Beachcomber

Rating:
Summary: Another hit by Robards...
Review: Christy Petrino never knew how far she was in over her head until she learned that the law firm she worked for was a front for the mob and the man she was engaged to was a key player. She wanted out, but she soon learned that no one walks away from the mob. She is told she only has to do one more thing and then her and her family will be free from the mob forever.

Special Agent Luke Rand has been after Michael DePalma for years. He finally has a chance to get him through Christy, who he believes is in cahoots with who the FBI has nicknamed Donnie Jr. When Christy is targeted again and again by a violent killer, Luke urges her to confide in him even though she has no idea that he is anyone other than her next door neighbor.

Karen Robards delievers in this book which is full of suspense and romance. When a serial killer, dubbed the Beachcomber by police, singles out Christy, Luke knows that he will do anything to protect her. All though Christy has a penchant for screaming and shreiking, her fear jumps out at the reader and somehow isn't too annoying. Luke and his partner, Gary, are a laugh and a half, while Luke also has surprisingly emotional depths. I throughly enjoyed this new book by Robards!

Rating:
Summary: LOVED IT!!!
Review: Excellent story, loved the characters, great romance mystery. I honestly could not stop listening to the tapes and hated when I got to the finale one.

Rating:
Summary: A Woman in Trouble with a Capital T
Review: He stalks North Carolina's outer banks by day, invisible to those he intends to kill. They haven't a clue and he revels in that. He can walk right up to them, smile and still they don't see. He follows them, captures them and uses them till they no longer excite, then he searches out another. They're tourists, they won't be missed. He has the perfect life.

And so it goes in the opening of Karen Robard's latest thriller, BEACHCOMBER. I say thriller, or maybe more precisely, a woman in trouble thriller, because that's just what this book is. Maybe Robards has her roots in romance, but BEACHCOMBER is definitely a crossover. It's the kind of book that will appeal to fans of Baldacci, Kellerman (Jonathan and Faye), Coben and Lehane as well as fans of Johansen, Gerritsen, Hoag and Reichs and, you know what, I'm guessing even fans of Koontz and King will find a story here that they can't put down.

Young and idealistic attorney Christy Petrino is from a mob family. Her mother's on again and off again boyfriend, a guy she refers to as Uncle Vince, is deep into organized crime, as was Christy's father, a mob soldier, who was gunned down when she was a little girl. Then there's her sister's hubby and lastly her fiancé, Michael DePalma, known to the FBI as Donnie Junior, because his father is mob capo John DePalma.

However, Christy wants nothing to do with them and she believed her fiancé, also a lawyer and the head of the firm where she works, felt the same. But she'd been wrong. She learns too much and she wants out. Out of her impending marriage and out of the family. Uncle Vince tells her she can have her way, but first she has to go south, to the Outer Banks, where the mob owns a slew of beachfront homes and deliver a package. Once that's done, she can have her freedom.

She's on the beach, making her midnight delivery, when she senses she's being followed, stalked. She drops off the package and heads for home. He's getting closer, she can't see him, but she can just tell. He's out there, she knows it. She picks up her speed. She feels him gaining. She breaks into a jog, then runs. She trips over something. It's a woman, she's nude, she moans, "Help me."

Christy wants to help, but now she sees her stalker, he's coming for her. She sees a gun. She flees. Out of breath, she gets home to discover an man on her beachfront balcony. It's him, she thinks, she screams. Mrs. Castellano from next door, widow of a mob boss, comes to her aid, as does her son Gordie, a deputy sheriff, but son of a mob guy as well. The man on the balcony says he was looking for his cat. But was he?

So there you have it, our heroine is into trouble way over her head. Naturally the mob has no intention of letting her walk away, in fact her fiancé turns out to be a real nasty piece of work. Then there is the guy on the balcony, FBI agent Luke Rand who is undercover and really there to bug her temporary home. And lets not forget that serial killer who had chased her on the beach. Oh yes, young Christy is in a whole heck of a lot of trouble. Trouble with a capital T.

