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Showing posts with label Christina Dodd. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christina Dodd. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Audible Book Review: Dead Girl Running by Christina Dodd

This is an engaging suspense with an ending that leads to another book.
Dead Girl Running
Cape Charade
By: Christina Dodd
Narrated by: Vanessa Johansson
Dead Girl Running audiobook cover art
Series: Cape Charade Series, Book 1
Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 04-24-18
Language: English
Publisher: Harlequin Audio
Genre: Psychological Thriller, Romantic Suspense
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.0; Narration 4.0.


Publisher's Summary
I have three confessions to make:
1. I've got the scar of a gunshot on my forehead.
2. I don't remember an entire year of my life.
3. My name is Kellen Adams...and that's half a lie.
Girl running...from a year she can't remember, from a husband she prays is dead, from homelessness and fear. Tough, capable Kellen Adams takes a job as assistant manager of a remote vacation resort on the North Pacific Coast. There amid the towering storms and the lashing waves, she hopes to find sanctuary. But when she discovers a woman's dead and mutilated body, she's soon trying to keep her own secrets while investigating first one murder...then another.
Now every guest and employee is a suspect. Every friendly face a mask. Every kind word a lie. Kellen's driven to defend her job, her friends, and the place she's come to call home. Yet she wonders - with the scar of a gunshot on her forehead and amnesia that leaves her unsure of her own past - could the killer be staring her in the face?
©2018 Christina Dodd (P)2018 Harlequin Enterprises, Limited


Review:
Kellen Adams has a few secrets in her background…and some mysteries. Kellen has reinvented herself after escaping from a brutal, abusive husband. She is pretty sure he is dead, but it is still hard to put it behind her and out of her dreams…or nightmares.

Kellen spent seven years in the military honing combat and deductive skills. Now she has taken a job as an assistant manager at a remote vacation resort. Kellen has a brain that observes, delineates details and categorizes people and situations. This helps her working with various employees and guests and aids in directing the activities. She didn’t expect to have to deal with an uncovered, mutilated body and the subsequent investigation. The facts point to the murderer being someone, most likely staff or a long-time resident, at the resort. This news soon puts all the current staff and guests on edge.

One particular guest is supposed to be a moody author, but he keeps sticking his nose into the investigation. Finally, he pulls Kellen into his secret intrigues claiming to be an undercover officer of a little-known government artifact recovery department. The theory is that a master criminal has been smuggling stolen artifacts through the resort. Now Kellen has these headaches to add to her nightmares of running from an abusive husband and losing a year of her memories.

I was pulled into the story right away. Kellen’s unique quirk of identifying the characteristics of each person she encounters is an interesting (although sometimes awkward) technique to introduce the other characters. There are several threads of intrigue weaving through the story: Kellen’s past, the suspected smuggling and the current investigations. The author includes flashback chapters to fill in Kellen’s history and people from her past who ultimately collide with her present. There is more than one strong suspect which kept the twists going until the end. After several suspenseful, dangerous confrontations, the story ends with a surprise that is likely to have me picking up the next book.

Over the years I have enjoyed many books by Christina Dodd, both historical romances and romantic suspense. This one had different writing elements but still the well-developed characters and twisty plot. I recommend this to readers who like romantic suspense that is strong on intrigue and action.

Audio Notes: Vanessa Johansson does a good job with the narration. The characters are distinct, and the energy helps keep the listen moving. The audio made it easier for me to listen through the story.

Source: December 2018 Audible Credit. This qualifies for 2019TBR and 2019Audiobook goals.

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Book Review and Giveaway: Priceless by Christina Dodd

One of my favorite, collectible authors delivers a 'priceless romance'.
by Christina Dodd

  • Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
  • Publisher: Avon; Reissue edition (January 29, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 006104153X
  • Genre: Historical Romance
  • My Rating: 4.75 of 5.0


Book Description
Publication Date: March 17, 2009
Headstrong and adventurous, Bronwyn Edana regularly stuns polite society with her reckless exploits. But there is one type of exploit the fiery beauty has never experienced. Still innocent when it comes to men and their roguish ways, she can barely believe the breathless desire she has begun to feel for Adam Keane, a distinguished nobleman and a man with more than his fair share of liaisons in his past . . .
Now branded by a haunting tragedy, Adam will not rest until he lures Bronwyn to his bed. When a shocking conspiracy threatens their lives, he'll bring her from the dangerous streets of London to the sweeping countryside—for he has seen enough of the world to know that a passion like theirs is priceless.


