Book Description
Santa Fe Police Chief Kevin Kerney travels to a California ranch looking to buy some prime quarter horse breeding stock. Instead, he finds himself the prime suspect in a possible homicide when a guest at the ranch, Clifford Spalding, is found dead. Confronted by a determined cop unwilling to let him off the hook, Kerney decides to conduct his own investigation. As he digs into the victim's background, he learns that Spalding's ex-wife refuses to believe that her son, a soldier killed in Vietnam some thirty years ago, is dead.
Kerney digs deeper and soon finds himself sharing the woman's doubts: Did Spalding's current wife, a much younger woman, orchestrate his murder with the help of a lover? Did a California cop collude with Spalding to keep his ex-wife from learning the truth about her son?
Slow Kill races from West Coast to East Coast as Kerney attempts to find the answers to a thirty-year-old mystery and extricate himself from a situation that could ruin his career.
Customer Reviews:
Slow Plot.......2007-05-20
Michael McGarrity is a retired policeman, like his alter ego, Kevin Kerney. You get the idea that the character is closely based on the writer, right down to the double initials in their names (M.M. and K.K.). Kerney has graduated in the series to the point that he's the police chief of Santa Fe, New Mexico, but since there are so few murders there, for this to be a murder mystery, McGarrity has to have Kerney go to California, shopping for horses, and stumble on a dead body.
The victim turns out to be a wealthy socialite, and at first the local authorities suspect Kerney of being involved, and investigate him. Once that dries up, the investigation turns towards the guys wife, an attractive younger woman who has a wandering eye. As the book moves slowly along, the killer becomes apparent rather early and easily.
There's a second plot in the later part of the book, involving Kerney's wife (an Army officer) and her investigation of alleged cover-ups involving Army personnel involved in sexual assault cases, some including actual rapes. This plot thread doesn't finish at the end of the book, leaving us to wonder if he's going to continue it in the next entry in the series.
I enjoyed this book, but only to a certain extent. This is by far the slowest of the Kevin Kerney novels, with virtually no suspense and no real mystery. The author has a good command of characters and dialog, and some of the interchanges between Kerney and the other characters were fun, but the plot is very slow and predictable. I definitely think that you'd be better off starting this series out with one of his other books.
Unfinished?.......2007-03-13
I discovered McGarrity a few weeks ago and have been reading his Kevin Kerney (is there another series?) books as I find them, and out of chronological order.
I like McGarrity's books because:
1) They are easy to read. His books flow naturally and are easy to understand.
2) I like his descriptions of NM, which until now I thought of as a desert and cultureless state.
3) His characters are easy to like and well described.
The cons:
1) I guess I've been reading too many thrillers, or it's just that his books are not in the thriller category. I'm not sure if this is really a strike against his books.
2) This book, like another Kevin Kerney one, seems to end very abruptly without ending. I keep thinking how the author was going to wrap it up in 2 more pages, and he didn't.
Spoiler here:
First, just like the other KK book, he sidetracks into Sara's case, however we're left hanging there and I don't know if Sara's case is going to continue in the next book in the series.
Second, McGarrity never explains the deal with the son and how the scheme worked. It's like he just wrote the required number of pages and stopped there. A very abrupt ending.
Bottom line: A very nice, but not overly thrilling book, full of your favorite characters, but with a very abrupt ending. I guess I should try to read his books in chronological order to see if it makes better sense.
But I will continue to read the rest of the series.
Slow Kill.......2006-09-13
McGarrity has disappointed the reader in his last two books, this one especially. The plot and storylines have not been up to par with his previous books, which I enjoyed immensely. His ending in Slow Kill does not wrap up the loose ends and appears hurried. His ending in his last book also seemed "hurried".
A Disappointing Entry.......2006-08-30
I have read McGarrity's other Kevin Kerney mysteries, so I was looking forward to this one. The book has McGarrity's easy-going style that brings in a lot of the New Mexico atmosphere. That style was the strongest thing about the book. The plot (you can get summaries of the plot in other reviews) is convoluted. That is not necessarily a bad thing in a mystery novel. But it is a horrendous thing in a novel that seemed to be operating under limited space requirements, as if the author were under pressure to keep the book under 280 pages (it's 278 pages in hardback). The ending was rushed. Not all of the loose ends got tied up, at least not to the satisfaction of this reader. Perhaps McGarrity will revisit some of these plot elements in a later work. But the result was a book not up to the level of the rest of the series.
