Rating: 
Summary: If this is suspense, people are really dense
Review: This book sounded like a good suspense novel....I could tell the plot early in the book and even skiming it didn't lose anything. I was never so disappointed. I could tell the whole plot and it was wordy and so stayed.....I see no need to finish it because it's so transparent...... I quess I should stay away from romatic suspense.
Rating: 
Summary: FANTASTIC BOOK
Review: This book has the best dialogue between its characters. There is mystery, romance, and humor. I have read all of Julie Garwood's books and she just keeps getting better and better. Do not miss this one, it was a true pleasure to read it. I can't wait for Ms. Garwood's next book.
Rating: 
Summary: Readable? Yes. Memorable? No.
Review: I've been reading Julie Garwood since her early work in historical romance; marvelous books such as "The Bride," "Honor's Splendour," and "Saving Grace" captivated me and kept me reading for hours. Once done, I'd want to start again. Her pages were full of clever wit, suspensful intrigue, and beautiful romance, elements that Ms. Garwood's contemporary romances, including this latest one, seem to lack. Readable? Yes. Memorable? No.
Rating:
Summary: 3 Strikes and Garwood's out
Review: This book is a big time disappointment if you are a long time Garwood fan. It seems that Garwood has decided to go the way of so many of our other favorite character/couple writers. In this book (as in Mercy and Heartbreaker) the characters take a back seat to a under developed and somewhat boring plot. Garwood should stick to what she knows and write about intriguing couples. Couples such as Ian & Judith, Brodick & Gillian, Duncan & Madelyne stay with us long after the book is done. In her last three attempts at contemporary writing, Garwood has forgotten to impress us with the depth and feeling of beloved couples and dymanic characters. However, I don't think her charaters in contemporary settings would be so bad if they were not so flat. The focus needs to be put back on the 2 main characters of her novel and she should not introduce as many secondary characters. We only get one book a year from Garwood and it has been a shame to waste the last three years anticipating her novels to find out that she has abandoned what made her books lovable and her name famous.
Rating:
Summary: Tripe
Review: I bought this book because I had enjoyed Mercy, her earlier novel, involving some of the same characters. This book was very poorly written, as though Ms. Garwood had been under a great time pressure. Her dialogue was trite, the story development was simplistic, and the characters: the very bad (Jillie) and the very good (Avery) were not very well sketched. Overall, I very much resented having bought his book in hardback and having wasted valuable time reading it.
Rating: 
Summary: Not her best...
Review: While Julie Garwood has always been a favorite author of mine, I wasn't too impressed with Killjoy. After reading the excerpt on her homepage (which is longer than the one here), I was dying to get my hands on a copy of Killjoy. I finally did only to discover that while the excerpt centers on Avery's work at the FBI, the book spends most of it's time with her on the road.All of Julie Garwood's contemporary novels have something a little different than those you find from other historial turned contemporary authors, which stems from her amazing imagination. Killjoy is no different, having an insane aunt as the mastermind behind it all (which we learn early on). However, unlike in Garwood's fabulous historicals, with Killjoy we spend so much time running around that we hardly have a chance to take a breath and get to know the characters. The climax is relatively boring as well, something I remember from Mercy and Heartbreaker that I was hoping that Garwood had worked on. Overall, while Garwood is still creative and can spin a tale, I think her strength is in historicals. Her contemporary novels, this one in particular, show that she just doesn't have a firm grasp of what it takes to make a murder mystery/thriller work. This is the third one of Garwood's hardbacked contemporaries that I have bought, and I don't intend to do so again. Next time, I'm waiting for paperback. (Although if she decides to go back to what she's really good at, historicals, I'd buy it in a second!)
