Rating: 
Summary: Not her best
Review: Wow - was there plot in this book? If you're looking for a suspense novel, pass this one up. Frankly, if you're looking for a romance novel, pass this up too. In the 300 pages of this book, the romance takes up about 200 of it, with some gratuitous sex scenes that are boring. Sarah Stevens is a butler (could that last name been something less original?) and Cahill is her cop boyfriend. Not surprisingly, he falls for her immediately on sight after coming to investigate a murder. She suffers the same fate.I didn't understand how these two could decide to spend the rest of their lives with one another after two weeks, let alone after several murders. In addition, I found both characters rather boring. Sarah panders to herself and her "strength" with several scenes where she says, "even though I'm trembling on the outside, I'm still sarcastic on the inside - go me!" Cliched and groan-worthy this book is a disappointment after Howard's several previous novels. Do you yourself a favor - don't bother.
Rating: 
Summary: Is the author referring to herself with the title?
Review: Let me start by saying this is a very well-written work. Though I'm new to Howard's work, it's not hard to tell that she is a stand-out writer. The problem comes in when she attempts to make her mystery a passion/romance thriller. And while it's not necessarily something UNFAMILIAR to the mystery/thriller category, I don't see the need for the explicit details throughout. Not only does it take away from the plot, it adds unnecessary clutter to the story. If I'd wanted a cheap romance book, I would have bought one. The plot follows a beautiful female butler/bodygaurd, Sarah, who suddenly becomes victim to a few 'random' murders in an exclusive area of Georgia. Unfortunately, any true element of suspense is diminshed terribly by the storyline taking on the viewpoints of the other characters. While I can see the author's attempt at versatility with this, it is generally a pretty weak effort and reminds me identically of a James Patterson mystery that was out earlier this year. It's an okay book for a long weekend at home. It just doesn't have any real stand-out qualities.
Rating:
Summary: Howard can do better
Review: Die hard Howard fans will enjoy this book, as her trademark style is readily apparent. I did so myself, but not as much as I expected. Howard's plot in this one is so thin as to be transparent. There is no attempt to hide the identity of the villain, and he isn't especially menacing. Nor was it totally believable that he was so enthralled with Sarah that he would kill four people to get her. Contrivances were abundant to further the plot, stretching credibility and patience. (I found myself rolling my eyes at the way the heroine landed in the villain's clutches.) However, many of Howard's recent single titles carry the same faults and are more forgiveable when the romance is more compelling. Unfortunately, the romance doesn't ring true in this one either. The story got off to a slow start, and the romance to an even slower one. Then when things heated up between Cahill and Sarah it happened so suddenly it wasn't totally credible. I'm going to have to re-read my earlier Howard novels to discover if the endless tedious introspection her characters engage in is a new development of hers, or if I'm just losing patience with that element. It seems a way to fill pages to avoid having to pad it with real plot. There is so little meaningful dialogue between the characters that one wonders how Cahill and Sarah could ever manage to fall in love. Certainly they don't ever really know each other on any real level. My biggest disappointment with the book is that Howard cheated the readers during the two most emotional moments of the book. Sarah is devastated when Cahill suspects her for a short time of being the killer, but this is glossed over relatively quickly and then never alluded to again. And then at the end, after she's been held captive and nearly raped and killed, and she tells him how difficult it is for her to think about sex again, one good toss in the hay is all it takes to cure her of that. Aside from the huge 'ick' factor here, I was offended on behalf of women everywhere. One would think after reading the book that any time a couple has real problems that a good bout of raunchy sex is the cure all. This is not only demeaning, but disgusting as well.
Rating: 
Summary: Pathetic
Review: Let me start by saying that I have every book Linda Howard has written and loved all of them except this one. I am finding it difficult to believe that Linda wrote this piece of garbage. There really is no story line and if I wanted gratuitous explicit sex I could find other books that do a better job. The "heroine" doesn't ever want to see the love of her life again but when he knocks on the door, she immediately has sex with him??? PULEEZE!!
Rating: 
Summary: Hot sexy murder suspense
Review: I loved this suspense/romance. The premise is that Butler/Bodyguard extraordinaire Sarah is living a happy life protecting and serving a Judge, then one night she thwarts a burglar team. By doing this she ends up a local celebrity and has her 15 minutes of fame reluctantly. This catapults her into having admirers and even a stalker. Cahill is the detective who was on the scene when the burglary was discovered. She calls him when a mysterious package arrives and keeps in contact. Then the unthinkable happens her employer is killed. While she and Cahill are attracted to each other he can't date a suspect. But when she is cleared they basically can't keep their hands off each other. Let me warn you there are some pretty explicit sex scenes in this one so it is not recommended for the PG or PG-13 type of crowd. Sarah gets a new job and very quickly the unthinkable happens again and she is devastated. I loved this book. I enjoyed the romance part of the story as well as the suspense part. I was disappointed in how much of a jerk the hero was but in the end he turns out ok (what do you expect). I liked how Sarah is a very strong woman character and how Linda H. puts humor into her stories! I recommend this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Good book!
Review: Overall a very good book. The only problem I had was that Sarah seemed to have every skill there was. I know there are woman like that but to those of us who are just regular people it can be a little annoying. Sort of like watching "Charlie's Angels"!
Rating:
Summary: This one is DOA
Review: I really like Linda Howard because she manages to combine passable suspense (not great, mind you, but passable) with a lusty romance. However, this one just didn't do it for me. Call me boring, but I guess I do like the trademark conflict that usually marks the meeting of the hero & heroine of a romance novel. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think most romance novel readers look for that bit of conflict, something that the hero and heroine have to fight against (even if it's their own emotions) before they can be together. In real life, romances start with dates, but who wants to read about a romance like that in a romance novel; we want fantasy, not reality. This is the main problem with the novel. The sizzling chemistry that is usually so apparent between the hero & heroine of Howard's novels (e.g., AFTER THE NIGHT, DREAM MAN) is missing in this one. Sure the [word] is hot (nearly too hot!), but she really didn't convince me that even that was deeper than a satisfying romp. Also, it was a little difficult to relate to the heroine. She could do just about everything and was really perfect. She just wasn't believable. The hero was a little more interesting, but barely so. All in all, it's not Howard's best.
Rating:
Summary: A Real Pleaser is DYING TO PLEASE
Review: DYING TO PLEASE is a fantastic story of what can happen when you get your fifteen minutes of fame. The story combines humor, suspense and romance in a pleasing combination that keeps you going to the end. On the level of MR. PERFECT. One recommendation. If you are new to Howard's works, read OPEN SEASON first because you will be disappointed in it if you have read the others first. SON OF THE MORNING, Howard's time travel romance is a personal favorite.
Rating:
Summary: Good Book, But Something Definitely Missing
Review: I am a huge Linda Howard fan. And I was expecting a great read with her latest book. As I started to read I was definitely intrigued by the underlying story. But where was the usual chemistry between the two main characters that are usually in every Linda Howard book? it seemed as though the detective Cahill was hardly attracted to Sarah. And the only time that they showed any sexual connection at all was during the love scence. I am a huge fan of other LH stories like After the Night, Heartbreaker, Kill & Tell, and Open Season. Although the suspense and intrigue is here, the romance definitely is not.
Rating:
Summary: So disappointed.
Review: I usually devour Linda Howard's books and looked foward eagerly to this romantic suspense, so much so that I paid the hardback price. Well, I didn't like it. In fact, I was bored almost from the start. It's only my opinion, but it seemed as if this book was an outline. There was no spark for me. I think I'll wait for the paperback on her next book.
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