Flight into Fantasy

Title: Speak No Evil
Author: Allison Brennan
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Source: Bookshare
Reason for Reading: A friend recommended Allison Brennan to me. Romantic suspense is usually a hard sell for me, but it seemed, from the descriptions of the books my friend had read, that Ms. Brennan writes strong heroines, and I really like that.

Synopsis from the author’s site:

Don’t say a word . . . Just scream.

The murder of eighteen-year-old Angie Vance was exceptionally vile–her mouth was sealed with glue, an obscenity was scrawled across her skin and she was suffocated in a garbage bag. The killing seems personal, so police detective Carina Kincaid focuses her efforts on the victim’s much older ex-boyfriend, Steve Thomas. But without physical evidence, Carina can’t make a collar or a case. She also can’t stop Sheriff Nick Thomas, the prime suspect’s brother, from conducting his own unwelcome investigation.

Though Nick is still scarred and unsteady from a recent confrontation with a serial killer, he’s determined to prove his brother’s innocence. But his confidence is shaken when he learns of Steve’s dark side, and when a friend of the murdered girl meets a similarly gruesome fate. With no time to lose, Carina and Nick work together to trap a psychopath, before another unlucky woman faces an unspeakable end.

My Thoughts: Romantic suspense is, I think, incredibly hard to do well. First, the author has to balance both the suspense element with the romance perfectly. If the story leans more toward one side or the other, someone will be dissatisfied. Authors who have done romantic suspense right, in my opinion, include Karen Rose and Bethany Campbell.

Unfortunately, this book doesn’t quite make it. It falls more heavily on the suspense side of the equation, which I don’t have a problem with. My problem comes from the fact that the romance felt a little forced, as if the author suddenly realized, “Oh, wait. I’ve written this whole book and should probably include some chemistry.” There should, by rights, be plenty of sparks between Nick and Carina. But while Carina does at first put up some resistance to Nick’s investigation, she lets him in readily enough after only a short time. Even then, I never really felt that there was a connection between the two. I was told there was, but I didn’t believe it.

Another thing that didn’t work for me was the fact that Ms. Brennan relied a lot on presenting us with the killer’s POV. She wrote the killer well, don’t get me wrong, but rather than add to the suspense, I mostly found him tedious and a little pathetic.

There were things I did like, though. Ms. Brennan is a good storyteller, and while I wasn’t as engaged as I would have liked, when I was actually reading, the book kept my interest. I also enjoyed the fact that there were connections to other books which were, for the most part, subtly introduced.

The book does stand alone, and the good guys, though not particularly memorable in the boudoir, were pleasant enough people. Nick was brooding without getting into uber-emo territory, and Carina was strong and competent, though I did find her to be a bit of a fuddy-duddy, something that is sadly not an uncommon characteristic of romance heroines. The minor characters, particularly Carina’s brothers, were interesting enough that I’d read books about them.

Final Thoughts: Though Ms. Brennan’s obviously a talented storyteller, and though I do want to read more of her books, I don’t think I’ll be doing so in a hurry. Too much time in the killer’s head while he was committing his graphic deeds and a romance that felt pasted on brought my enjoyment down.

Final Grade: C

Other Thoughts

• All About Romance: She liked it less than I did.