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Summary: Catherine Coulter's "Eleventh Hour": Duty or Deadline?
Review: Speaking as a fan of Catherine Coulter's previous detective novels, I am disappointed in this product. I wish I didn't feel compelled to refer to it as such, but the "Eleventh Hour" seems indeed to be a book that was written for commerce, and at the last moment to appease an editor. As with Iris Johanson's recent books, we have another writer with a fine imagination who has left her work poorly crafted. It might have been an acceptable first draft, but in truth, I feel even that is being kind.
Rating: 
Summary: Coulter has genre issues
Review: Synop: Special Agent Dane Carver is the focus of this book in Catherine Coulter's FBI series. He is a newcomer to Dillon Savich's elite FBI group. Carver's twin is killed while listening to a killer's confession. Unknown to the killer, there is a witness...a "homeless" woman running from her own problems. With a few twists and turns Carver gets justice for his brother and saves the girl.Critique:
I am a huge fan of novels that focus on the FBI, CIA, police departments etc. Catherine Coulter is very well known for her success in romance. THIS IS NOT A ROMANCE!!! Coulter is trying her best to make this series detective fiction and really the byplay between the main male and female characters are to satisfy her loyal romance readers. If you go into a bookstore this book and the rest in the series will be in Mystery NOT Romance.
Coulter's dialogue in this novel is stilted in quite a few places and the "romance" between Carver and "Nick" is almost contrived and really doesn't work well with the story. The characters are well done and the plot flows nicely, even if it is predictable.
Honestly, if Coulter would make these books into the "romance" mold or stick with the pure "mystery" mold this series would be a lot better. It's not a bad story. I would recommend it to anyone looking to pass the time with an uncomplicated, quick read.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Disappointing Book!
Review: The dialogue in this amateurish attempt at a crime thriller is laughable. The characters are flat, the plot predictable, and the dialogue is perfectly tedious. Ms. Coulter's expertise is in historical romance, not in this genre. I would like to ask for my money back on this (audio edition) because it was so horrible. If you want to roll your eyes a lot, check it out from the library. Save your money.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: There are inconsistencies in the plot, the characters are cardboard cut outs and the dialogue does not ring true constantly pulling the reader from the story. I will not say this was the worst book I've read, but it was close.
I will remember this authors name only to avoid her future work.
Rating:
Summary: Worse than I thought ...
Review: There were inconsistencies in the plot that I found really annoying, the characters had no real rapport -- I was really disappointed.
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Summary: Wasted potential
Review: This author is one that I have tried to remember to avoid, but from time to time I try her again. This story line could have been very effective, but I felt it feel far short. You have trained professionals from the FBI and a woman with a Ph.D engaging in dialogue that sounds like it was written by a teenager and inconsistencies in details that I found very annoying. If the target audience of this book was the under-21 crowd, I suppose it would be passable. I don't believe I will try this author again.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable, fast read
Review: This book will appeal more to readers who treasure ongoing characters and like to get emotionally involved with them. If you're the kind of reader who cannot wait for the next book so that you can see what's happening in their lives, then this one is for you. You'll catch up a bit with Savich and Sherlock and be introduced to a new pair of interesting characters. Those who like complex plotting might not give 5 stars, but they won't be left out, either. There are two ongoing plots here, both of which come to satisfying conclusions. This is a great book for a long flight or a rainy weekend.
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Summary: Two for the Price of One
Review: This is a fast moving, well plotted story with two two interrelated mysteries to solve.Father Michael Carver is murdered in his confessional in S.F. and the only witness is Nick Jones, a homeless woman on the run and with a desire to keep her past a secret. Father Michael's twin brother Dane,an FBI agent, of course devasted by the news of his brother's death,immediately rushes to SF from DC and unofficially joins the murder investigation being conducted by the local police.Dillon and Sherlock Savich, Dane's FBI compatriots, soon become involved when evidence of a serial killer develops.(While this is the first book by Coulter that I have read, it is clear that these are characters who have previously appeared in her series of FBI mysteries and readers of those books may be glad to become reacquainted with them.)
This is not an FBI procedural, but rather an action story (potential TV movie) with multiple plot twists and a plethora of suspects.The ingenious device of the murders mimicing a recent TV series adds further complications to the police investigation, as does the unknown relationship of the current events to Nick's past. And, as could be guessed, romance also manages to blossom as Dane and Nick become attracted to each other as they try to stay alive and solve the mysteries they both confront.
I was one for two, as I was kept guessing until the conclusion as to Father Michael's killer but did unravel the clues regarding Nick's real opponent.This had the advantage of being a fast read but still having a complicated plot and good character development. I definitely plan to read another one of the series both for enjoyment and in order see whether the author is simply a formulaic writer or sufficiently varies her stories to keep my interest.
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Summary: No More! Find a new Genre!
Review: This is my first book by this author, and I have to say that I am quite disappointed. The only reason I labored through it was to learn what not do in my own writing. Filled with cliches, whimsical writing, flat characters, a boring predictable plot, redundancies, unclear motives, silly descriptions, useless information that doesn't add to character development, what appears to be a lack of knowledge of FBI and police procedure (they couldn't act so stupid), forced and childish dialogue, unrealistic situations, unrealistic character relationships, choppiness, inconsistencies ... This books is a parody of a well-written story. I am glad I borrowed it from the library and didn't purchase it. I can back up all of the things I have said above with multiple examples... and I think the worst two things were the forced and ridiculous dialogue which didn't help with characterization at all and the lack of motivation for both good and bad guys. As I said, this is a perfect text to show a new writer what not to do.
Rating:
Summary: GoldMine
Review: This is my first Catherine Coulter book I have ever read. I have to say I love this book. The storyline was very well-written having Dane Carver's brother killed who happens to be a priest and trying to find killer with the help of Nicola was awesome. The plot was suspenseful full of twists and turns. and I believe you will enjoy this book.
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