Eleventh Hour

Rating:
Summary: The absolute worst
Review: I've never read anything this bad, ever! This was the first time I read Coulter's work - can't believe why anyone would be interested, what with the poor plot and the artificial conversation.

Rating:
Summary: Not her best, wait for paperback edition then buy it.
Review: I've read most of Catherine Coulter's books and have recognised her style/formula in each book. Her plots are great. She knows how to do write twists and turns to keep the readers interested despite the sometimes wooden dialogue, uneven character development and stretches of the imagination. Yes, I know that this is a novel and artistic liberties are taken to keep the plot moving but Nick, the civilian homeless heroine, is brought to almost every interview and meeting between FBI agents and witnesses. At times, Nick is portrayed as interesting, educated and brave while at other times as a witless idiot (e.g., her own contribution to one meeting was a comment on the bodyguard's hair color). I much perferred "The Maze", "The Cove" or "The Target" over "Eleventh Hour".

Rating:
Summary: Fun Beach Read
Review: In San Francisco Father Michael Joseph Carver is viciously murdered while taking confession. His twin brother, FBI Special Agent Dane Carver is working alongside local police to find his killer. Their star witness is a young homeless woman named "Nick" who the killer doesn't realize exists. Dane Carver convinces the local police to take her into protective custody as they work together to track down the killer. Soon a serial killer emerges, one who uses the scripts of a popular television show as the basis for his actions. It is not long before the killer realizes that the police have a witness in protective custody. Dane calls in his friends and fellow FBI agents, Dillon and Sherlock Savitch to assist him in keeping Nick alive and finding the killer. They must protect her until the case is solved, but can they save her from her own past which threatens to disrupt their efforts and leave all of them for dead?

ELEVENTH HOUR is filled with action, danger and heavy-duty romance. The characters are genuine, the plot is played out nicely, and the loose ends are neatly wrapped up at the end. Coulter creates wonderful chemistry between protagonists Dane and Nick, and she successfully intertwines multiple storylines while keeping the reader guessing until the very end. As much as I love her writing, I found some of the actions and dialogue downright silly, and the romantic scenes were definitely more realistic than some of the procedural/action scenes! If you are a die-hard mystery buff, then stay away...but if you enjoy a good dose of steamy romance with a sprinkling of suspense, then this may be a good choice for you.

This is my first Coulter book, and although it didn't quite hit the five-star mark for me, I wouldn't hesitate to purchase another.

P.S. My favorite character is Sherlock. She's very cool.

Rating:
Summary: No more Coulter for me
Review: Is someone else writing under Coulter's name? I've given her last couple of books a read just because her name is on it, but no more. Eleventh Hour was no fun to read. The dialogue was choppy, the characters were .... They deserved to be bested by the bad guy. If you miss Savich and Sherlock, re-read The Maze.

Rating:
Summary: exciting, enthralling and totally mesmerizing thriller
Review: It's midnight in San Francisco and Father Michael Joseph is in his church to hear confession from a man who killed twice and intends to go on killing. Father Michael plans to inform the police because he feels the killer is not truly repentant, but only confessing to brag about his murders. When the culprit realizes what the priest intends to do, he kills Father Michael, not realizing there was a witness in the church who saw what happened.

FBI special Agent Dane Carver flies to San Francisco to find out what the police know about the killing of his identical twin. While there he meets the witness Nick Jones, a woman posing as a homeless person because she fears somebody is trying to kill her. Dane sticks to Nick like she is the magnet and he is steel. The case takes a bizarre twist. The killer has patterned the murders out of the episodes of a new television program so they reason he must be somebody connected to the show, a wild bunch of characters capable of anything.

Readers of Catherine Coulter's suspense thrillers will be pleased to know that FBI agents Savitch and Sherlock play a key role in the ELEVENTH HOUR. The story line is vintage Coulter: exciting, enthralling and totally mesmerizing. The burgeoning relationship between Dane and Nick is cleverly interwoven into the fast paced and utterly absorbing plot. This novel is heading straight for the New York Times bestseller list.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Eleventh Hour: Reviewed by Alison Burke
Review: It's midnight, and Father Michael Joseph waits apprehensively for the man whose confession he has agreed, with trepidation, to hear. His decision to keep this appointment in the hollow darkness of St. Bartholomew's proves fatal. Fully aware of his vulnerability, he is yet determined to turn in the man he tried in vain to help. This penitent is a serial killer. Once he learns of Father Joseph's plan to reveal his crimes, he places a bullet squarely in the priest's forehead and slips out of the church.

Catherine Coulter is well-known to bestseller lists nationwide. She has authored fifty novels, thirty-eight of them New York Times bestsellers. It was later in her career that she ventured from historical romance into FBI fiction, with continued dollar success. Eleventh Hour follows Hemlock, 2001, and builds on a six-book series which features the fiery FBI husband and wife team, Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock.

The horror of this particular crime and the people it injures form the emotional pull of the novel's major story line. The FBI agent who helps investigate the serial killings is Father Joseph's twin brother, Special Agent Dane Carver, a new Coulter character. Carver's love for his brother creates a balancing act of grief and professional drive as he assists in local and federal efforts to locate and identify the killer. Savich is his boss, chief of Criminal Apprehension at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C., and the two hit the road to San Francisco to work with local police in the search.