Review:
Bronwyn is one of the reknowned Edana sisters, but being short, full and blonde, she has always felt clumsy and drab next to her tall, sleek, black haired, stunning sisters. Bronwyn favors scholarly pursuits rather than the “social graces” of needlepoint, music and dance. Bronwyn’s charming, spendthrift father has arranged a marriage to exchange Bronwyn, as an 'Edana bride', for funds to refill his pockets.

Adam Keane is a handsome nobleman who is determined to restore his family reputation. Adam’s father was hanged as a counterfeiter leaving his mother struggling to stay out of the poor house. Adam has worked hard and made smart investments building his wealth. Now he believes a high born bride will help secure his re-entry into society.

Initially Adam is disappointed to meet his fiance who looks like a brown wren wrapped in over-sized clothes and an ugly wig. He is soon pleasantly surprised by her staunch spirit, the sparkle in her eyes and the curves he discovers under her ill-fitting clothes. He is even impressed by her intelligence although he sarcastically belittles that by a comment that Bronwyn overhears.

Bronwyn runs off to stay with a friend who maintains a scientific salon. Madame Rachelle helps Bronwyn uncover her own beauty and she becomes the mysterious, seductive ‘Cherie’. Another young lady is jealous and reveals Bronwyn’s true identity to an enemy who has reason to fear Bronwyn may know his secrets.

Adam has been asked to spy out a plot involving the South Seas Trading Company. He is distracted trying to find Bronwyn and when he locates her he is set to win her in his bed and in his life. Their relationship grows but there are difficulties. Bronwyn’s parents replaced Bronwyn’s more timid younger sister, Olivia, as the promised bride. Adam can’t cry off the wedding without ruining all of their reputations. Even worse, Adam’s reputation is already being muddied by an enemy who has framed Adam as a man passing forged stock certificates.

I loved Bronwyn’s strong, independent character and her transformation from ugly duckling to beautiful swan. I also liked Adam’s fierce integrity and the vulnerabilities he hides behind his brooding countenance. I found the plot wonderfully engaging with the romantic tension, the dangerous stock conspiracy and a strikingly ugly, bitter and vengeful villain. Several of the other characters add to the story too, including Bronwyn’s parents and Adam’s irrepressible mother, Mab.

The reading was smooth and fast paced. I was surprised by the range of ratings for the book at Amazon. It appears that readers either were captivated, like me, or found the book totally lacking. This is one of Dodd’s earlier works so the romance is sensual and not steamy which suits me fine. This reminded me why Christina Dodd is a favorite author of mine and why I collect her titles.
~~~~~~~~~~
Early reactions to each other:
For the first time since she'd lived in his house, he smiled. He smiled at her. Her breath caught. She froze. The man she'd thought of as severe, austere, a maiden's vampire fantasy, transformed himself into a wicked highway-man, waiting to rob her of her good sense. Their eyes locked. Page 61.
Yet he'd never imagined a woman like Bronwyn. From the first moment they'd met, she'd upended his expectations. She'd broadsided him with surprises, and he feared he wasn't the ice man he had previously believed. His mother claimed he wasn't cold, that he wore a mask, and he'd denied it vigorously. Page 109.
I picked this title from one of my collections.
Giveaway:
I can't bring myself to part with my 1992 print paperback so I am going to share an eBook copy.
ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY an eBook copy
Kindle, Nook or ebook versions available at Google (priced at or below $6.00)

(Don't forget to fill in the form for entry!
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For 3 Extra Bonus entries comment on the review, OR
visit THE AUTHOR'S WEBSITE and tell me something you like/learned there.

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WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED after August 9, 2014.
Winners will have 72 hours to respond by email or the winners form linked in the announcement.

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