Killjoy

Rating:
Summary: Fun, but Lacking Compared to Other Two Previous....
Review: This is the third installment following, 'Heartbreaker' and 'Mercy'. It was good and lots of fun, but seemed to be lacking somewhat in the excitement department. 'Mercy' was so fun and had depth, 'Killjoy' was a bit disapointing. It seemed to be rushed and 'missed the boat' so to speak.
The characters were okay, but I didn't feel attached to them in anyway and forgot about them as soon as I closed the cover when I finished.
I don't know what happened, but it didn't seem as though she had as much fun writing this one. I gave it four stars because the plot was unique and the dialog was great, it moved fast and kept me turning the pages. But if you're looking for another 'Mercy', this missed the mark.

Avery Delaney has grown up knowing she had it hard. Her mother abandoned her when she was three and left her to be raised by her grandmother and Aunt Carolyn. Things seemed to not be on her side when at the age of eleven she witnessed her grandmother's violent murder and she herself shot and left for dead.
Miraculously she survived, but not without the scars that are deep inside. Not able to leave the past behind, she grows into a beautiful woman unable to get close to anyone except her loving Aunt and makes her seek a career in law and order.

Her sharp mind enables her to secure a job as a crime analyst for the FBI. She soon needs this knowledge when her aunt contacts her to join her at a mountain spa retreat (after recieving the invitation from her soon-to-be-ex-husband)called the Utopia Spa in the Colorado wilderness for a vacation.
Avery arrives but Carolyn never arrived. She was taken to some isolated retreat on false pretenses by a handsome stranger and Avery cannot find her. In fact, NO one remembers her.
Panicking, she uses her wits to backtrack and scour the area with the help of another stranger who claims to have personal reasons for going after this man who has her aunt for that man is a hired assasin named Monk...
Can Avery stop a hired killer from murdering her only family she has left? Can she trust this stranger who demands to know about Carolyn and is trying to help her find Monk's hideout?

Lots of action scenes and some tense-filled moments, but could've been alot better in my opinion. The gunplay and running in the wilderness should've lasted longer. The romance betweem Avery and John Paul(the brother to Michelle from 'Mercy') should've been more drawn out and in depth, it just wasn't convincing.

Tracy Talley~@

Rating:
Summary: Convoluted
Review: I have been eagerly awaiting the release of this book because I fell in love with John Paul in Mercy and I was waiting with baited breath for his and Noah's stories to be told. After finishing this book while I vacation I felt....cheated, somehow.

This is the third in Julie Garwood's "FBI" series. It began with Heartbreaker, followed by Mercy and then Killjoy. It is the story of Avery Delaney and employee of the FBI and her extremely dysfunctional and "nuts" family. Jilly, her mother, who was thought to be dead has come back to get revenge against Carrie, the sister she has always hated and her daughter Avery. Jilly hooks up with the professional killer, Monk (Mercy) and persuades him to help her exact her revenge. John Paul has vowed to get Monk, one way or another for the attempted murder of his sister, Michelle (Mercy) and is on his trail. Avery and John Paul are racing the clock to save Carrie, Sarah Collins (the judge who put Jilly's lover behind bars) and Ann Trap (whose husband has paid Monk to kill her) from being blown up in a house that Monk was contracted to blow-up (yes the plot is a full one).

While I really liked both Avery and John Paul, the rest of the story just seemed to get in the way. Now, believe me, I like a good mystery/thriller as the next person and they don't have to have romance in it to keep me interested BUT if you are trying to sell it to me as a romance, please do not clutter up the story with chunks of sub-plots that are just way too long.

While admittedly, you may not notice the pace as much while reading it, I also purchased the unabridged audio, and to give you an idea of what I mean....John Paul is not even a fully used character until the 3rd disc...that's over two hours into the story!!

Whole chapters were devoted to Jilly and Monk and Avery's Aunt Carrie, Sarah Collins and Ann Trap. Basically, I spent the entire book being impatient. Once I really got into the story of John Paul and Avery trying to outwit Monk, the chapter would end I would have to slog through the entire next chapter of what Carrie was up to.

The characters were well written, but the pace and plot left something to be desired. I am still looking forward to Noah's story, but I will approach it with trepidation.

Rating:
Summary: Mercy better!
Review: This is the 3rd Garwood book and I liked Mercy the best so far. There were a lot of things I thought could have been done better -first, the character of Carrie - were we suppose to like her? I didn't. The end(the accomplice) - where did that come from? I have to say, I would read Garwood again, but this was not her best effort.

Rating:
Summary: I don't know what to say...
Review: I liked it. I didn't like it. After "Mercy" I felt kind of let down by this book. It seemed to just be written to have another book come out, if you know what I mean. I gave it three stars simply because I loved the part of the book when they were on the run in the forest. There was no depth to this book and it ended, it just ended. Blah.

Rating:
Summary: Her Best Yet!
Review: Killjoy is absolutely Ms. Garwood's best contemporary romance to date. This book was on par with Linda Howard and Nora Roberts who are two of my all time favorite authors. Now, I won't proceed to summarize the book, but I do want to say that I can't remember the last time I cared so much about 2 characters finally coming together as a couple. Avery's insecurities about her past were so touching and the way that John Paul handled them was beautifully done. I love how Ms. Garwood tied her previous book "Mercy" together with this one through family. As much as I love her historical romances, I hope that we have many more of her contemporary suspense/romances to look foward to.

Rating:
Summary: FABULOUS! FABULOUS! FABULOUS!
Review: Killjoy is awesome! A must read! I couldn't put it down! Should read Heartbreaker, then Mercy before Killjoy. Julie Garwood is an excellent author. Can't wait for her next book!

Rating:
Summary: This book is a killjoy
Review: As a longtime Julie Garwood fan, I buy her books as soon as they are available. I wish I'd saved my money this time. This book was a total disappointment. The story rambled, the characters were so boring I was cheering the hitman on instead of the hero and heroine. Everyone has a miss now and again, this was Garwood's. She was so caught up in the elaborate plot and subplot she completely lost her way and her reader. My advice to readers, if you want to read it, borrow from a friend or the library, don't waste your money.

Rating:
Summary: A WASTE OF TIME ...
Review: SLOW START & KEPT GOING DOWNHILL ...No romance, little suspense and not worth reading unless you like crazy, violent people... a sociopath, hit man, etc. I am a fan of Ms. Garwood's wonderful historical romances and really feel disappointed in her current switch to violence. Previous characters were introduced to try to save the lack of plot... it didn't work. Don't waste your money ... read it from the library if you must ...

Rating:
Summary: Oh, brother ...
Review: This was the most disjointed book I've ever read. Cardboard, almost caroonlike, characters. No real humor, lots of repitition ("oh, brother" and "suck it up") and very little suspense. It did have a great cover, though.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: I absolutly loved this book. I have read Heartbreaker, Mercy and now Killjoy, and have to say they get better all the time. I love the returning characters and from the moment I read Heartbreaker I have hoped Ms Garwood would write a book around Noah. Worth reading!!