Beachcomber

Rating:
Summary: Bad story, bad book, bad author
Review: This book was so bad that I skimmed the last 100 pages to finish it. It was just too boring and had too many holes in logic. Robard's characters and story were just stupid. The author takes a scary, upsetting subject such as a serial killer and tries to make the subject into a funny romp for the heroine. Readers of Karen Robards will be sorely disappointed. The police identify that Christy, the heroine, is the perfect match in age and appearance of recently murdered girls. Despite being terrorized, attacked several times, and thrown into a trunk by the killer, the heroine runs around without any protection from the Sheriff's office. The killer continuously jeopardizes her life without any interference from the police, who talk and act like Keystone cops.
Luke, the "supposed" hero of the book, can only think of sex. Although a FBI agent, Robard's has written him as an insensitive and incompetent fool. He constantly fantasizes about Christy's body, even when she has just escaped from the killer, who stalked her into a public, female restroom. Christy is scared out of her wits but Luke inappropriately asks her out on a date. With his surveillance techniques, Luke should be fired because the serial killer always escapes into then air after every bloody encounter with Christy. Karen Robards has put little thought or effort into this book. Do not waste your time. I would give the book zero stars if I could.

Rating:
Summary: Why waste time when there are so many good books out there?
Review: By far one of the worst books I have ever read, Beachcomber is unbelievable, laughable, and lame. Its characters are far from real, including a virtually incompetent FBI agent, a lawyer/ex-mob-girlfriend who is the poorest heroine I have read in ages, and an assortment of adjuncts, including the villain, who, once revealed, makes you want to grab the author and give her a hard shake - there's no way this could be the "bad guy", based on what she's written earlier in the book. Bad writer, bad editor, bad publisher, bad book - can anyone get published these days?

Rating:
Summary: "Another Stakeout" with Lots of Sex and Action
Review: Christy Petrino, an Atlantic City attorney, has just discovered that her fiancee and employer, Michael De Palma, is running the law firm she works for as a front for the mob. As any sensible woman would do, she has broken off the engagement, quit her job and is in the process of running home to mother (who is also dating a gangster). Before she can get there, however, she is intercepted and told that it isn't that easy and that they (the mafia) might consider to let her go her own way (and her mother and sisters) if she delivers a certain package to a certain location. So it is that we find her on Ocracoke Island when she stumbles across the latest victim of a serial killer dubbed the BeachComber - and becomes a target of him as well. Uncertain if she has attracted the attention of a serial killer or if she is the target of a mob hit, Christy is afraid to leave without satisfying the mob's requirements on one hand and afraid to ask for help from authorities if it is a contractual hit. The only person she can turn to is the "hottie" in the next cottage, Luke Rand (an undercover FBI agent trailing her to get to her boyfriend), who she caught snooping around her patio on the first night. Humourous situations such as feigning ownership of a man hating feral cat and being accidentally trapped in the trunk of Christy's car bring to mind scenes from the "Another Stakeout".

This is a pretty decent book for the romance/suspense genre. It cannot escape the "romance" label because of the constant importance placed on the two main character's budding relationship, complete with two fully depicted sexual encounters. However, readers who snub "romance" novels shouldn't shy away too fast. The main plot line is definitely thirller/suspense stuff and is very entertaining. Basically, if you liked the "Another Stakeout" movie, you will like this book. They are very similar.

This is my first Robards novel so I am not sure if the author has a fetish for all beautiful women's bottoms or just for that of her heroine. Seriously, it really got funny after the fifth or sixth reference to the attractiveness of Christy's bottom.

Rating:
Summary: Your next beach read
Review: Even the title says it: "beach". This is an excellent beach read. I tested it for beach readability recently and it passed with flying colors. I enjoyed it immensely. I always look for the latest Karen Robards' book before I leave for summer vacation. I love her contemporary mystery books. This book continues in the same vein as Walking After Midnight and Hunter's Moon to provide snappy dialogue, a hero that is adorable, and a heroine that is just this side of goofball. Remember the movie: "Romancing the Stone", where the main character, Joan Wilder, wrote sappy romance books and then got involved in a crazy caper involving a jewel, South America, and a handsome adventurer? The characters in Karen Robards' books are like the characters played by Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. A lot of fun.

Beachcomber offers an entertaining and fast-paced plot involving two very likable people on the opposite (or so it seems...) sides of the law. The hero in this book, a surfer-dude slash FBI agent, is funny and likable as he struggles with a "geek" sidekick who is, he is convinced, a punishment for past misdeeds, as he hunkers down for a surveillance gig involving the mob. The heroine, lawyer Christy Petrino, is feisty and prepared for trouble after she becomes involved with the mob (the reasons and the facts are unimportant) and stumbles onto a serial killer at a popular beach resort. The secondary characters like Christy's sister Amber (a sterotypical New Jersey girl) are outrageous and very funny. The ending is a surprise and totally implausible but delightful nevertheless.

