable read for mature readers.

Disclosure: I found it when it was free and I’m sorry it took so long to get around to reading it.

Combining romance with authentic details of crime and victims’ advocates, adding a touch of mystery and a deeply wounded protagonist trying to heal, and vividly recreating the Denver after Dark environment of its title, Kathy Clark’s Cries in the Night is a complex, intriguing novel with great characters, interesting plot, and thought-provoking ideas.

The story stands alone convincingly without readers needing to start with book one (I've not read it yet). Characters are given plenty of clear backstory, and their motivations are easily recognized. Family details anchor the tale to a world of very real people. And the author puts a very human face on statistics about abuse and its consequences. The dialog is nicely convincing, and the characters enjoy an appealing relationship as they gradually learn to trust each other—a trust that leads eventually to some sensual steamy scenes.

Wise lessons are learned, and good lessons taught in a story that’s definitely romance, but equally definitely more; I’m glad I had to chance to read and review this novel.

Disclosure: I was given a free ecopy and I offer my honest review.

Kate Mckinney was excited when she was hired for a television commercial, until her fellow actor starting shooting at the two police with real bullets, killing one before being killed by a ride-along reporter, Brian Bergen. Now injured, office Sam Morgan wants to know what happened. Will he let his attraction to Kate get in the way of finding truth and justice?

This reader figured out the mastermind by page 100, but it was fun to watch Kate and Sam fumble around.

Very good book. Abby is the quiet and smart one of her three sisters. She considers herself to be plain and unremarkable. When she starts on online correspondence with a fellow scientist she doesn't expect anything more than friendship. When he finds out that he is going to be spending four months in Antarctica he asks her to marry him and join him there. Even though she'd never done anything like this before, she said yes. She was stunned to find out that he was a coworker whom she never gotten along with, and he was just as surprised by her. However, he had been drawn to her from the beginning and now had to decide how to handle this marriage. I really liked both Abby and Prescott. Abby had a chance to break out of her shell and be a different person. I liked the way that she made an effort to do more than just work and got to know the people she was with. I also liked the way that she was trying to give her relationship a chance. As she and Prescott took the time to actually get to know each other as people she found there was a lot about him that she really liked. She also realized that she had fallen in love with him, but didn't have the courage to tell him so. Prescott was angry at the deception at first, but as he got to know Abby better he discovered there was more to her than he had realized before they got to Antarctica. I loved the way that he appreciated all of her layers and how he came to love the whole woman. Both of them did a lot of growing while they were there. I thought the ending was really neat.

We all know the life of a street cop is dangerous, and when one of your own go down, it is devastating. But what if you watch him go down in front of you, and you are also wounded?

Officer Sam Morgan was out on his usual patrol with a ride along when they stopped to try to get a hooker off the street corner. When his backup arrived, a friend in the force, the pimp emerged out of the darkness and things went out of control.

The hooker, who really was an actress, Kate was in shock at what she witnessed, especially when the ride along took a gun and fired at the pimp, killing him. When Kate heard the sirens, she blended into the background in an effort to get away unnoticed. Concerned for the wounded officer, she went to the hospital the next day to check on him. What little they saw of each other sparked a romance that neither would own up to for fear of being hurt.

But who was this pimp, and why did he shoot to kill? Sam was determined to find out. Along the way, his desire for Kate increased, but she seemed to be a magnet for trouble. Someone tried to run her off the road, break into her apartment and other circumstances that should not continue to happen for no reason. The more Sam digs, the more he finds out, and the more their relationship blossoms.

As the story unfolds, you will begin to put together who is the cause of all this, or at least have your suspicions who it is. While the detailed intimacy between Sam and Kate could have been scaled back a bit, it does show their desire for each other. Minimal amount of characters make it easy to follow, but also easy to play detective yourself. Great detail for making you feel like you are there, seeing all they see, doing all they do, feeling all they feel. Good who-done-it for those who like a good mystery.