PREY by Linda Howard

Publisher: Ballantine
Date published: September 2011
ISBN: 978-0345506917
Paranormal Romance
Hardcover
Obtained via publisher
Reviewed by T.Barringer


Have you ever heard the phrase, “Sometimes you get the bear, sometimes the bear gets you?” While reading Linda Howard’s PREY, that phrase kept coming to mind again and again.

Angie Powell has inherited her wilderness guide business from her father who died two years ago. Though Angie is a knowledgeable guide, her business is going down the drain and Angie blames handsome Dare Callahan for it all. Dare is ex-military and his guide business has been booming ever since he opened, drawing business away from Angie. Even his name seems to annoy her. Who names their son Dare anyway? Before throwing in the towel on her business, Angie decides to take one last trip into the wild with a client and his guest who are hunting for bear. But the trip turns deadly when Angie witnesses a murder. Before the killer has Angie in his sights, a killer bear barrels onto the scene and the real hunt begins.

The first thing this reader has to comment on with this book is the book cover. It is a beautiful scene of a scantily clad woman sprawled out on what appears to be a beach. The only thing this cover has in common with the book is the woman. There is no beach in this book. It takes place in the winter, with a woman trying to stay alive while being chased by a killer and an even deadlier bear. Still, it is a nice cover. It just doesn’t have anything at all to do with the book.

Now, moving onto the story itself. Linda Howard’s PREY is a fast paced romantic adventure filled with the beauty of the wilderness. The female lead character, Angie, seemed a bit out of place in this story. Her business is failing and she doesn’t realize the obvious, hunter’s are going to be more comfortable with the ex-military Dare guiding them then they are with a woman, no matter how skilled she may be. The man is just simply going to be stronger and more useful in the wild. Instead of looking for ways to market her business smarter, she decides to take the easy way out and sell. The male lead, Dare, is strong, competent, resilient, easy on the eyes and is interested in Angie to the point of thinking of a way to purchase her business while keeping Angie in her home and employed. He is the perfect hero.

For this reader, the best character in this book, though, was the bear. Ms. Howard even takes a few pages to describe what the bear was thinking throughout this story. You can almost hear the impending doom background music every time the bear shows up. That’s right, “Sometimes you get the bear, sometimes the bear gets you”.

The romance that builds between Angie and Dare develops as Dare attempts to save Angie’s life after she witnesses a murder, a bear attack and injury while fleeing through the wild in the freezing winter. And while the romance was nice, it was the race down the mountain with the killer and the killer bear on their heels that made PREY so much fun to read. It comes as no surprise that the killer is doomed, but the chase is interesting and keeps the story racing to its somewhat obvious conclusion. Still, this reader enjoyed PREY. Linda Howard is just that good a storyteller.

Linda Howard’s PREY is an adrenaline rush of a romantic adventure that will warm even the coldest heart. This may not be the most shocking book ever written, but PREY does entertain and is worth the read.


THIS IS NOT AN ENDORSEMENT OF THIS BOOK. THIS IS AN OBJECTIVE UNBIASED REVIEW

PREY by Linda Howard

Publisher: Ballantine
Date published: September 6, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-345-50691-7
Romantic Suspense
Hardcover
Reviewed by Gina
Obtained ARC from Publisher


Despite her best efforts to keep her business going and her life on an even keel, Angie Powell finds herself being forced to sell off her father’s legacy to her and look toward a new career. It’s not like she hasn’t been uprooted before, but this time it’s personal. If it weren’t for Dare Callahan, her life would be just fine. But in the past few years, since Dare’s return to their small town, her life has slowly slipped away. Never mind Dare has asked her out twice—she wants nothing to do with him. Before she can pack up and go, however, Angie has to lead one more hunting party up the mountain.

Chad Krugman is a man on a mission. After kowtowing to an impossible boss, he’s ready to even the score. To do so he entices his boss, Mitchell Davis, to join him on a hunting trip with Angie as their guide. Chad may be down trodden, but he’s got a plan. Despite not particularly caring for riding horseback or hunting, he embarks on his plan for a secure future.

When family friend Harlan hears about Angie’s latest clients, something doesn’t sit quite right with him so he asks Dare to follow Angie up the mountain and keep an eye on her. Grudgingly Dare agrees to go. Within a few hours of arriving at his camp he hears a gun shot from the direction of Angie’s camp. Despite a once in a century thunder and lightning storm, Dare heads out to find out what is going on at Angie’s camp. What he doesn’t expect is murder and a renegade man-eating bear. Can he get to Angie before death knocks on her door? And if he does, will Angie let him in?