Review submitted by Captain Katie Osborne

Rating:
Summary: Not good
Review: I was disappointed after I'd finished reading this book. If you've read Karen Robards' previous work, you'll understand why. The plot was hardly credible and far fetched. It was funny at times and that's why I made myself finish reading it.

Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time and $$
Review: I'm so disappointed with this book. It started out great, just like any other Karen Robards novel, but this one had a disappointing ending. I had to check and make sure it was really written by Ms. Karen Robards. And all I could say was, "What the heck was that??" I can't believe I stayed up til 2 a.m. just to get to the end of the book just to be disappointed. A total waste of time and money. ( and lost sleep)

Rating:
Summary: romantic suspense in North Carolina's Outer Banks
Review: Karen Robards newest romantic suspense novel is set in North Carolina's Outer Banks. Christy Petrino is from a family connected to the mob looking to leave that life far behind. She goes to law school with plans to work in a legitimate law firm. She gets a job with a childhood friend's firm, a firm she thought was legitimate. She thought wrong. To untangle herself from the firm and her friend (now fiancée), she must deliver a briefcase to a motel on Oracoke Island. Terror awaits her in the Outer Banks. There is a serial killer loose stalking victims resembling Christy. Enter FBI agent Luke Rand. He has Christy surveillance because of her connection to the DePalma crime family.

As with most novels of this genre, you have to suspend belief to enjoy the book. Most the plot is pretty farfetched. The things that make it enjoyable are the feisty primary characters and their chemistry. The action is fairly fast-paced so the story moves along.

Rating:
Summary: Slizzling Romantic Suspense
Review: Ms. Robards is at the top of her game with her latest novel packed with a touch of humor, plenty of steamy romance, and eerie suspense. Philadelphia attorney Christy Petrino is hoping to get some semblance of normality back into her life after she learns that her former fiancé Michael, head of her law firm, is using his business as a front to lauder mob money. With a promise to mobster Uncle Vince to make a delivery of a briefcase at Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, Christy hopes to free herself and her mother and sisters from the mob's undue influence.

Poor Christy soon realizes that not only is the mob after her, but a serial killer wants her dead after she sees his latest victim along the beach shortly before the killer slits the victim's throat. With the help of buff beach neighbor Luke Rand (who is secretly an FBI agent), Christy manages to escape the deadly clutches of the killer in several pulse-pounding episodes. Feeling guilty for using Christy as bait to snare Michael, Luke tries to avoid his attraction to her while attempting to get along with his fellow agent and polar opposite, nerdy Gary.

Christy's assertion that someone is watching her is never ending as she feels that she can't even trust the local sheriff to protect her. Feeling safe only in Luke's arms, the two embark on a sizzling affair that threatens to go bust when she discovers his true identity. Fast-paced thrills and chills with sensual romance will keep readers glued to the pages, despite Luke's endless assertions that he can't understand why other bikini clad women don't attract him as Christy does.

Rating:
Summary: Who wears the white hat?
Review: Robards' new romantic suspense, "Beachcomber" is a convoluted narrative that confuses the good guys and the bad guys. Christy Petrino is in trouble. Her fiancé turned out to be a mob kingpin and someone is stalking her. On top of that there is a seriel killer out there and he has set his sites on Christy. Humor is mingled with the intrigue in Karen Robards' top-of-the-charts latest novel. Buying a Karen Robards book is always a sure bet to be a great read.
Beverly J Scott author of Righteous Revenge, Ruth Fever and Jena's Choice.

Rating:
Summary: Beachcomber Is Not A Beach Read - Very Disappointing!
Review: There was a time when I could pickup a novel by Karen Robards and, without perusing it, know that I could be assured of a terrific read. No more. The penultimate book I read by Ms. Robards, ("Island Flame"), was somewhat disappointing, but I remained a loyal fan. What's one mediocre novel after so many good ones? A friend gave me a copy of "Beachcomber" last week. Well, this novel is so far below the author's considerable talents that I am beginning to wonder if she has hit a major rough spot.

