What She Doesn't Know

Rating:
Summary: A lively read! Very highly recommended
Review: Nineteen years ago, the Belle Rose massacre deprived a young girl of her mother, her aunt, a family friend, and left her near death. The deaths were called a double murder and suicide by law enforcement anxious to close a case that divided the entire town along racial lines. In the aftermath, fourteen year old Jolie Royale separated herself from her once beloved father because of her tortured memories of his adultery, which she witnessed just before stumbling upon the bodies of her family. His subsequent marriage less than a year after her mother's death led to Jolie going off to an expensive boarding school and refusing to ever visit home. Indeed, after nineteen years she only returns to her hometown for her father's funeral. She stays, following the reading of the will, only to exact her revenge on her stepmother Georgette, stepbrother Max, and half sister Mallory.

Max Devereaux predicts trouble if Jolie comes home. When her presence puts pressure on his mother and sister, Max steps into the role of the proper southern gentleman caring for his women folk. But he never allows their attitudes to affect his growing attraction for Jolie. When the will names Jolie the inheritor of the family home Belle Rose, with a provision to allow Georgette and her children to remain in residence, Max becomes the peacemaker. It does not take him long, however, to become sympathetic to Jolie's determination to reopen the Belle Rose massacre case, or to rush to protect her when her life becomes threatened. Too bad she is adamantly opposed to exploring the growing passion between them.

Beverly Barton's second romantic suspense novel for Zebra explores the tortured past of characters with deep psychological wounds in WHAT SHE DOESN'T KNOW. Demonstrating her characteristic flair, Barton's characters struggle with the past, with their well-deserved resentment, and with the power of love. Even when small developments are anticipated, Barton puts an unexpected spin on them. Secondary characters each conceal secrets, and their combined hidden motivations are incredibly intriguing. Further, Jolie's transformation from revengeful to truth seeking is especially convincing, and lends the novel terrific depth. Her determination to fight her feelings for Max likewise lends the novel a nice tension, especially since he is equally determined to overcome her reticence. Further, the unexpected plot developments move the story along a terrific clip, deftly holding the reader's interest. Readers who enjoy well developed characters and intrigue penned with a lively hand will be quite satisfied. Very highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: This book reminds me of "After the Night" by Linda Howard
Review: There are so many similarties that it's hard not to compaire the two. This book isn't at the level that "After the Night" but if you loved the book as I did then this one is for you.

Twenty years ago Jolie Royale came home and found her aunt and mother lying dead. While looking over her mother's dead body she is also shot several times. Jolie doesn't remember who the killer was and Lemar (The man who attents to her families lawn) is accussed of the murder. Fast forward twenty years later, Jolie's father has died and it time she has come back home. Jolie has mixed feelings about the whole thing, but she wants to put the whole thing behind her and move on. But to do that she has to face her stepmother whom her father married a year after her mother's death and her stepbrother Max whom she once had a school girl crush but can no longer stand. Soon things change and Jolie figures that it is now time to find out who really killed her mother, aunt and lemar with Max's help. But unearthing the old murder leads to a whole lot of trouble, while the real killer waiting for Jolie to remember.

Rating:
Summary: This book reminds me of "After the Night" by Linda Howard
Review: There are so many similarties that it's hard not to compaire the two. This book isn't at the level that "After the Night" but if you loved the book as I did then this one is for you.

Twenty years ago Jolie Royale came home and found her aunt and mother lying dead. While looking over her mother's dead body she is also shot several times. Jolie doesn't remember who the killer was and Lemar (The man who attents to her families lawn) is accussed of the murder. Fast forward twenty years later, Jolie's father has died and it time she has come back home. Jolie has mixed feelings about the whole thing, but she wants to put the whole thing behind her and move on. But to do that she has to face her stepmother whom her father married a year after her mother's death and her stepbrother Max whom she once had a school girl crush but can no longer stand. Soon things change and Jolie figures that it is now time to find out who really killed her mother, aunt and lemar with Max's help. But unearthing the old murder leads to a whole lot of trouble, while the real killer waiting for Jolie to remember.

Rating:
Summary: Not bad!
Review: This book was not an "I couldn't put it down" type of mystery, but it was good. I liked the main character, Jolie, but I wasn't too crazy about Max. This was my 1st book by this author and probably will not be the last.

Rating:
Summary: Not bad!
Review: This book was not an "I couldn't put it down" type of mystery, but it was good. I liked the main character, Jolie, but I wasn't too crazy about Max. This was my 1st book by this author and probably will not be the last.

Rating:
Summary: Not bad!
Review: Two decades ago in Sumarville, Mississippi, Jolie Royale barely escaped with her life, but her mother, aunt and the gardener were left dead. Though officially ruled a murder-suicide, as the gardener was allegedly her aunt's lover, Jolie knows better. Though she saw the face of the killer she cannot identify the person because she cannot recall what she actually seen.

Now her stepbrother Max Devereaux asks Jolie to return to her family's plantation, Belle Rose, for her father's funeral. Jolie would prefer to stay away from her hometown, not just because of the bad memories but also because she loves Max who hates the Royales. However, there are some folks who prefer that Jolie not come back including her stepsister. Amongst that crowd exists an individual who fears that the plantation may trigger memories so Jolie might recall a certain visage. That individual targets her as the next victim with only Max to protect her.

Though amnesia has been used a quadrillion times as a plot device, Beverly Barton provides a fresh tale due to a sizzling romance starring two engaging protagonists. The story line keeps the tension high, as the audience never knows who the culprit is until the tale is completed. Though the subplot involving the stepsister adds little depth except as a symbol of local antagonism to Jolie's return, readers will know that WHAT SHE DOESN'T KNOW is a strong romantic suspense.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: strong romantic suspense
Review: Two decades ago in Sumarville, Mississippi, Jolie Royale barely escaped with her life, but her mother, aunt and the gardener were left dead. Though officially ruled a murder-suicide, as the gardener was allegedly her aunt's lover, Jolie knows better. Though she saw the face of the killer she cannot identify the person because she cannot recall what she actually seen.

Now her stepbrother Max Devereaux asks Jolie to return to her family's plantation, Belle Rose, for her father's funeral. Jolie would prefer to stay away from her hometown, not just because of the bad memories but also because she loves Max who hates the Royales. However, there are some folks who prefer that Jolie not come back including her stepsister. Amongst that crowd exists an individual who fears that the plantation may trigger memories so Jolie might recall a certain visage. That individual targets her as the next victim with only Max to protect her.

Though amnesia has been used a quadrillion times as a plot device, Beverly Barton provides a fresh tale due to a sizzling romance starring two engaging protagonists. The story line keeps the tension high, as the audience never knows who the culprit is until the tale is completed. Though the subplot involving the stepsister adds little depth except as a symbol of local antagonism to Jolie's return, readers will know that WHAT SHE DOESN'T KNOW is a strong romantic suspense.

Harriet Klausner