PREY is Linda Howard’s latest novel and it is must read. Reminiscent of her earlier COVER OF NIGHT in the opening scenes, PREY is takes the reader to a new level of suspense. Like COVER OF NIGHT there are elements in the beginning that didn’t make much sense to me, like why Davis would go off on a hunting trip with a man he clearly didn’t like. It just didn’t mesh with his personality as it unfolded in the pages. But once the initial scenes, setting the stage for the trek up the mountain were past, the story was non-stop action and adventure. I had a hard time putting it down and wanted to just sit and read to the end.

Clearly Ms. Howard did her homework with this book. I had a bit of a time reading the scenes where the bear did what came natural to him—parts were a bit hard to read, but the story would not have had its impact without the detail of those scenes.

And then the love scenes. Linda Howard knows how to write a love scene you imagine over and over again. She entices her readers, brings them to the brink and then pulls back. Despite only being together for two days, the evolution of Dare and Angie’s relationship is natural and so filled with sexual tension you are on the edge of your seat rooting for them. Ms. Howard teases you with style and panache with Dare and Angie coming so close to consummating their relationship only to have them back off. You want them to do the deed but at the same time, the anticipation is so toe curling you want yet another dance around the consummation of their relationship.

PREY is a fabulous read you won’t want to miss.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

ICE by Linda Howard

Publisher: Ballantine Book
Date Published: November 2010
ISBN: 978-0-345-51720-3
Thriller
Mass Market Paperback
Reviewed by Tammy
Obtained via: publisher


When best selling thriller author Linda Howard first released ICE in hard cover about a year ago, the reviews were somewhat disappointing. Still, this reviewer almost picked it up time and time again. So when ICE made its way to paperback, there was no question that it would hit the “to be read” pile if only to see why such a talented author had received such poor reviews. Now, perhaps if this reader had dished out over twenty dollars for the book, this review would have been quite different. But paperback is so much more forgiving, is it not?

Gabriel McQueen is home in Maine on leave from the service to visit with his young son, when his father (and county-sheriff) sends him into a developing ice storm to warn a distant neighbor before it is too late to come down the mountain where her family home is located. Gabriel remembers Lolly (Lollipop) Helton as a spoiled snob of a girl from his childhood and would really rather be warm at his family’s home, than trudging up a mountain in the middle of a storm. But service to others has been instilled in Gabriel at a young age, so up the mountain he goes. After sliding off the road when the ice comes sooner than expected and having to hike in freezing weather to the Helton home, Gabriel finds Lolly is not alone. What appear to be two armed meth-addicts at the house have warning bells going off for Gabriel. What ensues is a battle against the elements and unrelenting killers, as Gabriel and Lolly find they must rely on each other if they are going to make it out of this frightening experience alive.

Despite less than flattering reviews for the hardcover edition of ICE, this reader really enjoyed this thriller from prolific author Linda Howard. At less than two hundred pages, this story could have been longer. The characters back story could have been more developed and the storyline might have been more complex. That said, the fear factor was kept high, the story was laden with suspense and moved along at breakneck speed. Add to that the pending ice storm and the crazed killers chasing Gabriel and Lolly, and the result is some very tense moments that kept this reader riveted. The only real disappointment for this reader is that the story ends, before the logistics of a happily ever after can be found for not only Gabriel and Lolly, but Gabriel’s son as well.

Though this reader can not justify the price of a hardcover book for ICE, as a paperback, this action packed romantic thriller was a great afternoon read in front of a nice warm and toasty fire.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

DEATH ANGEL by Linda Howard

Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date published: April 2009
ISBN: 978-0-345-48655-4
Suspense
Mass Market Paperback
Obtained By: Publisher
Reviewed by Dawn




Drea Rousseau was once arm candy to a ruthless drug lord named Rafael Salinas but after deciding to ditch him, she steals a ton of cash from him to finance her new life. What she gets instead is an assassin after her and a death wish. Left for dead, Drea finds her life changed in ways that has her working with the FBI to take down those who tried to kill her. Can Drea find a way to redeem herself and take down the people who marked her for death?