Who woulda' suspected?.......2005-12-13
In the ninth novel in the Kevin Kerney series, Michael McGarrity stretches his writing ability along with the patience and stamina of his protagonist. Kevin Kerney, one of America's favorite cops, is a suspect in a homicide and the investigator who has Kerney in her sights is not one to let go easily. But is it even a homicide? There are no marks on the body, no obvious signs of a struggle, but the deceased didn't just die all by himself, did he? Then, there is that younger wife to consider. Could she and Kerney have conspired to kill the aging husband for his money and his land? Would Kerney's wife be happy about the whole thing? And what is all this about a secondary mystery that goes all the way back to the Vietnam War? McGarrity weaves a dense and devious plot, but the path of discovery is well worth the time it takes.
Product Description
Stock Photo has Different Title: Mysteries and Thriller
Book Description
With Beloved Impostor, Patricia Potter launched a trilogy of three Scottish brothers bound by a dark destiny. Now, she returns with the story of Lachlan Maclean, a man who has lost his past and faces an uncertain present of peril--and an impossible love.
Customer Reviews:
Pleasant Read.......2007-01-04
This was the first historical romance from Patricia Potter that I have read (I have read several of her romantic suspense books) and I was pleasantly surprised with it. I have found that although many of the romantic suspense authors started in historical romance, their story-telling there is not as full. This is not the case with Patricia Potter. Beloved Stranger was a good book that I would recommend to anyone looking for a pleasant read on a quiet day.
Splendid Romance - Sensual.......2006-03-04
Setting --- Flodden Field, September 1513 --- Lachlan Maclean never wanted to be a soldier. Guilt ridden and blaming himself for his father's death when he refused to kill an enemy, he sought to restore his honor by taking the place of his brother Rory and standing at the side of King James to battle the English. Fighting valiantly and severely wounded Lachlan was cut down, pinned beneath his horse.
As the widow of an English reiver after his untimely death, Kimbra Charleton supported herself and daughter by joining with her husbands thieving family in scavenging the dead of their valuables. Instructed to kill any Scots still breathing, Kimbra hesitated after noting the fine Scots plaid and jeweled brooch of the injured soldier. Assuming him to be a noble and ripe for ransoming, she planned to restore him to health and ransom him for herself and daughter. When after some days he awoke with no memories of who he was Kimbra was disappointed. Though he presented a danger to both her and her daughter should the Charleton discover him to be a Scot, feelings Kimbra had never felt before and her determination to not let him die compelled her to keep him alive.
Little by little, Lachlan's returning memories were of violence and great sorrow, unfortunately, NOT of who he was. It seemed to be an impossible situation, but the passion both felt just might be the medicine that would heal both their broken lives as Lachlan laid claim to Kimbra's heart.
--- This is an absolutely stunning read, rich in historical details, fast-paced and riveting in suspense as both Lachlan and Kimbra skirted danger as the smoldering attraction between sworn enemies ignited. It's an emotional tale that will leave you with a lump in your throat and a tear or two in your eyes. Potter brings together a cast of new and fascinating characters as well as old friends from the first book (BELOVED IMPOSTER) in this wonderful historically set series of the Maclean family. Stories from Patricia Potter are jewels to treasure - gather some for yourself!
Beloved Stranger.......2006-02-15
Lachlan Macclean and Kimbra Charlton are natural enemies with him a Scot and her an Englishman. Their countries are at war and Lachlan's people killed her husband, but neither knows that. Lachlan's memory has fled and all he knows is how much he cares for the young widow and her daughter. Even as Kimbra nurses the injured Scot, he begins to take on an important role in her life, but the past is sure to catch up with him and ruin their seedling of happiness for they live in dangerous times.
*** This emotional read uses many conventional tools of romance in a way that though not completely original is well done. Ms. Potter effectively uses shadows and light to paint word pictures that will linger in your mind. ***
Amanda Killgore
fine early sixteenth century romance.......2006-02-08
In 1513 guilt-ridden Lachlan Maclean never wanted to become a soldier, but does because he holds himself culpable for the death of his father when he failed to kill an enemy; redemption is what he is willing to die for. He hopes to restore honor lost by replacing his brother at the side of King James in the upcoming battle with the English at Flodden Field. During the skirmish Lachlan fought like a man possessed, but ultimately was wounded and buried underneath his steed.