Rating:
Summary: slow start....too many irons in the fire
Review: Julie Garwood usually delivers a novel with deep, carefully crafted characters who pull the reader in and make them care. Humor is quirky and endears readers to those characters. For those of us who see KILLJOY as an extention of the Heartbreaker/Mercy saga, the side bars of Carrie's marriage and extended interactions between Monk and Jilly made the book drag. The first 80 pages could have been condensed to about 20, and the novel would have flowed smoother. I found the sheriff to be a much more compelling character, and he only had about five pages in the book. I found Monk and JIlly, especially Jilly, to be stereotyped characters. By the time we got to John Paul, who was shallowly sketched, and Avery's meeting, I was saying to myself, "It's about time!" I enjoyed the interplay between the two and the way they learned about each other, but readers learned little about John Paul other than lightly touching on his "secret" past. Noah's cameo was too brief, his only purpose to raze John Paul. I'll admit that I had high expectations, but the book didn't measure up to Garwood's talent. Maybe Noah's story will have better focus.
Rating: 
Summary: Nail Biting Romantic Suspense
Review: Like many romance authors, Ms. Garwood has turned her attention to the sub genre of romantic suspense. Her successful transition has proven her skill and versatility as a writer, and this latest novel is no exception. Though merely a data entry specialist for the FBI, Avery Delaney is very good at her job. Her analysis of crime scene data actually enabled her to predict the next time and locale of a bank robbery. Needing a break from her stressful job, she decided to join her Aunt Carrie, a successful Hollywood agent, at Utopia, a top notch Colorado Spa. But when her Aunt fails to show at the expensive paradise, Avery meets someone else who is also looking for Carrie. Believing that a hired killer, Monk Edwards, is after Carrie, John Paul has his own personal reasons for helping Avery find her Aunt before her time runs out. As the adventures of the Avery and John Paul unfold, Ms. Garwood deftly weaves into the mesh secrets of their pasts, especially Avery's. Shot and left for dead by a boyfriend of her mother, Jilly's, eleven-year-old Avery miraculously recovers from her injuries but not without some deep emotional and physical scars. Abandoned by Jilly as a baby, Avery was raised by her grandmother and Aunt Carrie. And John Paul's secrets are slowly revealed as his military expertise becomes a presence when the pair tries to evade Monk's deadly bullets. Fans of Ms. Garwood will recognize John Paul as the brother of Theo, one of the main characters in her prior read, MERCY. Brooding but sensitive, John Paul is the perfect ex-military operative, tough, but with a sensitive side that only the right woman can reveal. With the sizzling chemistry between them, their race to find Carrie while eluding the clever Monk, is a nail-biting thrill ride certain to appeal to a broad range of fans of romantic suspense. Readers searching for the true who-done-it type of mystery may be disappointed in this one as the suspense lies in the thrill of the chase and the connection between the players.
Rating:
Summary: Fun storyline!
Review: I enjoy anything written by this writer as a rule and KILLJOY is added to that list. I enjoyed reading about the new characters in this story as well as some characters the reader was already introduced to. If you enjoy a good time while reading then you should read this book!
Rating:
Summary: Follows the rules
Review: There's obviously a set of rules for the present-day thriller, and this book certainly follows them. As far as I can determine, the major provisions are these: (1) Paranoia must prevail. The hero can trust no one, not spouse, not parent, not lifelong friend--no one. (2) The action must be non-stop, preferably condensed to one day, even though this results in patent absurdities. Lengthy chase scenes are required, it goes without saying. The chases may be in any sort of vehicles, on foot, or downriver (3) The hero must be virtually superhuman, able to survive falls from great heights, stabbings, gunshot wounds, etc. The villain must be likewise but not quite so since he has to lose eventually. (4) The central figure must be a physical specimen of great beauty and in perfect condition. Usually the hero is a health and physical fitness nut. (5) There must be sex scenes bordering on the x-rated, nay, animalistic, even though these scenes have nothing whatsoever to do with the plot. (6) There must be specific, even gratuitous, violence. Writers of thrillers apparently think violence is, per se, high drama.
One has to wonder what sort of reader the author of this book envisioned. The plot isn't believable for a second. The characters are ridiculous. The atmosphere (mostly Colorado) is often vague. The only thing going for the book is that it is fast paced and the reader is soon done with it.
Unfortunately there is a plethora of thrillers that follow the same rules, to the letter. Alas and alack.
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