Killjoy

Rating:
Summary: KILLJOY
Review: KILLJOY is a real treat! It's one of those "Can't put down" reads. Julie Garwood is right on the money with this one! It's one of the best romantic suspense thrillers I've read and you won't believe the plot twists.

Avery is a strong, smart and warm heroine who can hold her own againt John Paul, the hero. Remember him? He was Dr. Mike's mysterious brother in MERCY. He is one [good looking] man and Avery is a perfect match for him.

Noah is back as well. Can't wait till Julie tells Noah's story. And Monk. I don't know who's more evil...Monk or Jilly, Avery's wicked mother.

If you want an exciting, suspensful read that has wonderful humor, pick up KILLJOY.

Rating:
Summary: Killjoy is anything but...
Review: In Julie Garwood's newest suspense filled romance novel, we find ourselves introduced to some new and interesting characters along with some old familiar ones. We start out with Avery Delaney who is an Analyst for the FBI. She is what you might call a problem solver. She was raised by her aunt Carrie and her grandmother who died when she was eleven. Her mother (I should use the term loosely), is a sociopath who abandoned her at birth. Her aunt Carrie made sure she new how to protect herself and also, more importantly, that she new the truth about her mother.

Now years later, she finds herself on a rollercoster ride trying to save her aunt from a hired killer named Monk, who we have met before in Ms. Garwood's previous book Mercy. Avery isn't alone in her frantic search. John Paul Renard joins her quest. We were introduced to him in Mercy as well. John Paul has been searching for Monk every since Monk tried to kill his sister, Michelle (aka Mike). Now he has tracked him down to a spa called Utopia in Colorado where Monk has kidnapped three women, one of whom is Avery's aunt Carrie. They are joined later by one of my favorite characters from both Heartbreaker and Mercy, Noah Clayborne. (As a side note, I really can't wait until she features him in a novel!!)

Anyway, I only gave the book four stars because it did start out a bit slow, but as always, when I finish a Julie Garwood book, I'm begging for more!

If you haven't read any of Ms. Garwood's books before, I recommend at least trying Heartbreaker and Mercy. I pretty confident you won't be heartbroken!

Rating:
Summary: A disappointment
Review: This continuation of Julie Garwood's exciting and well-written 'Mercy' was a lackluster disappointment. It almost felt like it had been written by another person!

Where its predecessor, 'Mercy,' made Monk an intriguing villain, 'Killjoy' turned him into a buffoon. The protagonists had few likeable moments, and while I had hoped John Paul Renard's character would be given more depth now that he was the hero of the story, there was hardly any development. Perhaps that was what was what was so unappealing about this novel - everyone, whether they were supposed to be on the side of right or wrong, came off as immensely shallow, and the traumas that were meant to endear them to the reader felt sorely contrived.

Also, too often the action of the story was told in past-tense summation. Escapes, explosions - some moments that could have been tense, page-turners were half-heartedly skimmed over in ho-hum narrative. The end result was more deflating and tedious than thrilling.

Julie Garwood's prior work is much more entertaining than this selection.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but not Garwood Great
Review: Like many other reviewers on here, I've been a long time fan of Ms. Garwood. Her historical romances are fun, warm, and loving. Once you read "The Secret" or "The Bride," you don't forget the characters.

Over the past three years, Ms. Garwood has gone away from this genre, and into suspence-romance. At first, I was excited. One of my favorite authors was branching out to find a larger audience. However, I bought her first novel "Heartbreaker" and was greatly disappointed. I wasn't going to give up on her though. I bought "Mercy" and thought, this was a little better. Finally, there's "Killjoy."

"Killjoy" is really a story about the heroine's mother, Jilly. This book should have been titled "Jilly's Revenge." The time and effort spent to her was vast, compared to that of the hero in the book. John Paul, who we first met in "Mercy," was not given fair justice in this book. His military background was not explained fully. We understand what initially drove him to move back home, but we don't understand why it took that last assignment to do so. Also, it is unclear how this individual "loner" guy falls in love with someone very opposite of himself.

Overall, "Killjoy" is an okay novel. It isn't the great Ms. Garwood we've had in the past. If you are just getting into Ms. Garwood, I would recommend her earlier work first. Start with "The Secret" and skip these contemporary novels.