Widow Kimbra Charleton supports herself and her daughter by scavenging for the values of the war dead along side her late husband's odious family. Her in-laws demand she kill any Scot who remains alive. She finds Lachlan still breathing but wearing a costly plaid and a valuable jeweled brooch so she assumes he is of noble birth. Unable to kill him, Kimbra rationalizes that she will nurture him before ransoming him. However, as he heals, he suffers amnesia, unable to remember his name. Worse she finds that instead of dumping him or informing her in-laws that she houses a Scot so they kill him, she wants her patient like no one ever before not even her late husband.
BELOVED STRANGER, the sequel to the superb BELOVED IMPOSTER, is a fine early sixteenth century romance. The tale stars a beleaguered ethical hero seeking to redeem his honor though amnesia makes him wonder if he has done evil things and a fabulous lioness willing to do anything for her cub except turn in her patient to certain death as she clearly sees he is an honorable soul. The action packed story line moves forward at a fast pace, but it is the lead pairing that drive a fine return to the MacLean clan
Harriet Klausner
Customer Reviews:
A MIXED REACTION.......2006-11-26
I love the first novel in this two in one binding--Beloved Stranger...it bears many similarities to a Regency moved into the 20th sentury...the two characters meet during a snow storm, are instantly attracted to each other, have sex and then move apart--only for the young virginal female lead to become pregnant--what should have seemed stale and contrived works because of the likeability of the characters (not the niceness because they have very realistic faults) and the juxtaposition of their very opposite natures--Wolf's leads are from two very different worlds--one a NY Yankee outfielder and the other a fledgling novelist with a lack of self-confidence. And yet, like many of her charcters in the 19th century books-- good manners and sense of responsibility create an environment that allows them time to develop a relationship and realize that their first magical meeting was a once in a lifetime chance at true happiness....
The second novel I really did not care for and never re-read...don't even remember much about it expect it is about estranged actors who are brought together again under an accident of fate and manage to heal the rift in their relationship--since they never stopped loving each other...
Customer Reviews:
Good, light read!.......2006-05-26
Sherrill is on her way out of the house to her own wedding when she encounters her groom in the arms of another woman! So she puts her own wedding gown on the other woman and sends her to the wedding since her groom was only marrying her for her money (all of this is unbeknownst to the groom until the middle of the ceremony). She then heads over to the ceremony of which she was supposed to be a part but trips on her way there and falls into the arms of a handsome stranger who notices her distress and offers his knightly service, which she accepts. Her Aunt and her own lovestory of old is sweet. And the reader does get to follow the groom and his ladylove whom he doesn't love so much now because his real love is the money he hoped to marry into, but that part is creative although the book overall is a little hard to swallow and therefore not one of my personal favorites!
Book Description
A contemporary novel of love, betrayal, and redemption. A whirlwind romance of love at first sight is soon followed by a fear that they cannot escape. Is his mysterious side really a dark side?
Customer Reviews:
Deep emotion and lots of surprises!!!.......2006-06-22
Shelby has just lost her Dad, the only parent she has ever loved. She impulsively decides on a vacation in Puerto Vallarto, MX and while there, meets, falls in love and marries a man who is practically a stranger to her. Frank is a Mexican-American, well to do,and handsome man who shares her intense love in a whirlwind, one week romance.
However, coming back to their homes in Los Angeles, reality hits hard. Shelby learns of Frank's incredibly dysfunctional yet close knit traditional Mexican family. His mother makes no secret of the fact she hates Frank for his past mistakes. A grandmother adores him and a younger brother idolizes him.
When Frank's moods and behavior start taking wild swings, Shelby realizes there is much she has yet to learn about her mysterious new husband. The only things she is sure about is his love for her and for his boat and the sea. Both are about to be challenged.
Drugs and drug use figure hugely in this book and their effects on Frank and his brother Ray play an integral part. Illegal drug activity is at the root of most if not all the hatred, tension, loyalty and fast money which define the lives of the two brothers and their family.
Just when things are already confusing and volatile, Frank's ex-wife Gloria is found murdered. With drugs such a part of his past, Frank now has some major questions and decisions...who did kill his ex? Were drugs involved? The police seem dead certain that Frank is their man, but is he really? There is lots of circumstantial evidence, and Frank admits he was there the night she died.
