Saturday, April 12, 2008

Review: No One Heard Her Scream

Summary: Burdened by Grief, She Hunts a Killer
They never found her sister's body, but Detective Rebecca Montgomery knows her murderer is still out there. In the five months since Danielle went missing, there have been two more brutal abductions. A savage menace stalks the women of San Antonio, and the relentless detective will do anything to find him.

And a Seductive Stranger Shadows Her Every Move
But her latest case—the discovery of a young woman's remains inside the wall of a burned-down theater—plunges Rebecca from her grief into a brand-new nightmare. She soon meets handsome, mysterious Diego Galvan at the crime scene, and his shadowy connections will lead to her first break in both cases. But when Rebecca submits to his considerable powers of seduction, she will leave herself vulnerable to a merciless killer . . . and when he attacks, no one will hear her scream. - harper collins


I finally scored another book from Harper Collins First Look Program. This time it was an ARC of NO ONE HEARD HER SCREAM by Jordan Dane. This book is technically considered a Romantic Suspense book, so I was a little concerned that I wouldn't appreciate the "romance" parts in it. I actually thought the suspense aspect of the novel was very interesting, and the romance part was really secondary.

I don't want to say the the plot was entirely predictable to me because it wasn't; however by the end of the novel, I had a feeling where it was going. That's not to say that I lost interest in the mystery -- the book kept my interest until the very end. I especially liked the characters of Rebecca and Diego, and I wanted their relationship to work out. The author did a very good job of letting the reader into the minds of the main characters. I felt like I had a great deal of compassion for their situations.

I have to warn you that this is not a book that deals with very serious issues including stalking and murder. I thought the crimes that were committed were incredibly atrocious -- I can't go into more detail because I would spoil the ending. At times, I found myself very uncomfortable while reading the story. I think that is exactly effect that Ms. Dane wants the reader to feel.

The book takes place in San Antonio, Texas -- the city where Ms. Dane grew up. It is very clear that San Antonio holds a very close place to her heart. She mentions a lot of historic places in her novel and does a wonderful job of describing them to the reader. Ms. Dane has a very nice website where she explains the "Story Behind the Story" and provides pictures of the places she mentions in the novel. I enjoyed seeing how closely the pictures matched her descriptions.

NO ONE HEARD HER SCREAM is currently available at all book outlets for $6.99 (that's a bargain.) Ms. Dane has two more books coming out in the next few months -- NO ONE LEFT TO TELL in April and NO ONE LIVES FOREVER in May. I definitely thought her first book was an enjoyable read, and I wouldn't hesitate to read her next two novels.

3 comments:

Amy said...

I've never managed to get a book through First Look.

Do you not like romance books? Or just too much, um, unnecessary description?

Julie P. said...

I'm not a big romance fan; however, I do like certain good chick lit books. I agree with what you said about "too much unnecessary description."

Anonymous said...

I have this on my shelf and you are the first person I know to have read it. You have me so excited now! :)