Mystery Bride (Harlequin Intrigue 604)

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, fast paced romantic suspense!
Review: B.J. Daniels offers up a refreshing change of pace in "Mystery Bride." Will Sheridan meets a mysterious young woman at a party and falls in love at first sight. The woman gives him a passionate kiss and disappears. What he doesn't know is that Samantha Murphy is a private investigator and his attempt to track her down lands him in the middle of her latest case. Suddenly he's on the run with Sam, with bodies falling everywhere they turn and murderers on their trail. Will they survive long enough for him to learn all of this woman's secrets?

In spite of the misleading and fraudulent title, which would have been perfect for Intrigue 603 (This book has nothing to do with weddings or brides. Harlequin editors, shame on you.), Daniels's book is surprisingly and wonderfully original. No cop heroes, no cowboys, no weddings, no secret agents, no secret babies (well, sort of), no Texas. There is a child involved, but he's used better than in most books that play up the presence of children on the back cover. It doesn't feel like he was tacked on because kids are required in romances these days. He's an integral part of the plot in a complex romantic mystery. "Mystery Bride" has a neat puzzle involving computers, a subject that isn't used in too many Intrigues. There's plenty of action and mayhem to keep readers turning the pages. The characters are likeable and the way Daniels uses Samantha's point of view is humorous. Fans of strong heroines will find one here. This is an entertaining read.

The sense of freshness does help carry the reader past some of weaknesses in the story. The setup, though entertaining and fast-paced, is purely silly and the romance virtually disappears for about 75 pages at one point when the plot takes over. I'm pretty forgiving if Intrigues have an emphasis of plot over romance (Sharon Green's recent "To Die For" is one example), and for a while, the investigation is interesting enough that the lack of romance didn't bother me. The weak ending did bother me. I like surprising endings, but this one seemed like the "came out of nowhere" variety. We know too little about the secondary characters to be able to figure out who it could be. Daniels could have changed the villain's identity and I'm not sure we would have known the difference. The ending simply isn't set up very well. (Examples of better surprising endings would be Daniels's "Undercover Christmas" and "Intimate Secrets.") I also had at least one question that remained unanswered.

I'd certainly recommend this book to anyone looking for a fresh, light and exciting read that doesn't feel like they've read it a hundred times before. Fans shouldn't be disappointed. It's not the author's best work, but it is an entertaining ride.

Rating:
Summary: Mystery Bride: 3 1/2 Stars
Review: B.J. Daniels offers up a refreshing change of pace in "Mystery Bride." Will Sheridan meets a mysterious young woman at a party and falls in love at first sight. The woman gives him a passionate kiss and disappears. What he doesn't know is that Samantha Murphy is a private investigator and his attempt to track her down lands him in the middle of her latest case. Suddenly he's on the run with Sam, with bodies falling everywhere they turn and murderers on their trail. Will they survive long enough for him to learn all of this woman's secrets?

In spite of the misleading and fraudulent title, which would have been perfect for Intrigue 603 (This book has nothing to do with weddings or brides. Harlequin editors, shame on you.), Daniels's book is surprisingly and wonderfully original. No cop heroes, no cowboys, no weddings, no secret agents, no secret babies (well, sort of), no Texas. There is a child involved, but he's used better than in most books that play up the presence of children on the back cover. It doesn't feel like he was tacked on because kids are required in romances these days. He's an integral part of the plot in a complex romantic mystery. "Mystery Bride" has a neat puzzle involving computers, a subject that isn't used in too many Intrigues. There's plenty of action and mayhem to keep readers turning the pages. The characters are likeable and the way Daniels uses Samantha's point of view is humorous. Fans of strong heroines will find one here. This is an entertaining read.

The sense of freshness does help carry the reader past some of weaknesses in the story. The setup, though entertaining and fast-paced, is purely silly and the romance virtually disappears for about 75 pages at one point when the plot takes over. I'm pretty forgiving if Intrigues have an emphasis of plot over romance (Sharon Green's recent "To Die For" is one example), and for a while, the investigation is interesting enough that the lack of romance didn't bother me. The weak ending did bother me. I like surprising endings, but this one seemed like the "came out of nowhere" variety. We know too little about the secondary characters to be able to figure out who it could be. Daniels could have changed the villain's identity and I'm not sure we would have known the difference. The ending simply isn't set up very well. (Examples of better surprising endings would be Daniels's "Undercover Christmas" and "Intimate Secrets.") I also had at least one question that remained unanswered.

I'd certainly recommend this book to anyone looking for a fresh, light and exciting read that doesn't feel like they've read it a hundred times before. Fans shouldn't be disappointed. It's not the author's best work, but it is an entertaining ride.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, fast paced romantic suspense!
Review: First of all, I hate to contradict the other reviewer, but the hero, Will calls Samantha a "mystery" and he is looking for a bride and knows Samantha is the one, hence the title Mystery Bride. Other reviewer was not paying close attention! Shame on you!! This is a great, fast paced , exciting book. The action never stops, the characters lovable (especially the young boy) and the heroine Samantha kick-*ss!! I read this in one sitting. Highly recommended if you love romantic suspense like I do!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, fast paced romantic suspense!
Review: First of all, I hate to contradict the other reviewer, but the hero, Will calls Samantha a "mystery" and he is looking for a bride and knows Samantha is the one, hence the title Mystery Bride. Other reviewer was not paying close attention! Shame on you!! This is a great, fast paced , exciting book. The action never stops, the characters lovable (especially the young boy) and the heroine Samantha kick-*ss!! I read this in one sitting. Highly recommended if you love romantic suspense like I do!

Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: The title of this book WAS misleading. Samantha is not a bride and she never shows up in a wedding dress like on the cover. Just because Will might be looking for a bride doesn't make Samantha one during this book. I picked it up thinking it was a wedding story and it wasn't. It was a little confusing but didn't affect how I felt about the story. The beginning of this book was good. The rest wasn't as good. I started out liking Sam a lot. She was really strong and courageous. As the story went on it ended up being too much about Will saving her over and over. She was the professional not him so it was disappointing to see a book where the man still had to save the woman. The mystery was good. I do wish Sam was kept as strong in the end as she was in the beginning.

Rating:
Summary: Misleading title
Review: The title of this book WAS misleading. Samantha is not a bride and she never shows up in a wedding dress like on the cover. Just because Will might be looking for a bride doesn't make Samantha one during this book. I picked it up thinking it was a wedding story and it wasn't. It was a little confusing but didn't affect how I felt about the story. The beginning of this book was good. The rest wasn't as good. I started out liking Sam a lot. She was really strong and courageous. As the story went on it ended up being too much about Will saving her over and over. She was the professional not him so it was disappointing to see a book where the man still had to save the woman. The mystery was good. I do wish Sam was kept as strong in the end as she was in the beginning.

Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: This was a great book. But what is up with the last reviewer? Doesn't she know authors have no say in the cover art? Also, once again like the other reviewer stated mystery and bride DID have relevence in this story. Are these ladies even reading these books? Or just skimming? Plus don't most romances have the man saving the woman? I question if these are even romance readers!!