I normally do not read romantic suspense but DEATH ANGEL was interesting as the main characters were flawed and not great people. Ms. Howard delivers a spine tingling run from the first page to the last as you get closer to finding out whom the assassin is and if Drea will be able to live a normal happy life. It has many twists and turns to keep the reader intrigued and I liked the fact the main characters where somewhat flawed and vulnerable. It made the story a little bit more believable though I have to say, in the beginning I wasn’t sure I would even like Drea at all. Being spoiled and pampered, she comes across as a character that you want to hate until you see the core of her that is hidden from everyone including her drug lord boyfriend and the readers find the real Drea behind the gangster mistress. With a few “Oh My God...” moments, Ms. Howard keeps the suspense up and the reader is scrambling to see what happens next.

DEATH ANGEL is a wild ride from start to finish and Ms. Howard definitely captivates the reader from the first page. With a fast pace, tight writing and flawed yet intriguing characters, DEATH ANGEL will keep the reader highly entertained till the very end. I am looking forward to reading more of this author in the future and if you enjoy a romance that isn’t quite the norm with characters that steal into your heart then grab DEATH ANGEL and settle in for one wild ride.

THIS IS NOT AN ENDORSEMENT OF THIS BOOK. THIS IS AN OBJECTIVE UNBIASED REVIEW.

Cover of Night by Linda Howard

Publisher Ballentine Books
Date published June 2006
ISBN 0-345-48650-1
Suspense
Hard Cover
Reviewed by Gina




Following the death of her husband and after weighing her options, Cate Nightingale moved, with her twin boys to Trail Stop, Idaho. Aptly named for what it is—the end of the trail, Cate purchased a bed and breakfast that she and her husband had visited during their avid rock climbing days. While not where she would have thought she would spend her life it offers a secure home and environment for her children. Aware of each other, yet not imposing on privacy. The town handyman, Cal Harris seems to be able to fix anything and everything and a bemused Cate finds herself calling him in to fix this and that on a routine basis.

Cal Harris has a secret. Actually, he has a few of them and as each one enfolds Cate finds herself more and more surprised by a man she thought shy, retiring and eternally tongue tied. The bigger secret, however, is the one kept by former tenant, Jeffrey Layton.

Layton checked into the out of the way B&B, made a quick appearance one morning and then abruptly disappeared without a trace, but leaving behind his solitary suitcase and shaving kit. Cate swings back and forth between anger, amusement and worry pondering what happened to Mr. Layton. Had she known what had he ran from, fear would most definitely have been added to that list of emotions. When two hitmen arrive in Trail Stop they demand Layton’s belongings, which Cate turns over…but she forgets one piece. It is that one piece that brings not only the hit men back.

The premise of Cover of Night is intriguing and was what drew this Reviewer to her first book by Ms. Howard. The easy pace of the beginning of the book sets the scene of a young widow trying to raise rambunctious twin boys. It almost reads like a good heart wrenching Woman’s Fiction, however the story ambles it’s way towards suspense. Unfortunately, it never quite made it there. While the idea of isolating an entire town to achieve a goal is captivating to consider, this Reviewer could not make the leap to the bad guys doing this almost out of hand, making what followed implausible. When the device is discovered missing it would have made more sense for one of the hit men to call and simply say he was an associate of Layton’s and that Layton asked him to retrieve his belongings. One of the culprits, Goss, is actually an engaging sort of man, one who could be turned right by the right kind of woman. In fact, a story of his own would make for a good read. Goss is not only engaging, he is bright, so the actions he took were surprising, but not credible.

There are four other characters that this Reviewer found quite interesting: Joshua Creed, Cal, Neenah and Teague. Apparently Creed and Cal were in the Marines together. Or there is an allusion to it. Including their back story earlier on, perhaps when Teague recalls his interactions with Creed, would have made for a more interesting story. Yet the reader is only told they had some sort of connection. While it is good reading to have it be a surprise to Cate, developing these threads would have made for more fascinating reading for the reader. Neenah as well is an interesting character. She was a nun and while some mention is made early on and there are a few amusing segments where Creed, who is apparently attracted to her mulls over her former avocation, nothing is played up about it. Even a few scenes inside Neenah’s head and why she left the nunnery would have connected her to this reviewer. Aside from an implausible situation, this reader struggled with why such fascinating characters would be formed with no connection either between them or to the reader was developed.

Because several friends have highly recommended Ms. Howard to this reviewer I will again sample one of her books. To Ms. Howard’s credit her characters are interesting enough to give her another try. With a back list as extensive as the one Ms. Howard holds it is easy to see where one book may fall short of the mark. Cover of Night is a good read if you are able to suspend reality and merely go with the flow into the suspense and terror of being trapped in a town by unknown people, with no power, no phone and no way out.