Running Scared

Rating:
Summary: A WELL PACED READING OF THIS MYSTERY
Review: Elizabeth Lowell fans know what to expect and they're not disappointed - it's an entertaining mix of suspense and romance in which good triumphs over every sort of evil machination and the gal gets a guy or vice versa. There's something comforting in knowing what you're in for when you open a book or listen to an audio version, and folks stand in line for Lowell.

Experienced Broadway actress Maria Tucci gives a well paced reading, using the low registers of her voice for emphasis. She's a vet and it shows in this vocal performance.

Set in Las Vegas and Arizona "Running Scared" is a tale of gold, graft, and gumption. Risa Sheridan, is knowledgeable in the field of antiquities, more precisely gold. When casino owner Shane Tannahill is offered what he believes to be an ancient Celtic gold piece he can't wait to own it - perfect for showing off at an upcoming gallery event.

However, Risa's not so sure about this gift from the Druids. She's even less sure as the body count mounts. Someone's out to destroy Shane and perhaps take out Risa with him.

Lowell offers a mix of murder, thievery, and rivalry - everything to make a listener's heart beat faster.

- Gail Cooke

Rating:
Summary: Just OK - More Anne Maxwell than Elizabeth Lowell
Review: Being a long time fan of Ms. Lowell's I have been slightly disappointed with the Rarities series. While the ultimate plot of this book is okay, I feel that classic Lowell characterization is lacking. Ms. Lowell is generally very good at drawing readers into a story but, once drawn in, there is nothing to hold your attention to this story. I greatly missed her usual in-depth approach to writing about characters. I felt that in this story she was merely telling a story. Using the characters as simple vessels instead of attempting to bring them to life. For example, I would have liked to learn more about what made Shane and Risa unique as individuals. That more indepth characterization combined with the over all plot would have made a much better novel.

Rating:
Summary: slow in the beginning but exciting and captivating
Review: Courtesy of A Romance Review

Running Scared starts off a little slow in the beginning with an introduction of the main characters, Risa Sheridan and Shane Tannahill. Elizabeth Lowell also provides some background information on Druid Gold, which is said to have a certain power and energy. The story doesn't pick up until over 150 pages with the death of Virgil O'Conner.

However, the story blends gold artifacts, casinos, money laundering together with suspense and romance. With the joining of April Joy into the plot, the story becomes more exciting and captivating.

If you have read Moving Target, the first in Ms Lowell's Rarities series, you must not miss Running Scared and check out the bodyguard of Risa, Ian Lapstrake, who gains all reader's attention, as well as April Joy, in the last part of the story. Happy reading!

Rating:
Summary: Running Scared
Review: Elizabeth Lowell has written some of my favorite books, including her gem series, i.e., "Amber Beach," "Jade Island," "Pearl Cove." After "Moving Target," the first of the Rarities Unlimited series, I had hoped to continue reading more of Ms. Lowell's exciting, original plots filled with interesting information about gemology, ancient lore, authenticating antique jewelry, etc.. I was also hoping to read more about the fabulous characters that staff Rarities. So, I actually went out and paid full price for a copy of "Running Scared" and dug in for a rainy spring day read.

What a disappointment!! This is most definitely not up to par for an Elizabeth Lowell novel. My first thought, after about 50 pages, was that perhaps Ms. Lowell was pressured to meet a strict deadline...or that she had promised too much with this series, and the well went dry. The background research is there, as always. Her detail on Druid gold, the antiquities market and authentication, is meticulous. However, her characters are cardboard. There is little life in them. Risa Sheridan and Shane Tannahill are like collages of former characters, pieced together without much rhyme or reason - a bad paste job! Her secondary characters from Rarities are not nearly as interesting as they were in "Moving Target." She did not develop them any further in this sequel. The villains are flat, comic book characters. The hackneyed, formulaic plot barely held my interest, and I held in there longer than I should have.

I am tempted to give Elizabeth Lowell a free pass on this...as she has given me so much reading pleasure in the past. But then I remember that I paid good money for that past pleasure, and so I wind up feeling cheated with "Running Scared."

