Rating: 
Summary: Okay, but not one of her best
Review: I am a huge Judith McNaught fan, as many of the reviewers here have been. I enjoy both her contemporary and historical romance novels and have been anticipating "Someone to Watch Over Me" for quite some time. However, I was really disappointed when I finished reading this book. I don't think she was meant to write contemporary romantic suspense.But, in her previous novel, Night Whispers, she did a much better job of it.
What I did like about Someone to Watch Over Me was the protagonist, Leigh's romantic interest Michael. He was what kept me reading on. His character wasn't developed enough for me though. Whereas in previous Judith McNaught novels, the heriones are strong, funny, smart, and interesting, I felt that Leigh was lacking somehow. As she desperately tries to find out what has happened to her husband, you start to wonder how could she be so oblivious to her husband's activities. Secondly,Michael and Leigh seem to get "together" quite quickly. From the beginning of the book, she's madly in love with her husband, and then all of a sudden, through uncovering information about her husband, she just realizes she's in love with another man. It seemed way too rushed. Furthermore, the "suspense" to the whole story begins to be quite predictable long before the end of the book.
For me, the intrigue part, whether it be about business mergers/corporate take overs, and so on, in Judith McNaught's previous books such as Remember When and Paradise have always detracted from the rest of her writing. I love the romantic interaction, and the quality of character development which she usually achieves so well. In Someone to Watch Over Me, I feel like these things have taken the back burner, and the intrigue/suspense has become the main focus of her writing.
Personally, I did not enjoy the secondary romantic story of the investigators, and thought it wasn't very relevant. I usually enjoy when secondary characters also have a storyline, but it didn't work for me. The appearance of certain characters from Ms. McNaught's previous novels just seemed to be kind of thrown in so that she could link the book to her other ones.
I do really enjoy Judith McNaught's writing, and I hope that her next novel will be a better effort and that she sticks to romance writing. If it wasn't a book written her, I probably wouldn't have finished it all the way through.
Contemporary romantic suspense authors I would recommend instead of Judith McNaught would be Linda Howard or Karen Robards. They tend to be more realistic, less romantic and sweet, but definitely more suspenseful.
Rating: 
Summary: Intruigue at its Best
Review: SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME is filled with all the plot elements readers love. Intruigue, romance, suspense, wit, etc. grab this for all elements.The hero is one of my favorites to date. He is enigmatic to the hilt and you will keep turning the pages to find out what happens next. Don't miss this one.
Rating:
Summary: Mediocre effort
Review: This is a mediocre work by JM's standards. The first part of the book narrated the accident and flashback of the loving time between Leigh Kendall and Logan Manning. The flashback broke the story momentum and suspense. It make the search for Logan appeared longer and more draggy than it should be. The flashback also made the reader skeptical of how loving the couple really were. It came across that JM was trying hard to persuade the readers to believe in something which she would shatter later. When Michael Valente, Samatha Littleton and Mack entered the scene, then the story started to look more exciting. That also meant that Leigh Kendall was such an uninspiring character to hold much of the readers' interest in the first part of the book. I was much more hooked on the chemistry and attraction between Sam and Mack than between Michael and Leigh. Unfortunately, JM did not spare much ink on Sam and Mack. Sam and Mack had the more interesting and clever dialogue too. I found Leigh's falling in love with Michael too unconvincing and abrupt, though Michael's devotion towards Leigh was touching and endearing. And for a romance novel, the (very) few love scenes were very anti-climax. The love scene between Sam and Mack could have so much more potential, more explosive than the effort JM put in. In addition, there were plenty of loopholes in the book. The final revelation about Logan, the murderer and Logan's source of unexplained income were presented very sloppily - all dumped at us at once without much logic and explanation. It left the readers with more questions than answers. In short, this is a readable novel with some interesting characters and pockets of good moments, but fall short of a good novel, especially of one by JM.
Rating:
Summary: Okay, but not one of her best
Review: I am a huge Judith McNaught fan, as many of the reviewers here have been. I enjoy both her contemporary and historical romance novels and have been anticipating "Someone to Watch Over Me" for quite some time. However, I was really disappointed when I finished reading this book. I don't think she was meant to write contemporary romantic suspense.But, in her previous novel, Night Whispers, she did a much better job of it.
What I did like about Someone to Watch Over Me was the protagonist, Leigh's romantic interest Michael. He was what kept me reading on. His character wasn't developed enough for me though. Whereas in previous Judith McNaught novels, the heriones are strong, funny, smart, and interesting, I felt that Leigh was lacking somehow. As she desperately tries to find out what has happened to her husband, you start to wonder how could she be so oblivious to her husband's activities. Secondly,Michael and Leigh seem to get "together" quite quickly. From the beginning of the book, she's madly in love with her husband, and then all of a sudden, through uncovering information about her husband, she just realizes she's in love with another man. It seemed way too rushed. Furthermore, the "suspense" to the whole story begins to be quite predictable long before the end of the book.
