Laura C’s review of River Road by Jayne Ann Krentz
Romantic Suspense published by Putnam 07 Jan 14
In River Road, Jayne Ann Krentz returns to what she’s best at—at least in my opinion—straight up romantic suspense with one man, one woman, no big ensemble scenes and no paranormal elements.
Once upon a time, I loved both Jayne Ann Krentz and her historical persona, Amanda Quick. (I liked the one story of Jayne Castle’s I read, too, but I just never ran across that many.) In those days, she was writing traditional historicals and traditional romantic suspense novels. Even the first few paranormals didn’t bother me, but the last few books have been bad enough that I gave up and said I wouldn’t buy another. And then came the opportunity to get River Road for review. A quick look at the cover copy had me requesting it because it looks like the Jayne Ann Krentz I’d once known.
I wouldn’t call this a must-buy, but it’s definitely better than some of her more recent work. I have some issues with the depiction of Mason. I don’t feel as if I really got to “know” him, which made the romance somewhat hard to understand. I can see why Lucy finds him admirable, but I couldn’t feel her love for him. Likewise, he and Lucy have some nice interactions and good sex, but I don’t feel any particularly strong feelings from him. Lucy always thinks—and frequently says either aloud or to herself—that Mason was born to be a cop, that he’s got an ingrained need to protect people and to right wrongs. The level of repetition is frustrating, especially since it seems to substitute in for any real character development.
That may sound as if this book is just awful. It isn’t. If Krentz were a new author, I would think she had great things ahead. Writing romantic suspense is really hard because of both the mystery/thriller aspects and the romance. In this case, Krentz is spot-on with the thriller aspects, while leavening the horrible side with a touch of humor that makes the reading infinitely more pleasurable:
Maybe it was just her imagination, but it seemed to her that when the party of four was escorted to a table they were followed by a lot of discreetly curious glances. Find one lousy body in your aunt’s fireplace and the first thing you know everyone is talking.
And her discussion of “wine country casual” is hilarious—I would be completely befuddled if someone told me that I had to dress that way, and I could completely relate to Lucy’s confusion. This is a fun book, if not a keeper. It’s hard to find well-plotted romantic suspense without vampires or werewolves or psychics or BDSM or billionaires. And I am glad to see Krentz back on a track that will allow me to mark her books as “of interest” again, if not automatically “to buy.”
Grade: B
Summary:
It’s been thirteen years since Lucy Sheridan was in Summer River. The last time she visited her aunt Sara there, as a teenager, she’d been sent home suddenly after being dragged out of a wild party—by the guy she had a crush on, just to make it more embarrassing. Obviously Mason Fletcher—only a few years older but somehow a lot more of a grown-up—was the overprotective type who thought he had to come to her rescue.
Now, returning after her aunt’s fatal car accident, Lucy is learning there was more to the story than she realized at the time. Mason had saved her from a very nasty crime that night—and soon afterward, Tristan, the cold-blooded rich kid who’d targeted her, disappeared mysteriously, his body never found.
A lot has changed in thirteen years. Lucy now works for a private investigation firm as a forensic genealogist, while Mason has quit the police force to run a successful security firm with his brother—though he still knows his way around a wrench when he fills in at his uncle’s local hardware store. Even Summer River has changed, from a sleepy farm town into a trendy upscale spot in California’s wine country. But Mason is still a protector at heart, a serious (and seriously attractive) man. And when he and Lucy make a shocking discovery inside Sara’s house, and some of Tristan’s old friends start acting suspicious, Mason’s quietly fierce instincts kick into gear. He saved Lucy once, and he’ll save her again. But this time, she insists on playing a role in her own rescue . . .
Read an excerpt.