Rating:
Summary: Five Enthusiastic Stars!
Review: This book was absolutely fantastic. Garwood has moved from historical romance to romantic suspense and finally I'm able to enjoy the transition. I have to admit I didn't like Heartbreaker or Mercy all that much, but Killjoy was amazing. The suspence never quit and the story was masterful.
It involves a woman named Avery Delaney who wasn't wanted by her mother when she was born and was given to her aunt and grandmother to be raised. The mother turns into a true sociopath, deciding that Carrie, the aunt, has to die along with Avery. All hell breaks loose and the ride is intense and masterful.
The romance between Avery and her sidekick John Paul is a secondary plot, not at all essential, but still enjoyable. We see an old character (Noah from Mercy) who is lots of fun and we can only hope that he will be featured in an upcoming book.
All in all, the story was great and the characters were intense. Way to go, Julie!

Rating:
Summary: couldn't put this book down
Review: I loved this book, it was a page turner and kept me wondering how it was going to end. I did like the little twist it had at the end when Jilly needed some extra help. The only problem I had was that I did not like the ending, it did leave me wondering what happend with Jilly and her extra help and why he had got invold. But over all it was just a great book.

Rating:
Summary: Not Up To Usual Standards
Review: Killjoy was, to say the least, a killjoy. I consider Julie Garwoods an excellent writer (though her historical romances seem to be a bit formulaic), but this story really let me down.

The beginning starts off incredibly slow. Garwood describes the childhood of the main character, Avery through her "young" eyes. Maybe it's just that I don't particularly like this style but I thought it was a bit too cheesy for my taste. The next chapter is pretty slow, too, as it talks about everything between Avery and her Aunt Carrie.

The storyline, though promising ends up lacking any real substance. The characters aren't given much depth- their actions don't mesh with what their personalities are supposed to be. Aunt Carrie was supposed to be as sweet as can be, but I found her character to be vulgar and not likeable at all. Avery seemed a bit too sweet for somebody working in the FBI, and she lacked the confidence I'd expect. I was disappointed that her third book was to be written about John Paul, as he wasn't described as a great person in the book Mercy. He wasn't very exciting, and it was hard to grasp the fact that he fell in love with her because she could stand up to him. As for the 'evil' characters, they were a bit laughable. Monk (from Mercy) is lovesick and seemingly weak. The story would have been more exciting if he had truly been a smooth operator instead of a guy drooling over a girl. As for Jilly... we're constantly bashed over the head with how 'evil' she is. She is described as evil and vicious, but her behavior doesn't seem to match that so well.

All in all, I didn't find this book to be interesting. It lacked the usual warm humor in Garwood's other books, and the ending left many questions unanswered. The general plot is interesting, I just feel that Garwood could have done more to really increase the danger and love elements. I just hope she writes a book about Noah Clayborne soon!

Rating:
Summary: Full of Suspense, Romance and Laughs
Review: This is a great story that I am sure you will enjoy. Keep in mind that there is some character cross over from a previous book of Ms. Garwood's (Mercy), but even if you haven't read it you will still be able to follow along easily.

This was a tough novel to put down. It kept me on the edge of my seat trying to guess what would happen next in the saga of Avery and John-Paul, as well as Aunt Carolyn and Monk. This isn't a traditional romance, nor a traditional suspense novel which made it a wonderfully quick and entertaining read. The characters could easily be real life, and the comic relief that was scattered throughout the book was delightful. This is one that I feel just about anyone would enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Getting Closer
Review: I have long been a fan of Julie Garwood's work, having first fallen in love with her historical novels. I admit to being disappointed when she switched to suspense romance though. Her newer books (Mercy, Heartbreaker) lack the sense of humor she had in the historical pieces. In fact, the humor was the reason I so enjoyed her books. For the first time Ms. Garwood has included that humor in her suspense novels.

I enjoyed Killjoy, though as with other reviewers I was disappointed also with the ending. After the huge build-up, the ending left a lot to be desired, the reader is just left hanging.

Avery Delaney is an FBI analyst. For a woman that is perceived to be so brilliant in the begining she really does fizzle when her own life is in danger. The hero, is fairly predictable. He like all heros is a loner with deep emotional scars. He is the typical macho man who saves the day.

The plot is complicated and the villian just too warped for words. Jilly, the supposedly dead mother of Avery has returned for revenge. She is delusional and apparently so beautiful that every man she ever meets falls hopelessly in love with her. Jilly concocts a complicated scheme to kill Avery and her aunt. Of course the plans to wrong and she and her accomplice struggle to find a way to kill them before being caught.

I found the dialog between Avery and John Paul witty and it reminded me of many of her earlier works. Hince the reference to the humor. This is the first of her contemporary novels that I have truely enjoyed and hope she continues to improve in this area.

Rating:
Summary: Cant Wait
Review: The people we fell in love with in Heartbreaker and Mercy are back in one of Julie's most suspenseful love stories "Killjoy". This book is overly entertaining and will definitely keep you flipping through constantly and falling in love at the same time.