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“This is the first book in The Predator trilogy.
DeSeRt RoSe wrote this review Monday, June 8 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
First, she imagined it. Then a killer made it real.
Rowan Smith is an ex-FBI agent who had a traumatic past. When she was faced with a crime that hit very close to home a couple of years ago she quit her job and started writing crime novels.. Four published and the fifth coming out soon!
Then the murders begin!! The first one taken from her first novel.. exactly the same.. then from the second book.. and the next .. so she knows it no coincidence!!
Her ex-boss hires a security company to protect her, so she has a bodyguard "Michael" at all times. Then her bodyguard's brother and partner in the security company "John" shows up and the attraction is almost instantaneous!! Now the two brothers are trying to protect her in addition to competing for her attention. But john knows that Rowan is keeping a secret that could help them solve this case before more murders happen.. something from her past.. and he tries to make her talk.. for a price!
This was an amazing book!! The murders are so gruesome, the murderer is merciless and the characters and so real!!
I was so captivated by this book, it kept me on the edge with unexpected twists and turns..
Very highly recommended book for crime/thriller readers :)
Quotes I enjoyed in the book:
“He found a woman with the same name and occupation as one of my characters and killed her in the same manner in a similar location. Did a lot of planning and research to get all the details just right. Perfection. Next, he leaves my book with her body. Arrogance. He’s smart, but he thinks everyone else is stupid and he has to give you the why or you’d never figure it out. This wasn’t a crime of passion or a crime for money… it was a crime of opportunity.” She realized, as she spoke, it was the name of her book.
Her face was as blank as when she’d pointed that damn gun at him. But her stormy eyes stopped him from walking out the door. He finally understood the phrase “eyes are windows to the soul.” Rowan Smith’s eyes told him she was scared but strong, troubled but defiant. A captivating combination.
The book. Rowan. Shit, he’d fucked up. I’m sorry, John. You were right.
A flash of light-a camera? Maybe it was a tunnel. Yes, a bright tunnel.
Then the world was gone.
She stared at him, her face firm, a slight frown pulling down the corners of her lips. “I can’t live with another death on my conscience.”
“Nothing is going to happen to me.” He took her by the shoulders. He didn’t mean to shake her so hard, just give her a little jolt so she’d know he was serious. But her head jerked forward and he saw some of the fire back in her eyes.
A knife twisted in his heart. Don’t worry about me. She said it as if she suspected he wasn’t worried. And the irony was, when he set this up, he hadn’t been. He hadn’t cared what it would do to her.
Now he did.
Her inner strength began to melt. The carefully constructed wall that had protected her for so long crumbled at her feet. She was a trapped animal, pacing, pacing, pacing. Waiting for someone to come and shoot her. A mouse being toyed with by a cat. As soon as the mouse lost hope and cowered, the cat killed its prey.
He stared at her for a long time and she couldn’t read his expression. Was he angry? Upset? She didn’t want to hurt him, but it would hurt more if she lost him. Yes, she was being selfish. But the great strides she’d made at putting the past behind her would be shattered if she cared too much and the worst happened. No plans for the future, nothing to wrap her heart around, not now. Maybe not ever.
In the back of her mind, a whispered thought murmured It’s too late. You care. You love him. But she didn’t-couldn’t-acknowledge it.
“Typical spring wedding for a boring couple. He had a future, could have gone places and done things with his life, but the bitch kept him tied to home with a bunch of brats.”
“No buts, I said.” He leaned over and lightly kissed her. “Together, Rowan. We’ve been loners for so long, both of us. But together we’re stronger.”
Together we’re stronger. She smiled weakly. “Yes, we are.””
“Labeled 'romantic suspense' I noticed this book on the shelf at my local library, read the blurb, and decided it sounded interesting enough to check it out. And while the mystery itself was pretty good, I just couldn't get into the romantic part of the story. Mostly because I didn't really care for either of the protagonists - Rowan or her bodyguard soon-to-be lover, John Flynn. In fact, I felt the book definitely dragged during their insipid dialogue and internal musings. While the author has penned several books, I don't really feel drawn to read anything else she's written.”
Sandy P wrote this review Friday, May 8 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Not bad for a debut novel.
GinRobi wrote this review Friday, March 6 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Former FBI agent Rowan Smith last case haunted her so much, she quit the FBI. Parts of the case hit too close to home. At the age of 10, she witnessed her brother Bobby’s evilness when he murdered most of the members of her family. The only ones alive besides herself are her brother and her father, but her father may as well be dead. She saw her mother’s bloodied, lifeless corpse and believe he killed her. Now he sits in a mental ward, no life in his eyes. Now she’s an author whose books are being made into movies. Staying in Hollywood in a rented beach house, she’s currently working on the next movie. One morning she wakes up to the slamming of a car door. Answering the door was the worst thing she could have done; reporters were camped on her doorstep, wanting to know her reaction to a murder that was taken straight from one of her books.