The plot and characters remind me of the satiric comedy film starring Michelle Pfeiffer, "Married To The Mob," (It came out about 10 years ago & is quite good), except this is not supposed to be either satire or comedy. The characters are caricatures. Our heroine, Christy Petrino, has been raised in south Jersey, in a neighborhood inhabited by the mafia...mob...organized bad guys. Her deceased father was a minor mobster. So is her mother's boyfriend, Uncle Vince, and most of their friends and associates. Wanting to get away from all these friendly family criminals, Christy studies law and when she passes the bar, she gets a terrific job with DePalma and Lowery, a top Philadelphia law firm. She and Michael DePalma, (her boss), fall in love, become engaged and then she discovers he is a "made man." Oh, and the firm is also a mob cover. Such a smart girl...what a coincidence! So she quits her job and breaks off with Michael, who she thinks might kill her for "knowing too much." Ahhh, trust and love! This lady is not too on the ball! Anyway, Christy goes off to vacation on Ocracoke Island, the Outer Banks, to get away from it all. The cottage on the island where she stays belongs to, you guessed it, her mobster relatives. And her next door neighbors - more of same. Her Uncle Vince has assured her that she will be safe from DePalma and associates if she only does them one little favor. She is to drop off a briefcase, contents unknown, to an island motel. She agrees, and after doing the deed comes upon a gruesome murder - which appears to be one of many. A serial killer is on the loose and is aware she might be a witness to the crime. By the way, there's a big, hunky surfer dude next door to her cottage, who just happens to be an FBI agent monitoring her every move - so he can catch the recipient of the briefcase and Michale DePalma. He gets to watch her live her life through a hidden camera. What a way to get one's kicks!

This romanric thriller is all too predictable from the start. The characters are one dimensional. The dialogue is too funny, at times, to be taken seriously. I didn't feel any real heat or chemistry between Mr. FBI or Christy...but maybe I was too bored by the time they met.

I don't mean to be harsh. Ms. Robards has supplied me with hours of entertainment and reading pleasure over the years. However, I will be more careful now when buying her books. If anyone wants to read Robards at her best, try "Dark of the Moon," "Tiger's Eye," "Hunter's Moon," etc.. There are so many good ones. This is not one of them.
JANA

Rating:
Summary: Good, but--------
Review: This was a great story. Lots of humour. Luke scrambling to keep his cover secure & only digging himself deeper was great! Enter Marvin, the feline "catnap" victim used by Luke to explain his sneaking around in the middle of the night. Marvin had no desire to be a house cat, especially Luke's house cat since he actively disliked Luke. Luke's partner/roomate Gary was a closet chef who no one would suspect to be an FBI agent.

Christy is appalled at the dumb mistakes she's made which led to her hiding out on a small island practically being a bag man for the mob. Which is sort of where my problems with this book start.

Every year we spend two weekends on the tip of Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks. We've also spent quite a bit of time on Ocracoke Island. As this is protected seashore, development is limited to Ocracoke Village which has a year round population of about 600. It would be kind of hard to hide the amount of Mafia involvement that's in this book. The village is intentionally kept quaint since that is one of the main tourist draws. There is certainly no wrecking yard on the island or anything in the way of gaudy.

At one point Christy was worried about her car being pushed off a cliff. Since the island sits at or below sea level, there aren't anything remotely resembling cliffs, (for that matter in much of any place south of New York) unless you count the sand dunes which are about ten feet high if a hurricane hasn't been through recently.

One scene had the lead characters discussing "walking forty miles" to get out of the National Forest. The island is 15 miles long and less that a mile wide. Forty miles would put you somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. There is also no National Forest since the major vegetation is sea oats.

You can't see the ocean from the bottom of the Ocracoke lighthouse since that's one of the few places there ARE trees. There's definitely no snack bar.

I like Karen Robards books and enjoyed this one. If I wasn't familiar with the area I would have given it a five. But the inaccuracies and obvious lack of research was too hard to overlook. It didn't help that we'd just returned from there when I read this book.

That said, this book is still a keeper and I'll look forward to Ms. Robard's next.