Action: 1.0 / Emotion: 0.0 / Romance: 1.0 / Sensuous: 1.0 / Suspense: 3.0 // Laughter: 0 / Tears: 0
Setting: Florence, Alabama
Era: Present Day [2012]
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What a great hook! How could you read the first sentence and not continue? (Sandra Brown, page 53)
After completing Poisoned, the most obvious thought was, "what an original way to tell a story." Barton quickly drew a bold, yet shadowy, picture of the heroine, Olivia Lynn Warren, struggling though a haze of pain, dizziness, and partial blindness because she was sure that Dalton Carr, the man she saw murder his wife, had somehow poisoned her.
Barton did a wonderful job of keeping a degree of suspense throughout the entire story because as Olivia stumbled through the streets of Florence, Alabama, she could not remember the details that led up to her wandering around a neighborhood she didn't recognize -- running from the man she loved, detective Jed Merrill. As Olivia struggled to find someone to help her, she kept remembering bits and pieces of her life; like, {1} seeing Dalton kill Amber, {2} running from Dalton, {3} meeting Jed, {4} falling in love with Jed.
Although this quick read was entertaining, for some reason this story did not inspire fascination or a high degree of interest in the main characters. Again, because the stories in this book are so short, there is no way an author can develop the characters to such a level that they can worm their way into your heart. This holds true for Jed and Olivia's tale as well. Although the tale is well-told and keeps you wondering about what is going on, it still did not inspire any degree of greatness. It was just a story about the girl next door falling in love with the policeman who rescued her -- without any bells or whistles -- or emotional depth.
Oh well, on to the next one. . .
--Vonda M. Reid (Friday, April 26, 2013 : 7:10 p.m.) [309]
| Character | Description |
|---|---|
| Jed Merrill | [Hero]: big powerful hands; baritone voice, Bourbon smooth and dripping with Southern charm (56) the man Olivia loved (58) soothing voice; striking blue-gray eyes; Lieutenant with Florence Police Department; investigating Amber's murder (63) good at tracking; good at figuring out what the other guy was going to do; police detective; Olivia's friend, lover, protector (64) kept his promises; man of honor and integrity (66) |
| Olivia Lynn Warren | [Heroine] lived in fear for long time; watched her back; played it safe; afraid to trust (55) Olivia Lynn Warren: lived uneventful, vanilla, white-bread life; good girl from a good family; honor student; graduated magna cum laude; paid her taxes; went to church; obeyed traffic laws; never even got a speeding ticket (60) took self-defense classes (Jed insisted); Jed bought her a small handgun (65) mousy brown hair under blonde dye job (65) |
| . . . | . . . |
| Amber Carr | Dalton's wife; hired Olivia's decorating firm; got along well with Olivia (61) |
| Dalton Carr | in jail; Olivia to testify at his trial; he couldn't allow Olivia to live to testify (58) Amber's husband; wealthy businessman; 25 years older than Amber; multi-millionaire (61) |
| Location / Organization | Description |
|---|---|
| Court Street | block away from café where Olivia was sitting (64) |
| Downtown Interiors | firm where Olivia worked (61) |
| Florence, Alabama | where Olivia lived (59) typical small Southern city (60) |
Notes:
♥ Disclaimer: I Borrowed This Book From The Library
♥ Very Subjective Rating