If you're looking for a serious and an authentic mob versus the FBI story, don't read this. If you're looking for a romantic and funny comedy with a little mystery, this is your next read...Enjoy!


Rating:
Summary: Very Mediocre Book
Review: I am a Karen Robarts fan. Unfortunately, this novel does not live up to my expectations of the author. Lately it seems many of my favorite authors have stopped writing good suspense stories and instead have opted to throw out books that if were used in a college course, would definitely come back with a "C."

Our heroine is Christy Petrino who grew up in New Jersey and is from a mob family. Her mom dates a mob guy, her sister was married to one. Christy wants a different life, so instead of getting a mob boyfriend, she goes to law school and becomes a lawyer. After law school, Christy is offered a large salary to work at the law firm of a childhood friend who owns a law firm and who also later becomes her fiance. Christy accepts the job assuming he is not in the mob. It never occurs to her that maybe the law firm is a cover. When she finds out and tries to leave they ask her to deliver a package and then she can go. Okay what part of this plot sounds even remotely believable?? Well Christy makes the drop and while leaving feels like she is being followed. She makes a run for it and literally runs over the body of a woman. She continues running to her house and then has a 10 to 15 minute conversation with various characters while the girl on the beach is murdered. I would hope that most people after discovering someone hurt would not spend extra wasted time introducing themselves to each other. This part of the plot was so disbelievable! And suffice it to say, by the time the entire group reaches the beach, the poor girl is dead. At this time, Christy meets hunky blond surfer dude next door who is actually an undercover FBI agent. The rest of story involves really dumb plots which throw them together and basically they have to work together to keep her alive before the killer murders her and to catch the entire mob family.

I will not go into the list of flaws with this story - there are too many. (e.g. BIG mob boss - only TWO FBI agents watching him and guess what? shoddy electronic equipment that doesn't work and the excuse given is after 9/11 all of the money is going for terrorists so noone cares about the mob anymore) Can we say dumb??? Also, the killer turns out to be someone that it cannot possibly be after you read the original description of that person. Also, our heroine keeps getting attacked but the mob doesn't care, they keep sending her back to the same cottage, and to save her family she goes. You would think most mobsters would not want to call attention to themselves, why send someone who works for them back to the area of publicity? I mean this novel assumes EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE from the sheriff to his employees; to the heroine and her family, and the FBI are all IDIOTS. There is a scene where the FBI agent wants to follow her, so he locks himself in the trunk of her car - Okay not only is this very unbelievable but plain dumb! And this kind of nonsense is what you can expect from all of the characters in this very silly story. I made myself finish the book; but it is not an exciting read.

I am truly tired of reading suspense and mystery novels by writers who will not even think is this even remotely believable! Want to read about a real herione battling a serial killer? Try the Nicci French novels. Hopefully Ms. Roberts next novel will be above a college no strike that high school paper.

Rating:
Summary: A bit of "The Sopranos" with a "Scooby-Doo" ending
Review: I love reading Karen's books, and I was really getting into this one -- lots of fast-paced excitement that did get me scared at times. But the ending was a bit too campy for me. Also, the main characters didn't have the full-fledged attraction as some of her other characters. Although it's still worth a read if you're interested.

Rating:
Summary: Not very good
Review: There is no question that Karen Robards is a talented author. She has written some good historicals and some good contemporaries, and she has written some bad ones.

The last few books that I have read by Robards have been bad, bordering dreadful and, sadly, BEACHCOMBER is not an exception. It seems as if, as an author, Robards is cashing in on a well-earned reputation.

The plot of BEACHCOMBER is simplistic...the story itself is short...and the outcome is, bluntly, creepy. In fact, the outcome actually is lazy, relying on a creepy twist to bring the story to a quick end.

The characters never get developed, so the reader has no reason to care about the resolution.

Consistent with everything else about this novel, the sense of place--something which Robards has conveyed beautifully in other novels--is so sketchy that it could have been phoned in to the editor.

For a skilled author, this is a shabby work. Anyone who likes the writing of Karen Robards should seek out some of her earliest books, rather than wasting time with BEACHCOMBER.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down!
Review: This is the first Karen Robards book I've read but it won't be the last! The characters quickly became people I'd like to meet (the good guys that is!) and the suspense gripped you at the beginning and wouldn't let go. I couldn't put it down. I'm not a particularly fast reader and I finished this in two days - around work and everything else. I perfect summer read -- if you don't mind being a bit scared!