Rating: 
Summary: Good Sequel!
Review: "Truth Or Dare" is the sequel to "Light In Shadow".Many of the characters from "Light In Shadow" return and there is a lot going on in this story. A) Ethan and his family deal with the third anniversary of his brother's kidnap and murder, B) the growing attraction between Ethan's sister-in-law, Bonnie and biker, bookstore owner, computer expert Singleton Cobb, C) Ethan looks into solving the old mystery of writer Walter Kirwan's death and missing manuscript, D) Grant Loring, Arcadia's husband, is trying to eliminate her, E) Zoe must deal with a person from her past, F) Can Zoe and Ethan make their marriage work?, G) Zoe has interior decorating competition in the form of Lindsey Voyle, H) Is Nelson Radnor's wife having an affair? This is just a little of what is happening in this very busy novel. The story is so busy that there is very little time for romance but the author does a good job weaving the story that you really don't notice it. Now that Ethan and Zoe are married, there is a different approach to the romantic segment of the book. The writing is fast-paced, easy to read and precise. All loose ends are tied up with a heartwarming finish except one tiny issue that dogged Ethan and Zoe throughout the book. You will have to read it to find out what it is. I was delighted with this very entertaining read. I would like to read more Whispering Springs novels in the future.
Rating: 
Summary: What a Disappointment!!!
Review: "Truth Or Dare" is the sequel to "Light In Shadow". Many of the characters from "Light In Shadow" return and there is a lot going on in this story. A) Ethan and his family deal with the third anniversary of his brother's kidnap and murder, B) the growing attraction between Ethan's sister-in-law, Bonnie and biker, bookstore owner, computer expert Singleton Cobb, C) Ethan looks into solving the old mystery of writer Walter Kirwan's death and missing manuscript, D) Grant Loring, Arcadia's husband, is trying to eliminate her, E) Zoe must deal with a person from her past, F) Can Zoe and Ethan make their marriage work?, G) Zoe has interior decorating competition in the form of Lindsey Voyle, H) Is Nelson Radnor's wife having an affair? This is just a little of what is happening in this very busy novel. The story is so busy that there is very little time for romance but the author does a good job weaving the story that you really don't notice it. Now that Ethan and Zoe are married, there is a different approach to the romantic segment of the book. The writing is fast-paced, easy to read and precise. All loose ends are tied up with a heartwarming finish except one tiny issue that dogged Ethan and Zoe throughout the book. You will have to read it to find out what it is. I was delighted with this very entertaining read. I would like to read more Whispering Springs novels in the future.
Rating: 
Summary: The center cannot hold
Review: ... because there IS no center. The plot wanders, the characters talk too much about nothing important, and they all seem dead from the neck in both directions. Very disappoinging.
Rating:
Summary: lighter Light and Shadow - not enough romance
Review: I adored JAK's Light in Shadow - the first in the Whispering Springs Novels. The characters were crisp, witty and it was JAK at her best. This is not. Not that it is bad. It's just this is in the pattern of her recent trilogies of books. One really good and then two weaker continuation of the same story. I really hoped since Light and Shadow was so strong that she would break that curse. I love JAK - she is one of my favourite writers, but I do feel let down by these weaker part 2 and 3 of her JAK and Quick efforts of late. Only the Eclipse Bay books were as good all the way through. In paperback, maybe you would grump less, but at hardback prices her fans deserver a little bit more. When we last saw the Whispering Hills gang, it was just a month early. Ethan Truax, PI, had married Zoe Luce to stop Zoe's brother-in-law from trying to pop her back in to the high-priced Candle Lake Manor Psychiatric Hospital. The bluff had worked and the mystery - who killed Zoe's husband - was solved. Zoe's fellow escapee from Crystal Lake - Arcadia was now living with Harry, Ethan's PI friend. Neither Zoe or Arcadia had mental problems, but Crystal Lake specialised in hiding rich people's "embarrassments" - for enough money they quietly keep the problemsome relative away from prying eyes. However, in Arcadia's case, she was actually hiding from a husband, and deliberately checked herself into Crystal Lake. Grant Loring tried to kill her. She figured her husband would never look for her at an institute for the mentally ill. Arcadia suddenly fears, Grant's still alive - not dead from a skiing accident as reported - and that he has now decided to come after his wife who has too much information on him. She fears her "new" identity has been compromised. But the whole gang, for one reason or another is uneasy. It's November, the month Ethan's brother was murdered, leaving Ethan, Bonnie, his sister-in-law, and his two nephews dealing with the grief. Ethan also is concerned about his marriage. He jumped at the chance to use the excuse of protecting Zoe, when he