Laura C’s review of Deadly Little Lies by Jeanne Adams
Romantic Suspense published by Zebra 01 Sep 11
Billionaire Davros Gianakopulos has lusted after Carrie McCray for years, but with his own murky past and her unfortunate one, he’s kept his distance. Finally he makes his move…just as a vengeful enemy from his past makes a move of his own. Soon Davros and Carrie are running for their lives in the jungles of Central America. Davros’ security team is close behind, but there are far more villains in the picture than any of them are aware and no one may get out alive.
Although romantic suspense is probably my favorite subgenre of romance, I think it is the hardest to write well. All too often one side–either the romance or the suspense–fails to satisfy. When it’s the suspense, I can forgive it because my emotions are still wrapped tight in the romance, but when it’s the romance, well, that I find more disturbing.
Unfortunately, while the suspense plot in Deadly Little Lies is nice and twisty, with different villains around every blind curve, with double and triple-crosses, the central romance falls flat. Compare these two sections, one of a conversation between the two main characters about their relationship, the other an action sequence:
This occurs about one-third through the book:
“I can’t tell you how much it meant to me that you believed in me.” She found his hand again, squeezed his fingers, then brought them to her cheek. “You never wavered, did you?”
“Never,” he said, because it was true. He couldn’t help it, he had to touch her, hold her and ease her sorrow. Using the anchor of the hand she held, he moved closer, found her face with his other hand. “Carrie, you’re like a dark flame to me, with your beautiful black hair, your sapphire eyes, and your brilliant mind and wit. I carry a picture of you in my head.” He caressed her cheek, felt the dampness of a tear, but didn’t let that deter him. “I measure other women against you and they always come up lacking.”
Okay, let me just say that if my husband said that to me, I’d ask him where he put his…manly bits. And if a guy I was just dating said it? He’d be out the door before he knew what hit him (which would be my knee). But they go on that way for the entire book! It makes me want to scream.
And then the action:
Not good. Too many forces at odds. To many pieces on the chessboard.
He continued to watch, unwilling to shift the balance yet. He gritted his teeth when the men turned to the hole as well, having finished with their work at the road. They crept over to the same place Niko had, but they were more intent. When they aimed their weapons downward, he could see both night-scopes and suppressors. Shifting to his work, Jurgens sighed, focused and let out a long, slow breath.
Idiots.
He squeezed the trigger once, then twice. Pivoting fast, he shot again, taking out the sniper who had been watching the camp as intently as he had. The fact that that watcher hadn’t shot meant that he worked with these men. Therefore, he had to be taken off the chessboard.
Oh, so much more interesting! At various points Ms. Adams throws a little a conflict into the romance, but as readers we never take it very seriously. Too much has been given away already too quickly, so what we have is a romance novel with no build in the relationship. The thriller part, no matter how much fun and how exciting, can’t overcome that.
(My recommendation? Read Jeanne Adams earlier series—Dark and Dangerous, and Dark and Deadly—instead. They’re both excellent.)
Grade: C+
Summary:
Billionaire industrialist Dav Gianikopolis believes in working hard and enjoying the fruits of your labors. He believes in legacies, but given the dark and dangerous legacy his own father passed on, he’s not sure he really wants to take the chance on love and marriage. Nearly getting killed – and having his best friend nearly die in his arms – changes his mind, and Dav decides its time to settle down. He decides he’s going to marry Carrie McCray, the woman he’s been drawn to for years, but never been able to reach. When she finally agrees to a date, everything goes horribly wrong and Dav and Carrie are kidnapped, whisked away to an unknown location, with the threat of death hanging over every move, every word. Locked away underground in an impenetrable cell, how can Dav and Carrie survive, much less, escape? When their captors are murdered before their eyes, with no warning, they must work together to escape, or perish. Having finally found a woman he can trust, and maybe even love, Dav isn’t giving up, and neither are his friends and colleagues Gates Bromley and Ana Burton-Bromley.
Other books in this series:
