Just Before Sunrise

Rating:
Summary: I Am Not Impressed!
Review: Annie Payne lost her father when she was just a baby, her mother when she was sixteen, and her beloved grandmother, an artist, the year before. But she had a wonderful job, as the director of a small maritime museum, the home she grew up in - a cottage on the beautiful Maine coast, her friends and her close companion, Otto, a friendly rottweiler, (not an oxymoron) - so she was happy. Then a nor'easter blew in and swept her home into the sea. That's when she packed her bags, and Otto, into her rusting station wagon and drove cross-country to begin her life anew in San Franciscio - and to realize her dream to open an art gallery.

Mission accomplished in a relatively short time, Annie accepted a commission from one of her gallery's first visitors, an eccentric older woman, who happens to be an extremely talented artist. She asked Annie to represent her at an auction and bid, to win, on a painting. Enthused at the idea of one day exhibiting this painter's work, Annie accepts and finds herself neck deep in a five year-old double murder mystery, involving San Francisco's society elite.

This is the first book I have read by Carla Neggers. I was attracted to the author when I saw one of her book titles on Amazon.com and read glowing reviews. I picked up this novel expecting to be wowed (!) and instead found myself disappointed. Now, "Just Before Sunrise" is not a bad book. I did find it boring, however - and I am rarely bored. I think the story, and the way it is told, is repetitous. Annie keeps going back and forth between her elderly patron, Sarah, the love interest and hero, Gavin, and to everyone else who is remotely involved with the auctioned painting. All the conversations are similar and they are all about the same subject. There's not much substance to the romance or to the mystery - which I figured out about 100 pages into the story. And the characters are not very exciting or original- except for Otto. So, I can't figure out what all the excitement is about. I will probably read another novel by Ms. Neggers someday. I don't give up easily, especially when it seems like she has such loyal fans.
JANA

Rating:
Summary: My sentiments exactly
Review: This is a great story. I will not go into my synopsis as the other two reviewers before me did a terrific job at it. I enjoyed the chemistry between Annie and Garvin. I was completely shocked to find out who the real killer was as usually I can figure it out before it's disclosed. My guesses were wrong. This was my second Carla Neggers book, my first was Kiss the Moon, another good story. I will definitely read more of her, a terrific writer.

Rating:
Summary: Impossible to but down!
Review: Very Highly Recommended - After the death of her beloved Grandmother, and a storm that swept her Maine home into the sea, Annie Payne packed her car with a few remaining possessions, Otto, a mild-mannered rottweiler, and headed for San Francisco. Using the last of the insurance money, she opens an art gallery in a converted Victorian. Carrying an eclectic mix of art and crafts, the shop reflects its owner: warm, inviting, and all together too trusting. It is precisely this attribute that embroils Annie in a five-year-old double murder when she agrees to bid on a painting at an auction. When the portrait turns-out to be that of the murdered woman, and the man who bids against her, the widower, Annie knows she's in way over her head. Yet loyalty to the old lady who hired her to buy the painting runs deep. Annie is not one to cut and run at the first signs of trouble, but trouble, named Gavin MacCrae, soon comes knocking at her door.Despite the brutal death of his wife, Gavin forged ahead with his life, leaving his former job to open a marina. If not happy, he is at least content -- until he meets Annie. Old memories begin to surface as do people from his past. Annie's fierce loyalty and tenacious determination to solve the double murder anger and intrigue him. She brings him back to life with her youthful exuberance, and awakens a seething passion only she can tame.The attraction between Annie and Gavin sizzles as they desperately attempt to find the murderer before he makes another attack. From the social art scene in San Francisco to the picturesque waterfront of Marin County, Just Before Sunrise weaves a classic mystery of romance and intrigue.Carla Neggers knows the secret to good writing. She introduces her characters with finesse and understandings, letting the reader discover their idiosyncrasies and quirks. Before we know it they worm their way into our hearts. Ms. Neggers masters the art of storytelling. Plotting is her specialty. A book with her name on the cover assures an excellent read.Kathee S. Car

Rating:
Summary: Anni moves to California to start over and finds love&danger
Review: When a coastal storm washed away Annie Payne's home, she is left with nothing but her grandmother's painting and her rottweiller. Deciding to start anew, Annie heads to San Francisco where she opens up an art gallery. Annie has no concept of what she has agreed to when she accepts a commission to bid on a painting by a reclusive artist named Sarah at the Linwood estate. When she arrives at the auction, she finds herself in a bidding war with Gavin McRae, the widower of the model in the portrait. Annie later learns that Gavin's wife and grandfather were both murdered in the same room only a day apart five years ago. The two people who may have the answers and the motivation for the crime, Sarah and her shady boy friend, Vic, vanished into thin air. Now Sarah and Vic have re-surfaced and Gavin is following Annie because he hopes to find the missing couple and because he cares for her. Annie is torn between her feelings towards Gavin and her need to protect Sarah. However, she cannot help but being thrust into a maelstrom of danger that could cost Annie her life. Carla Neggers' brand of New England charm and humor would normally be out of place in the Bay area, but the writer's talent manages to enhance the tale with its uniqueness and freshness. JUST BEFORE SUNRISE is an exciting romantic suspense that sizzles with passion and a complex story line that turns the novel into another Neggers' winner.