really wanted to marry her. Now, he fears she may be having second thoughts. Zoe is having seconds thoughts, but not because of love. She loves Ethan, but he refuses to believe Zoe is psychic, just chalks up her "gift" to good intuition. She feels if he cannot accept WHAT she is how can he love her? This is a sticking point, especially when she starts running into "spider webs" of dark emotions somehow connected to Crystal Lake. But those worries, take a back seat when someone tries to kill Ethan. Is it connected to his brother's death? Connected to Zoe's stay at Crystal Lake? Or the con man that Ethan exposed? Frankly, this books is a pleasant read, with some really fine JAK's humour, but on the whole, she once again has too many story lines going all at once - to hide there is not much of a mystery (Smoke and Mirrors problem). The romance between Zoe and Ethan gets pushed aside as it become the "Gang's" Story. It's like JAK has lost the heart to write romance, so she covers it with food, food and more food (Quick's Don't Look Back's Problem). This is enjoyable, diverting, and will please fans, but they would do well to wait for paperback. Then you won't feel so let down. The same complaints I see from other readers concerning her last half dozen books - thin mysteries, too many story threads and not enough romance on the leads - seems to be a trap JAK is falling into over and over again.
Rating:
Summary: PURE TORTURE!!
Review: I elected to listen to the unabridged audio version of this book. Boy, it was full of fluffy dialogue that had nothing to do with the "plots". A few action scenes squeezed in between boring interaction between the characters. It got painful to listen to every detail the character did while speaking. Do we really need to know that she opened the car door, took the grocery bag out, closed the car door, walked 3 steps to the green gate, etc. It went on and on. Maybe actually reading the book wouldn't have been so bad. Or maybe I should have listened to the abridged version. It could have been condensed to 2 discs!
Rating:
Summary: better books
Review: I know this is supposed to be intellectual fluff. The book equivilent of TV to be read when you don't want to be challenged, and I accept it as such. I don't know if she has just gotten complacent, ran our of time, or what? I have read several of her books under one of her other pseudonyms Jayne Castle, and I expect better writting and story development. If you like this type of book try reading Orchid, After Glow, or After Dark, published under that "other" name instead.
Rating:
Summary: better books
Review: I know this is supposed to be intellectual fluff. The book equivilent of TV to be read when you don't want to be challenged, and I accept it as such. I don't know if she has just gotten complacent, ran our of time, or what? I have read several of her books under one of her other pseudonyms Jayne Castle, and I expect better writting and story development. If you like this type of book try reading Orchid, After Glow, or After Dark, published under that "other" name instead.
Rating:
Summary: Boring...couldn't finish it.
Review: I reached page 150, and NOTHING HAD HAPPENED YET!!! Except for lots of pizza dinners between the characters. I had thought this book would be solely about Arcadia, whose story I thought was a logical sequel to Light in Shadow. Instead, it was an epilogue, with more blathering on and on about how Ethan and Zoe (surprise, surprise!) still haven't trusted each other enough to share their inner-most secrets after a whopping 6 weeks of marriage. This story actually underscores how little Ethan and Zoe have in common, which is typical of this author's heroes and heroines. Thank goodness I didn't buy this book--got it at the library.
Rating: 
Summary: Pulled along on an enjoyable ride
Review: Like a raft caught in a strong current, JAK's writing carried this reader along on a fascinating journey full of mystery, romance, companionship and good fun. I enjoyed the many story lines, woven together. I liked getting to know the 'old' characters better, and watched them wrestle with different angst than the typical romance. (The chapter with Singleton talking with Jeff about his murdered father was particularly poignant.) I laughed aloud several times. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable way to spend a few hours.
Rating:
Summary: A good, quick, fun read
Review: Reviewers here have panned this book in comparison to other of Krentz's efforts, but I don't have that particular prejudice. As a fairly new Krentz reader, I found this book just the right companion for a boring evening alone. The quirky characters and dialogue made me smile. Descriptions of the locations were riveting and logically presented so that action is easy to follow, and the story moved right along. What's not to like? Krentz doesn't pretend to be a literary novelist. Thank goodness!
A year or so ago, I wrote a very negative review of my first Krentz book, Summer in Eclipse Bay, which I felt was so bad I didn't pick up another of her titles until now. Glad I did. This one is in another league altogether. A nicely balanced book. Very entertaining!
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