Saving His Son

Rating:
Summary: Saving His Son
Review: In 1996, Harlequin Intrigue published "A Baby's Cry" by Amanda Stevens (Intrigue 388), the story of a woman who is told her child died at birth. She begins receiving anonymous notes that her son is actually alive. She goes to the child's secret father, a police detective. Will he help her find the truth? Now Intrigue is publishing "Saving His Son" by Rita Herron (Intrigue 601), the story of a woman who is told her child died at birth. She begins receiving anonymous notes that her son is actually alive. She goes to the child's secret father, a police detective. Will he help her find the truth?

Sound familiar?

It's another case of Intrigue deja vu (and from the looks of it, two months from now, we'll be seeing this story again in Adrianne Lee's "Undercover Baby"). The secret baby hook is one thing. A story based on such a similar premise is harder to accept. Stevens's book was almost perfect, with the exception of about 500 scenes where the characters stand at windows staring out into the night. Herron's can't help but suffer in comparison. The similarity is unfortunate. This is the best book Herron has produced for the Intrigue line.

"Saving His Son" contains none of the flaws of her previous books: the slow pacing and repetitiveness of "Send Me a Hero," the awkward prose of "Her Eyewitness," or the passive heroine, obvious ending, selfish hero and soap opera weepiness of the dismal "Forgotten Lullaby." The storytelling is brisk, packing plenty of plot in 250 pages. The heroine is a woman who is distraught over the loss of her son. She is still strong enough to fight to get him back, unlike the heroine of her last book, who seemed content to sit around and be victimized. She shows strength and cleverness, earning the title of "heroine." Unlike so many secret child stories, it was nice to read one where the father doesn't throw a fit about not being told, but acknowledges how he was at fault. That's a real man, and a real hero. There is emotion and angst, but the plot never comes to a complete stop to allow the characters to wallow in it. "Saving His Son" is the first real page-turner Herron has written.

To her credit, Herron is one of the few new Intrigue writers actually bothering to attempt to write the kind of story this series was built on: a mystery. After four books, she finally wrote a good one. Her last book, the awful "Forgotten Lullaby," took the approach of all bad mystery writers: she tried to make the ending a "surprise" by having the characters suspect everyone except the actual villain. Never mind that she spoiled the surprise in the first chapter. This only made the characters look foolish (they're suspecting everyone they know, including friends and family, and yet they never manage to suspect the one person who has complete access to their lives???) and the obvious tactic made it clear to smart readers who would end up being the villain (why else would she being trying so hard to divert attention from this person?). I mention this only because "Saving His Son" is so superior it's hard to believe the books were written by the same person, though Herron's storytelling style makes it clear they are. The mystery keeps throwing surprises at the reader. There is a large group of suspects, all of whom are kept equally suspicious until late in the book. It's nearly impossible to know who the kidnapper is and the ending is a surprise. That's the sign of a good Intrigue.

"Saving His Son" is a story with likeable characters, strong emotion and good plot twists combined in a highly entertaining read. Readers who aren't immediately reminded of the earlier book will enjoy it even more.

Rating:
Summary: Saving His Son
Review: In 1996, Harlequin Intrigue published "A Baby's Cry" by Amanda Stevens (Intrigue 388), the story of a woman who is told her child died at birth. She begins receiving anonymous notes that her son is actually alive. She goes to the child's secret father, a police detective. Will he help her find the truth? Now Intrigue is publishing "Saving His Son" by Rita Herron (Intrigue 601), the story of a woman who is told her child died at birth. She begins receiving anonymous notes that her son is actually alive. She goes to the child's secret father, a police detective. Will he help her find the truth?

Sound familiar?

It's another case of Intrigue deja vu (and from the looks of it, two months from now, we'll be seeing this story again in Adrianne Lee's "Undercover Baby"). The secret baby hook is one thing. A story based on such a similar premise is harder to accept. Stevens's book was almost perfect, with the exception of about 500 scenes where the characters stand at windows staring out into the night. Herron's can't help but suffer in comparison. The similarity is unfortunate. This is the best book Herron has produced for the Intrigue line.

"Saving His Son" contains none of the flaws of her previous books: the slow pacing and repetitiveness of "Send Me a Hero," the awkward prose of "Her Eyewitness," or the passive heroine, obvious ending, selfish hero and soap opera weepiness of the dismal "Forgotten Lullaby." The storytelling is brisk, packing plenty of plot in 250 pages. The heroine is a woman who is distraught over the loss of her son. She is still strong enough to fight to get him back, unlike the heroine of her last book, who seemed content to sit around and be victimized. She shows strength and cleverness, earning the title of "heroine." Unlike so many secret child stories, it was nice to read one where the father doesn't throw a fit about not being told, but acknowledges how he was at fault. That's a real man, and a real hero. There is emotion and angst, but the plot never comes to a complete stop to allow the characters to wallow in it. "Saving His Son" is the first real page-turner Herron has written.