For me, the intrigue part, whether it be about business mergers/corporate take overs, and so on, in Judith McNaught's previous books such as Remember When and Paradise have always detracted from the rest of her writing. I love the romantic interaction, and the quality of character development which she usually achieves so well. In Someone to Watch Over Me, I feel like these things have taken the back burner, and the intrigue/suspense has become the main focus of her writing.
Personally, I did not enjoy the secondary romantic story of the investigators, and thought it wasn't very relevant. I usually enjoy when secondary characters also have a storyline, but it didn't work for me. The appearance of certain characters from Ms. McNaught's previous novels just seemed to be kind of thrown in so that she could link the book to her other ones.
I do really enjoy Judith McNaught's writing, and I hope that her next novel will be a better effort and that she sticks to romance writing. If it wasn't a book written her, I probably wouldn't have finished it all the way through.
Contemporary romantic suspense authors I would recommend instead of Judith McNaught would be Linda Howard or Karen Robards. They tend to be more realistic, less romantic and sweet, but definitely more suspenseful.
Rating:
Summary: One word - WOW!
Review: Someone to Watch Over Me is undoubtedly one of the best among Judith's novels - and a highlight for me as a fan of more than 12 years.. Leigh Kendall is a heroine who will remind you of other "innately good" female JM characters - think Elizabeth Cameron and Meredith Bancroft. It's much more of a traditional mystery than some other novels by JM we've read, which really surprised me... but she *is* Judith McNaught after all and she does NOT skimp on the romance. In fact, there are not one but two men in this book who you will definitely want to curl up with during this snowy winter we're having...
I have to say it was worth every day of the long wait - For those who have been a little disappointed in more recent JM efforts, such as Night Whispers and Remember When, because they were much shorter than some of her earlier works, don't worry - this one is a nice, long well-rounded yarn you won't want to put down. Enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: I want more
Review: I loved this book, as I have enjoyed all of her books. When are we going to get a new one it's been way over a year.
Rating: 
Summary: If it's really nasty outside, this is better than daytime TV
Review: I started this book on a rainy afternoon because it was handy and I'd have to put on a raincoat to go to the library and select another book. When I reached the halfway point, the rain stopped and I decided I really didn't care all that much for any of her characters, so I pitched this one and went to the local library and took out a Marcia Muller mystery. Had the rain lasted another day, I would have finished this one. Honest Injin! Don't buy this book, but if nothing else is available, give it a shot.
Charlie
Rating:
Summary: A great story. I loved it!
Review: Someone to Watch Over Me is a very good book by a great writer. The characters are written well and the story has so many twists and turns that it becomes hard to put down.
The leading man is one of my favorite heroes to date in a Judith McNaught novel, he was a great package. The leading lady was confident and endearing. I was really guessing from start to finish.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable Reading*
Review: This was not the best by JM, but it was a good read. The beginning was a bit of a turn off what with all the flashbacks that I didn't understand much at first, but then it picked up and I was with it until the end. I do recommend Someone to Watch Over Me to fans of Judith McNaught, even if it isn't her best work to date.
Rating:
Summary: More romance, less suspense, please
Review: In some reviews for other books, I have alluded to this new trend in contemporary authors to sublimate the romance part of the story in favor of a full-fledged suspense/mystery. While in itself there is nothing wrong with that, when I pick up a book from the Romance section of my local bookstore, I am looking for something specific. I mean, I have to assume most of us are not so directionally challenged that we couldn't find the suspense/fiction books if that's what we were looking for. In McNaught's latest offering, Leigh Manning is an extremely talented broadway actress basking in her latest theater triumph. She is going to meet her beloved husband Logan at their out-of-the-way cabin when she gets caught in a blizzard and loses control of her car. Next thing she knows, she wakes up in the hospital and no one can tell her where her husband is. As the days go by, the police uncover a series of clues that implicate a whole array of characters in Logan's disappearance--including Leigh herself--and the painful truth that he may not have been quite what he seemed. That's it in a nutshell. The romance aspect of the story is so mininal that I don't need to mention it for you to get an accurate synopsis of the book. That's what really bugged me. If I was judging this solely as a romance, I would give this 3, or maybe even 2, stars. But because the suspense/mystery part is well orchestrated, I will still give this four stars. As you can imagine, Leigh encounters romance along the way, although it is really not that stellar--such great things could've been done with such a sympathetic hero! I was much more intriged by the romance that evolved between two of the officers investigating the case, and would've happily read a whole book about Sam and Mack instead of the six or so meager pages the author alloted them. Bottom line, if you're looking for a love story with lots of emotional highs and lows accompanied by steamy scenes, THIS AIN'T IT. On the other hand, if you're simply looking for a good whodunit, this is well worth the purchase.
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