At the very lowest point in this family's life, when there is no place to turn and no one else to help them, Frank and Shelby finally turn to the God of his grandmother and her mother, Dawn.
This is a really touching love story containing mystery and religion and is a book with deep emotion and lots and lots of surprises.
I don't know how she does it . . ........2000-07-29
. . . but somehow, Judith Pella manages to create fresh, new characters with every book she writes--characters that aren't quite like any of the others she's introduced us to. Shelby and Frank are no exception! Shelby is at once endearing as the book opens with her father's funeral and the reader naturally sympathizes with her. Because of her impulsive nature, I found myself thinking so many times, "I would NEVER do that! " but it didn't make her any less appealing as the misguided heroine of the story. Frank, too, is a well-written character. He has the dark good looks, mysterious past, and serious passion that make him the ideal hero; but at the same time, there are his fun, flippant moods and his vulnerability which make him more than a cardboard stereotype. For a romance especially, the plot moves at near-hyperlight speed (once you get past the first chapter or so), with lots of twists and turns and interesting secondary characters. And as always, with Pella at the pen, the happily-ever-after ending isn't insultingly happy, but bittersweet. Wonderful job all around creating relationships between characters and intertwining lives in the most unlikely ways. Can't wait for her next book!
Pretty Good.......2000-03-26
This was an incredible book. Judith Pella kept you in suspense until the very last pages as she unfolded the story of Shelby and Frank. I encourage you to READ THIS BOOK!
Average customer rating:
- A Must For Researchers
- The Adventures of the Beginning of the End
- Entrapped in a 50-year Marriage
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Beloved Stranger
Clare Boylan
Manufacturer: Amazon Remainders Account
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General | Literature & Fiction | Bargain Books | Stores | Books
ASIN: B0000VV2JW |
Book Description
What happens when madness shatters a marriage? An acclaimed Irish novelist explores this question in a comic, contemporary take on King Lear After fifty years of marriage in the same Dublin suburb, Dick and Lily Butler enjoy a "safe" life of compromise, of small and loving concessions to each other. Then one night their happy, balanced world is upended forever, when Lily wakes to find Dick under the bed, holding a shotgun, convinced there's an intruder in the house. This darkly comic incident marks Dick's terrifying plunge into insanity, his freefall into a world of imaginary enemies and sexual fantasies. For Lily, an old-fashioned wife who has accepted her partner for better or worse, there is nowhere to turn. Now, for the first time, she finds herself unable to follow where her husband leads and is utterly disoriented by this freedom. She is forced to confront the rock face of marriage; having been bound together, she and Dick are now marooned together Part thriller, part love story, part macabre comedy, Beloved Stranger is also an analysis of marriage at the end of the millennium-a changeless institution in a vastly altered world.
Customer Reviews:
A Must For Researchers.......2007-05-18
As Continental forces and Virginia militia units were engaged in winning independence, American quartermasters and provisioners struggled to provide these units with all the necessities of life, from meals and guns to meat, fodder for horses, the horses themselves, firewood, and every other type of material. Much of this was requisitioned from the civilian population and certificates were issued payable in either continental or state funds, depending on the units supplied, upon presentation to court authorities. Thousands of these certificates issued to Virginians were duly entered by the courts, and they provide a fascinating insight into the period of the Revolution. These "Publick" Claims booklets contain interesting and useful information about the contributions of ordinary people to the Revolutionary War. They provide some details of people's service in the militia or as guards for prisoners of war; they indicate where some bodies of troops were at particular times; and they identify providers of horses, wagons, cattle, grain, or other supplies. Much of the information in these booklets cannot be found anywhere else, which makes the surviving records particularly valuable. Also remarkable is the fact that records survived from virtually every county in the state at that time with the exception of the newly formed Kentucky counties. This makes the collection even more valuable in covering areas which heretofore in this time period have suffered from a lack of personal data. The "Virginia Publick Claims" are published by counties. In addition to a faithful transcription by Janice Luck Abercrombie and the late Richard Slatten, a complete index is provided for each county booklet. This series is an extremely important genealogical tool for searchers in Revolutionary-era materials.
The Adventures of the Beginning of the End.......2004-07-18
This is the story of a married couple who for fifty years
shared their life with each other.