Rating:
Summary: Believable characters & plot
Review: I already own all of Elizabeth Lowell's books. This book gave you the background of Celtic and Druid gold artifacts without bogging you down with too much detail. The characters, especially Risa and Shane are down to earth while fighting their attraction to each other. It might be a good idea to read Moving Target to get the background on some of the other characters in the book. It's this book that lays the groundwork for Risa, Shane and Rarities Unlimited who they deal with. All the secondary characters (and they almost seem like primary characters) lend a thrilling story that you won't want to put down. I read the book until 1:30 AM and finished it the next day. The only thing I would have liked better was if there was more interplay between Risa and Shane. These are two volatile characters and the sexual tension between them could have been more intense. Even so, you won't be disappointed with this book.

Rating:
Summary: too many different view points
Review: This book had the possibility of being a very good five star book, maybe that's why it's so disapointing that it was only a two or three star book.

I won't get into the plot because others have done a good job at that. My main problem with the book is that the author gives the reader way to may view points of characters through out. In this book we not only have the Shane and Risa's points of view, but we have entire chapters, albeit shorter chapters (usually), devoted to about five other characters. This is just way too much to make the reader care about the developing relationship between Risa and Shane or to even be a good suspense, because she gives away so much by going into the other character's heads. As someone else mentioned you almost begin to see Shane and Risa as secondary characters.

Also, because there are so many different points of view it was very easy for me to put the book down when we got to someone that I didn't really care about, which was often.

Should you buy this book? I'd say check it out at the local library or wait a while and try to find it in a used book store. Don't spend the full price on the book, because in my opinoin, it isn't worth it.

Rating:
Summary: too many different view points
Review: This book had the possibility of being a very good five star book, maybe that's why it's so disapointing that it was only a two or three star book.

I won't get into the plot because others have done a good job at that. My main problem with the book is that the author gives the reader way to may view points of characters through out. In this book we not only have the Shane and Risa's points of view, but we have entire chapters, albeit shorter chapters (usually), devoted to about five other characters. This is just way too much to make the reader care about the developing relationship between Risa and Shane or to even be a good suspense, because she gives away so much by going into the other character's heads. As someone else mentioned you almost begin to see Shane and Risa as secondary characters.

Also, because there are so many different points of view it was very easy for me to put the book down when we got to someone that I didn't really care about, which was often.

Should you buy this book? I'd say check it out at the local library or wait a while and try to find it in a used book store. Don't spend the full price on the book, because in my opinoin, it isn't worth it.

Rating:
Summary: Boring
Review: This book is one of the worst books I have ever read in my life. It started off ok but it dragged on and the suspence was missing to keep me reading. I tried very hard to read this book but it was so boring I kept on falling asleep.

Rating:
Summary: Beyond Boring
Review: This is a very hard book to read. I found the characters to be shallow and uninteresting. I also found the storyline very unintering. I guess you could say in short the entire book is just plain long winded and boring.

The one thing this book did do was make me take a look at the Celtic civilation as a whole and I found somethings about that interesting.

I was very disappointed in this book after having read Elizabeth Lowell's previous novels. This one did not live up to any expectations.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting peek into the world of gold
Review: This was a good book with several significant flaws, but it is still a great read. I recommend it if you want to escape to a world of money and wealth and power and handsome, smart, lucky people; vs not handsome, not smart, unlucky people. These characters are pretty much formula, but the story of the gold is very interesting. Tracing the history of the Celtic gold was facinating. I also liked the fact that the thieves were ignorant to the value of what they had and what they could do with it. This was the strength of the story, how the gold changed hands and how it effected the lives of those who touched it before it finally ended up in the collection.

The Risa and Shane romance never grabbed me. First of all, neither of them were developed as real characters. And the way they consumated their relationship was not credible, it was cheap. It was not an appropriate moment for lust. The fact that they rushed into marriage made it even less credible. But, that aside, I loved the story about the gold and the greed and the obsession. I recommend this book as a good read for a rainy weekend. It will have your eyes glowing for the gold.