Rating: 
Summary: "A Bone-chilling Novel of Psychological Suspense..."
Review: The above one-liner comes from my publicist's press release. I humbly submit it here and thank everyone involved for their support with this book. The press release goes on to state, "A terrifying exploration into the darkest corners of the human soul...based upon actual events from the author's youth." CRASHING DOWN is my debut novel with MIRA books, and my fifth suspense novel to be published after having written the Jessica (Jesse) James mystery series. It's not the fifth suspense novel I've written, however--it was the first. At least, a version of it was. I began CRASHING DOWN in 1986; the time simply wasn't right for it until now. Meanwhile, it's gone through several revisions. The scenes that remain untouched are the ones that come from my own childhood of abuse. It was impossible to alter even a word of these, as they came from the innermost part of me and were not easily drawn forth to begin with. "Carrie Holt" in this novel experiences the same things I experienced as a child: "...memories not of games and toys, but of dark and disturbing incidents of violence, which took place in a dimly lit church basement." More than a novel about sexual abuse, CRASHING DOWN is about the abuse of power, and the terrifying things that power can do to a child. It is also a book about faith and the ability of the human heart to win over the most daunting of obstacles. CRASHING DOWN will be out mid-May and copies may be ordered and reserved now.
Rating: 
Summary: Why didn't the author keep it simple?
Review: The introduction to this book makes it clear that the author is to some extent drawing on her own experience of being abused as a child and, probably for that reason, the sections of the book dealing with the abuse of the central character are powerful and moving. Why didn't she stick to that? Sure the central theme 'successful authoress abused by famous evangelist' (no spoilers the blurb on the back cover is fairly explicit about this) was enough? Why does she feel she has to drag in so many other characters and (sometimes unbelievable) storylines? The story starts out powerfully and then get bogged down in all these thriller-by-numbers conventions. By the end I had lost interest altogether and skimmed ahead to the end to see what happened - a sure sign that an author has lost the plot. The blurb at the front of the novel 'if you love Mary Higgins Clarke you love Meg O'Brien' did worry me - but in fact MHC, though her novels are too formulaic for my taste can at least write a concise gripping thriller. Meg O'Brien, on the evidence of 'Crashing Down', can't - though she can write - as some sections of the book show. A semi-autobiographical account of her own experiences and feelings would have been a much better than have them embodied in a standard and uninteresting storyline ...
Rating: 
Summary: Little romance but a great book to read
Review: There was not a lot of romance, but a very good book. There is a lot of man-female relationship, but not the mushey kind. This book was very hard to put down. It kept you wondering.
Rating:
Summary: Little romance but a great book to read
Review: There was not a lot of romance, but a very good book. There is a lot of man-female relationship, but not the mushey kind. This book was very hard to put down. It kept you wondering.
Rating:
Summary: A great read.
Review: This book was big fun to read. The heroine, Carrie, was both gutsy and vulnerable. The story was very fast paced making it hard for me to put the book down. The plot deals with a lot of heavy issues, but without self-pity. Carrie takes the attitude that the bad things that may have happened to us as children can be acknowledged from an adult perspective, and that old fears can be turned into a strength that is both formidable and compassionate. Wait til you read the opening scene. It sent chills down my spine. Then get ready for some more as the book goes on. Plenty of action, romance, and a cool, sardonic kind of humor. This book is very uplifting.
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