Lily,the wife,has always been the type of woman with no
aspirations other than to be a good wife and mother(noble
in itself,if you are with the right man.)
Dick,her husband was the provider and worked outside the
home.He was not happy when Lily became pregnant,with
their one child.He also refuses over the years to put
central heating in their home.You know the type.
When Dick becomes really odd over some missing money,
Lily calls upon her unmarried daughter,Ruth,to help
rectify the situation.
Although Ruth is a forty year old woman,and a feminist
too,she does not see her parents clearly.
It is almost like they are consciously or unconsciously,
sending her the message"we need you to survive."
Ruth becomes entangled in the middle of their lives.
She has always liked her Dad,and hasn't seen any of his
imperfections.
They all go to see a charming,unorthodox, Dr. Walcott,who
tells them what he sees.There is some real humor in this
semi-sad tale.There is also mystery and action.
Ah,read the book,there is much in it that speaks to
these modern times of caretaking,and Family.
Entrapped in a 50-year Marriage.......2002-03-25
Lily and Dick Butler have been married nearly 50 years, living for most of those years near Dublin, in a home in which Dick refuses to pay for central heating. But, lately several large sums of money have disappeared from their checking account, and Dick is unable or unwilling to account for them. He seems at times docile, but still rules his roost with an iron hand and has never become accustomed to being a useless old retired man. Lily is a victim of her times, the self-effacing woman with no aspirations other than homemaker. Ruth, their 40 year old daughter, is a single architect and ardent feminist who encourages Lily to exert her will and try to be less dependent on Dick.
After finding Dick under the bed with a gun one night, Lily reluctantly concedes to Ruth's urging to have him tested by a psychiatrist, who pronounces him manic-depressive. He is sent to a psychiatric hospital where he vacillates between a drug induced torpor and manic, dangerous, destructive outbursts. Rather than realizing how much better off she is without him, Lily becomes so lonely and depressed that she actually adopts a mouse as her pet.
Ruth, the classic sandwich generation, is torn between getting on with her life, trying to appease her demanding father, and trying to keep her mother from sinking further into her own depression.
The book provides some poignant, revealing insights into what makes a 50-year marriage work. Lily said "the truth is, we accommodated each other. Maybe I just accommodated him. We understood each other's weaknesses." The book is a sad, revealing, sometimes funny commentary on the most enduring and intimate of human relationships.
Average customer rating:
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Beloved Stranger
Phyllis Leonard
Manufacturer: Dell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
General | Historical | Romance | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0440104750
Release Date: 1985-05-01 |
Product Description
Christian Fiction, Romance, Inspirational
Average customer rating:
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My Son, Beloved Stranger
Carrol Grady
Manufacturer: Alamo Square Distributors
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Religious | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Parent & Adult Child | Family Relationships | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1886360111 |
Customer Reviews:
A Mother's Love.......2006-12-18
This is a tremendously touching book about a mother's love for her son. It highlights how divisive and destructive blind dogmatism can be. Yet, throughout the book is a river of compassion. There is no bile or hatred or rage; just the grief of a mother who mourns for the needless suffering of her son.
Carrol Grady is a wonderful and compassionate person. On the strength of meeting her I bought the book. It frequently brought tears to my eyes. This was not just a story in the abstract, but the story of somebody I had gotten to know just a bit.
Product Description
8 massmarket paperback Titles By Oldfield - Beloved Stranger - Dragon Man - Too Far, Too Fast - Touch and Go - Beware of Married Men - Sudden Fire - Sparring Partners - The Price of Passion
Product Description
A Novel of Romance and Suspense - Jane Blackmore is known and loved by countless readers the world over for her superb novels of romance and intrigue.
Books:
- Snow in August
- Spindle's End
- Stealing Faces
- Stern Men
- Strange Attractions
- Street Players
- Suspicion of Rage
- Tears of a Dragon (Dragons in Our Midst, Volume 4) (The Dragons in Our Midst)
- The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave: How to Recognize the Subtle Signs and Act Before It's Too Late
- The Anubis Gates
Books Index
Books Home
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Nothing But Trouble : A Kevin Kerney Novel (Kevin Kerney Novels)
Everyone Dies: A Kevin Kerney Novel
The Big Gamble
The Judas Judge (Kevin Kerney Novels)
Under the Color of Law