Complicating the story is the introduction of a young homeless woman, Nicola 'Jones', whose origins are a mystery. She is the sole witness to the midnight murder, and eventually comes forward to the police. It turns out early in the book that Nicola is running from her own past. Her fear for her life stops her from revealing her true identity to the police. To prevent her from fleeing, and to shield her from the serial killer and her other pursuers, Carver takes her into protective custody. Ultimately the two develop an intimate attachment, in part fueled by their mutual affection for Father Joseph.

While the search for the serial killer unfolds and reveals the killer's connection with a Hollywood television studio and its popular primetime drama, the reader is gradually allowed glimpses of Nicola's past. The homeless woman proves to be hiding a colorful and impressive résumé, with academic degrees and links to political luminaries.

Eleventh Hour is skillfully plotted with multiple twists and turns and a myriad of suspects. Those who enjoy an action thriller with particular attention to the relationships between the characters will enjoy the book more than those seeking an FBI procedural read. Furthermore, the opening scene in cavernous St. Bartholomew's is somewhat misleading. Its gruesome psychological nature is not matched throughout the novel with an equally sinister atmosphere. Coulter's writing is direct and minimally descriptive, with simply sketched characters, dialogue, and settings. Eleventh Hour is a quick and entertaining read which certainly elicits sympathy for the primary murder victim and the people who want to catch his killer.

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous beginning
Review: Midnight in a Catholic church, a woman is sitting in the shadows of the large sanctuary when she sees a dark-haired man enter to confess his sins to the waiting priest. After a muffled exchange with the kindly father, the "confessor" pulls a gun and kills the priest. The woman slumps deeper into the shadows so she's not detected by the killer. Wow! The priest even has an identical twin brother in law enforcement who helps find the perpetrator. I couldn't wait for the next chapter, and the next. Then the story drizzled down to trite, silly, and shallow. Too bad, it had so much promise.

Rating:
Summary: choice book
Review: My choice was "The 11th Hour" which was written by Catherine Couler. This book was so exciting and suspensful. From the beginning to the end it had me hooked. I really liked how it started out with the eyewitness "Nick" seeing the murder of Father Michael Joseph. That part was so intense because the guy who killed him was telling him about two other people he had already killed and then the priest wouldn't forgive him so the murderer shot the priest. From right then to the end, I knew it was going to be good and that I'd like it. The main guy Dane who was the twin brother of Father Michael Joseph. He was a very smart man and always knew what to do. He teamed up with Delion, a local cop to help solve the murder. Another great part was when they were at Father Michael Joseph's funeral because Dave gave such a good speech for his brother and the biggest surprise was when there was a shot fired at Nick. I was so surprised someone tried to shoot at Nick at the funeral. Another great thing about the book was Nick and how she had such mystery to her throughout the book. She was homeless, but very smart and she didn't want anyone to know about her either. That just made the story more interesting. Another cool thing is how they went investigating. Like, how they found out the killer was copying a TV show. The thing was though, that they're had only been two episodes so Dane and Delion thought he worked with the studio. One more cool investigation was when they questioned the man who shot at the funeral. They found out it wasn't the main guy but someone who was hired. When they questioned him it was very intese because the shooter's story was so good. Well, there were many other great parts to this book but I thought the best thing about this book was how it was so visable. I didn't really think there was a theme to this story because it was just a mystery/murder type thing. I recommend this to anyone who likes action and mystery.

Rating:
Summary: Enthralling Suspense
Review: Readers familiar with Ms. Coulter's FBI couple, Savich and Sherlock, will be pleased, as the husband and wife team makes a reappearance in this cleverly scripted novel. When Father Michael Joseph is found murdered at his confessional in San Francisco, his identical twin brother, FBI agent Dane Carver, wants some answers. With the help of a homeless woman, Nick Jones, and Inspector Delion, of the San Francisco P.D., Dane searches for a killer, who, apparently confessed his murderous sins to the deceased priest. When Nick discovers that the killer is parroting a television show, THE CONSULTANT, the Feds entangle themselves in the investigation, complete with car chases and nerdy TV. studio execs.

The complexity of this read is enhanced by the underlying mystery surrounding the true identity of Nick Jones, the well-spoken "homeless" woman who is obviously running away from someone or something. Is she a target because she witnessed Father Michael Joseph's murder or because the someone she is running from is out to kill her? Dane seeks answers as he keeps Nick by his side, and sparks fly between the two.

Dual compelling mysteries enhance the anticipation in this creative version of a who-done -it. The slight disappointment near the novel's conclusion occurs with the completely separate resolution of the two intertwined tales. Fans of Ms. Coulter's Savich and Sherlock series will be captivated, and readers new to this series will likely be intrigued as well...

Rating:
Summary: Murder in the Confessional, No Absolution
Review: San Francisco, Father Michael is listening to the third confession of a killer and he can't take it anymore. He tells the killer he's going to have to go to his bishop. The killer shots through the confessional grate, killing the priest, then flees, but is seen by a young homeless woman, Nicola Jones.

Washington, Agent Dane Carver learns of his twin brother's death in California and that an anonymous woman had called in to report the murder. Carver goes west to investigate.

Back in San Francisco, Nicola finally goes to the police, but she is running from her own past and is afraid to tell them who she really is. Carver offers her protection, romance happens. Nic figures out the murders are following the script of a TV program and the search for the serial killer turns toward a Hollywood television studio and its popular primetime drama.

This book has murder, mystery, romance, a fast paced plot and a serial killer, which all add up to give it five stars.

Reviewed by Vesta Irene