When another murder happens, her producer, Annette hires a security firm. Michael Flynn, ex-cop, is on the case, determined to protect her. But he’s also falling for her, and his brother, John, ex-DEA, wonders if it’s a repeat of a past case that went horribly wrong. Their sister, Tess, makes up the entire security firm, she’s their computer expert. When more events occur, John believes Rowan’s hiding something, and believes Michael’s too smitten to properly protect her. He wonders if what she’s hiding could get them killed.
As more and more murders occur, and her books left behind at the scene, FBI and the Flynn brothers agree that someone is after Rowan. But who could it be? Someone she put away, a family member of someone she put away or a victim? And then she begins to wonder if it’s someone from her past. But who? Everyone but herself, her brother Peter and her father are alive. Who could it be?
** I have to be honest; If this had been the first Brennan novel I’ve read, I probably would have enjoyed it more. But because I’ve read her more recent work, I found this one lacking.
For a debut novel, it was good. Not great, but good. I’ve read similar plots before and I didn’t find this one original enough to score 5 stars from me.
And emotionally diconnected. Rowan closed herself off from everyone. And in doing so, the reader also feels disconnected from her. Yes, what happened in her past is terrible, no kid should have to live through that, and I have to say I was proud at the life she built despite it. But with an emotional lack coming from the main character, it through the whole book off. Intelligent, strong, she can defend herself. But her past tortures her emotionally, and the reader doesn’t feel it.
John. Ex-DEA, he brings baggage to the story as well, but I found him more likable than Rowan. Strong, self-assured, he’s haunted when a case went terribly wrong, and he’s determined to catch Pomera, the man he’s been after for years. He started the security firm with his brother.
Michael. How am I supposed to approach this? He’s supposed to be an ex-cop. Supposed to have been a cop for 15 years before he quit. I’m sorry, but what I got from him was a smitten teenager in his late teens! OMG! He was attracted to Rowan right from the beginning. While they had their runs on the beach in the morning, he’s too busy watching her than their surroundings. When John pushes Rowan for the truth, for details, Michael makes him back off and coddles her. WTH?! He acted more like a love-sick teenager, jealous of his brother, than the grown man he was supposed to be. Granted, what happens in the book is awful and while I wished him off the case, I didn’t wish for what happened to happen.
And while I felt a physical attraction between Rowan and John, I didn’t feel anything else but. I felt more from the other characters. I did like the suspense and the mystery, even though finding out who the killer is was rather predictable. The climax and ending had me flipping pages. Started of slow, picked up in the middle, and about 3/4’s of the way in, became really good.
Will this stop me from reading The Hunt and The Kill? No. I’ve been told they’re much better. But this one doesn’t rate top marks from me, and I’m sad to say it.”
“This was just okay for me. I liked Rowan okay, despite her being so guarded that you don’t really get to know her, but I liked Michael more than John, so John and Rowan’s relationship didn’t sit real well with me. I did like that there was a little bit of a deeper storyline here… it wasn’t all about the murders. I think a lot of it was about siblings and the relationships between them, as well. But overall, it just left me with that “meh” feeling. I don’t know that I’ll bother finishing the trilogy unless I have a compelling reason to.”
miyurose wrote this review Thursday, February 19 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Rowan Smith is a murder mystery writer. Her third movie is in production and her fifth book is due out in two weeks. Her world is about to be drastically changed forever.
Stephanie wrote this review Sunday, December 14 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Someone is taking murders from her books, one from each, and making them reality. Except for with each killing, it becomes more personal. The killer starts sending tokens. Tokens that bring Rowan's bloody past glaringly into her present. A past she has desperatly tried to keep buried.
John Flynn is a former Delta officer who now runs his own security operation with his brother Michael, and his sister Tess. John was in the South American jungles chasing his own demon when Michael received the job of protecting Rowan Smith from the killer. John quickly takes over the job when he comes back to California because he is afraid Michael's objectivity is being compromised. Michael has a thing for damsels in distress.
John must fight a past that Rowan won't talk about and keep her safe. Protecting their hearts becomes difficult as they come closer together to try and catch her tormentor.
Neither of them know just how close Rowan's past is........
This is a very suspenseful book that I almost finished in one sitting. It was a fantastic book and I am glad that I have the next two readily available. ”
“Yes, again good! Her first book!
Danielle S wrote this review Thursday, October 30 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I loved Rowan and Michael, John a little, he was the big brother.
Tess was sweet too!
Rowan writes thrillers and there is a murderer who kills out off her book.
Then her friends,...he has to know her,...she has to know the murderer!!!!!!!!!”
“This book kept me in suspense all the way through. A past FBI agent, retired from the job, writes murder mysteries. When scenes from her books 'come to life', she is drawn into events over which she has no control. Great book.”
Karen K (K2) wrote this review Wednesday, May 14 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I Love this book / PREDATOR TRILOGY Book 1
Annett C wrote this review Thursday, December 27 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Setting: Malibu, California
Hero: John Flynn, former Delta Force turned mercenary/DEA drug informant
Heroine: Rowan Smith, former FBI agent turned crime fiction writer
Villain: Using Rowan’s books as blueprints for murder.
Recurring secondary characters:
Quinn Peterson
Hans Vigo (off-page)
”
“An author that knows the meaning of compelling suspense drama.”
Minimelilyrose wrote this review Saturday, September 22 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
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