To her credit, Herron is one of the few new Intrigue writers actually bothering to attempt to write the kind of story this series was built on: a mystery. After four books, she finally wrote a good one. Her last book, the awful "Forgotten Lullaby," took the approach of all bad mystery writers: she tried to make the ending a "surprise" by having the characters suspect everyone except the actual villain. Never mind that she spoiled the surprise in the first chapter. This only made the characters look foolish (they're suspecting everyone they know, including friends and family, and yet they never manage to suspect the one person who has complete access to their lives???) and the obvious tactic made it clear to smart readers who would end up being the villain (why else would she being trying so hard to divert attention from this person?). I mention this only because "Saving His Son" is so superior it's hard to believe the books were written by the same person, though Herron's storytelling style makes it clear they are. The mystery keeps throwing surprises at the reader. There is a large group of suspects, all of whom are kept equally suspicious until late in the book. It's nearly impossible to know who the kidnapper is and the ending is a surprise. That's the sign of a good Intrigue.

"Saving His Son" is a story with likeable characters, strong emotion and good plot twists combined in a highly entertaining read. Readers who aren't immediately reminded of the earlier book will enjoy it even more.

Rating:
Summary: Very highly recommended
Review: Lindsey Payne's worst fear has come true. Her son is missing. If he's alive, her son is six weeks old. Four calls have come this week, with only the words "Your son is alive." She'd been so distraught that first week after he was born that her doctor had prescribed sedatives. She remembers someone trying to kill her at Maple Hollow's birthing clinic, but no one believed her.

Gavin McCord's life didn't have room for a wife or child. Lindsey respected his feelings. She had married once, and when she found out that her husband gambled and embezzled funds from his own law firm. When Lindsey divorced him and planed to testify against him, her ex-husband threatened her life. So Lindsey hired Gavin to protect her. And the last night before she testified, they had made love. Only Gavin hadn't wanted a relationship, and refused her the opportunity to tell him that she was pregnant. Now Lindsey must turn to him for help finding her child.

Lindsey doesn't know that Gavin had other reasons for not telling how he really felt. Reasons to try to protect her. But all that doesn't matter now that Gavin knows his son might be alive, might be the pawn of a vicious game. Gavin had sent Lindsey away to protect her, and instead of protecting her, sending Lindsey away left her vulnerable and unprotected. Now they must work together to find their son, and whether or not they find him, decide what to do about the still strong feelings they share for each other.

This heart-rendering tale of love, loss and fear will captivate the imagination and hold the reader in emotional hostage until the last page is turned. The characters are believable, intense, and memorable, risking everything to seek the truth. Intense and memorable, SAVING HIS SON is a keeper. Very highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Very highly recommended
Review: Lindsey Payne's worst fear has come true. Her son is missing. If he's alive, her son is six weeks old. Four calls have come this week, with only the words "Your son is alive." She'd been so distraught that first week after he was born that her doctor had prescribed sedatives. She remembers someone trying to kill her at Maple Hollow's birthing clinic, but no one believed her.

Gavin McCord's life didn't have room for a wife or child. Lindsey respected his feelings. She had married once, and when she found out that her husband gambled and embezzled funds from his own law firm. When Lindsey divorced him and planed to testify against him, her ex-husband threatened her life. So Lindsey hired Gavin to protect her. And the last night before she testified, they had made love. Only Gavin hadn't wanted a relationship, and refused her the opportunity to tell him that she was pregnant. Now Lindsey must turn to him for help finding her child.

Lindsey doesn't know that Gavin had other reasons for not telling how he really felt. Reasons to try to protect her. But all that doesn't matter now that Gavin knows his son might be alive, might be the pawn of a vicious game. Gavin had sent Lindsey away to protect her, and instead of protecting her, sending Lindsey away left her vulnerable and unprotected. Now they must work together to find their son, and whether or not they find him, decide what to do about the still strong feelings they share for each other.

This heart-rendering tale of love, loss and fear will captivate the imagination and hold the reader in emotional hostage until the last page is turned. The characters are believable, intense, and memorable, risking everything to seek the truth. Intense and memorable, SAVING HIS SON is a keeper. Very highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Romantic Times Review
Review: Romance and suspense prove an awesome combination for February Harlequin Intrigues. They shared one night of passion and then went their separate ways, so the undercover detective was surprised when she sought him out. But he was dumbfounded when the spirited teacher revealed she needed help SAVING HIS SON (4). Mixing together a conspiracy theme, emotional intensity and a touch of passion, Rita Herron produces a prime intrigue.