Rating: 
Summary: Worth Reading, But The Ending Will Disappoint
Review: As an avid reader of anything by Julie Garwood, everything she writes automatically goes in my bookshelf of keepers. This book is no exception. While reading the first half of the book, I found myself staying up much later than I should just to read one more chapter... then one more... If you read as much as I do, you know how that goes. Usually that's the sign of an excellent book. In this case, however, as much as I enjoyed the first part of the book, the ending really disappointed me. After the excitement and build-up, I expected a grand conclusion, and it never happened. I couldn't believe Avery never confronted her mother. I couldn't believe I didn't get to see Jilly captured. Even now, two days after finishing the book, I'm still in disbelief over the ending. Mrs. Garwood was on a roll and then it seems she just lost steam or something. Despite the disappointment, however, I'd still recommend the book to anyone, because I believe that Julie Garwood at her worst is better than many writers at their best.
Rating:
Summary: A real page turner but missing an important element!!!
Review: The book is great! I couldn't but it down. I would have given it 5 stars except Garwood missed one important element..... She failed to allow Avery to come face to face with Jilly. Otherwise...an excellent book.
Rating: 
Summary: Julie Garwood's Form Has Slipped!!
Review: I am a longtime Julie Garwood fan, and never thought I would see the day when I would give one of her books a 1 Star rating. The day has come! I couldn't get past page 160, in "Killjoy," before I had to put the novel down. I am talking about 160 pages of the most boring prose I have ever read. I loved all Ms. Garwood's historical romances. I just don't think she has written anything original, worthwhile, or interesting since she began writing "contemporary romantic suspense fiction," (crsf).I read "Heartbreaker" when it first came out, and while not one of the best "crsf" books on the already glutted market, I did finish it, and even enjoyed some parts. I thought, this is a new effort for the author, and she will surely improve and attain her previous heights as a romance writer. I was disappointed with "Mercy." Certainly not much improvement there. I did purchase "Killjoy," because my loyal fan status dies hard, and I was ever the optimist. The characters in Killjoy are cardboard caricatures, not believable at all. The heroine, Avery Delaney is just too naive - too cutesy, to be as intelligent, creative, and brave as she is supposed to be. How did this woman ever get a job as a crime analyst with the FBI? Her mother, Jilly, the Bad Seed, is like a villain from a comic book - no redeeming traits. She isn't even gifted with the sly intelligence sometimes present in psychopaths. The hero is flatter than two day-old seltzer. Yes, he's handsome, (according to Ms. Garwood), but has little else going for him. The plot is trite. There is nothing new here. The evil ones are not even scary! And the dialogue, especially between hero and heroine, is inane, to say the least. I think this is the last time I will spend my money on a Julie Garwood book, at least not while she is in a slump. It's a shame! I write this review with no great satisfaction. I only hope to save fellow customers some time and money.
Rating:
Summary: How does this tripe get published?
Review: This is my second and last novel by Garwood. When I read Mercy, I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, and figured it was just not her best. Killjoy was even worst. The writing is all passive, more telling than showing. This author has the oddest way of circumventing her own suspense by undercutting the action. She rarely follows through on the action scenes; instead, she tells the reader about it. The dialogue is laughable and the villians more silly than menacing. Avery (the heroine) is the only decent character in the mix, but she can't come close to saving this book from the trash heap.
Rating: 
Summary: GREAT READ!
Review: I read alot of mystery with a touch of romance and I loved this book I was completely shocked by all the people who ended up being the bad guys and I loved the story with Avery and JohnPaul they were great! I just want more!
Rating:
Summary: "Killjoy" would make a good action movie
Review: Between the explosions and one-liners and the butt-kicking heroine, I realized very soon while reading "Killjoy" why it seemed familiar: It's a classic summer action flick in a book form. That's not necessarily a bad thing. "Killjoy" is a nice ride, and you like most of the main characters, especially Avery Delaney, the wisecracking heroine. Vaguely-Cajun hunk John Paul Renard as the love interest/partner in justice was also just fine. My main problem is with the highly one-dimensional, sometimes terribly stereotypical supporting characters. From a convenience store clerk and his wife that screamed "Deliverance" to the cookie-cutter psychopathic mother (Jilly) who was a heck of a lot better at seducing criminal men than being a one herself, most of the characters besides our dynamic duo just didn't do much for me. I understand why Garwood resorted to a more stamped-out cast than usual. The plot is absolutely the star of this show -- even more than Avery and John Paul. But I still miss her rich supporting characters. Two other problems that I will not explain for the sake of not spoiling potential readers: I wanted to know what Anne's letter said.
I wanted more face-to-face interaction between Jilly and Avery. This book is great summer reading. It's certainly a bit short on the consuming romance classic Garwood fans normally expect, but if you like action-adventure stories too, that more than makes up for it.
Rating:
Summary: FELT SOMETHING MISSING
Review: I just finished listening to KILLJOY a few days ago. I liked the story, but I felt a bit cheated by the fact that Julie didn't bring Jilly (Mom) and Avery (Daughter) together in a more climatic ending between the two of them. I suppose I have either read or listened to so may of these books by Romance?Thriller authors that I feel a bit jaded at times. I can't say that I disliked the book, but I guess I felt something was mixing and not as climatic as I thought it should have been.
Rating:
Summary: Thriller to the end!
Review: Ms. Garwood has done a tremendous job jumping from historical romance to contemporary suspense romance. Garwood is a great writer and knows how to intrigue you from the very beginning. She does a great job of weaving her characters from one book into another. And she has the gift of letting humor be present in many situations throughout her stories. I love reading about the different characters from one book to another.
Killjoy is the third attempt in the contemporary arena. If you have not read Heartbreaker and Mercy, after reading Killjoy you will want to. It has more violence than Mercy or Heartbreaker but is thrilling to the very last page. I could not put this down until I had finished it.
The return of John Paul, Noah, and Monk was great! I can't wait to see if she will write anything with Noah in her next book. Way to go Garwood!
Rating:
Summary: Killjoy
Review: Great summer read. Could'nt put it down. It's nice to be able to tell the good guys from the bad. I went back to the book store and bought Heart breaker and Mercy both by the same author. Both great books.
Rating: 
Summary: Two Thirds of This Book Is Pretty Good
Review: After a slow, and unfortunately mandatory prologue, this novel becomes a fairly pleasurable quick read. I guess you could call it a "riller", a cross between a romance novel and a thriller. The main characters talk a great deal about how good they are at their respective jobs (big bad dude and beautiful FBI analyst). Neither prove their mettle in proportion to their boasting, although the heroine displays a couple of spurts of yoga-transcendental-meditation-mediated mental acuity. I've never read a romance novel, so I was surely surprised to note that a woman's lips could be swollen from kissing. And there is a lot of smooching; pages of it, with tongues reaching so deep that I suspect that livers were licked. Lastly, the ending was told in the style of a flashback reminiscent of the events, which was a somewhat disappointing departure from the style of the rest of the narrative.
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