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Just Before Dawn
In a quiet, resort community in Florida, a chilling scenario emerges--the parents of a missing teenage girl are receiving cryptic midnight phone calls from a young woman who sounds unmistakably like their daughter. Worse yet, they're finding they're not the only parents in town to lose a daughter to such a mysterious and similar fate. It this a cruel hoax by a serial killer? Or is their daughter the lone survivor whose time is running out?
368 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published April 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 26, 2012
Shattered, by Donna Ball was a kindle lending library selection. Donna Ball has written many novels, under different names. I intend to search out more of her work.
This book was a taut suspense thriller about a couple that had a daughter disappear two years ago. Carol, a real estate agent, starts getting phone calls from a girl asking for her mama to come get her. Carol believes it is her missing daughter, Kelly. Carol's ex-husband, Guy, also begins to get calls, only his are a little different. Guy and Carol still care for each other despite their differences, but Guy is afraid to believe his daughter might still be alive. But, then another young girl is murdered and the investigation leads to new clues about Kelly.
This was a real page turner! Fast paced, lots of suspense, and clever plotting. The subject of missing teens, presumed to be runaways is heart wrenching. Although, the story is a familiar one, similar to several recent cases in the news, the story doesn't mimic those cases. But, it does feel like you are reading about a true case sometimes. Overall this one gets a B+
This book was a taut suspense thriller about a couple that had a daughter disappear two years ago. Carol, a real estate agent, starts getting phone calls from a girl asking for her mama to come get her. Carol believes it is her missing daughter, Kelly. Carol's ex-husband, Guy, also begins to get calls, only his are a little different. Guy and Carol still care for each other despite their differences, but Guy is afraid to believe his daughter might still be alive. But, then another young girl is murdered and the investigation leads to new clues about Kelly.
This was a real page turner! Fast paced, lots of suspense, and clever plotting. The subject of missing teens, presumed to be runaways is heart wrenching. Although, the story is a familiar one, similar to several recent cases in the news, the story doesn't mimic those cases. But, it does feel like you are reading about a true case sometimes. Overall this one gets a B+
May 8, 2018
Very different from the Lady Bug Farm or Raine Stockton series. This is a thriller that leave you guessing until the villain is revealed.
January 12, 2019
Exciting!
Great book! Riveting and spellbinding until the very end. I couldn’t put it down and read it in 2 days!
Great book! Riveting and spellbinding until the very end. I couldn’t put it down and read it in 2 days!
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February 14, 2021good
February 9, 2023
Where would you look.
Good read. Scary because young adults are so trusting. The hardest thing would be to lose a child and never know what happened to them.
Good read. Scary because young adults are so trusting. The hardest thing would be to lose a child and never know what happened to them.
June 10, 2012
I received a kindle copy of Shattered after responding to an announcement on goodreads by Donna Ball that she was looking for reviewers for her latest book. Having read (and reviewed) several of Donna's other books, I was delighted when Donna accepted my offer.
Shattered lived up to my expectations and is a tense “who-done-it” with lots of twists and turns. I felt the psychological effects on the victims were extremely well portrayed.
If I have any niggles about Shattered, they are minor. I felt that, in the first part of the book, we were told too many times, in almost the same words, how animosity-filled had been Carol and Guy's divorce: I got it the first time; I was fed of hearing about it by the third time. I didn't feel retelling it added to the story but rather slowed down the pace of the beginning of the book.
The various threads of the characters' – major and minor – lives are beautifully interwoven, resulting in a tapestry of a story that needs to be read more than once to find all the clues as they first appear.
I particularly enjoyed that the story changes viewpoint regularly – that way the reader gets to see much more of the action. This technique adds to the tension for the reader as we can see the pitfalls and traps ahead of characters and thus will them not to fall in, whilst suspecting that they will do so anyway.
So in summary: buy Shattered! It is a little slow to start, with an element of repetition, but once the suspense starts to build and the status quo is challenged, it is a tense page-turner.
Thank you, Donna, for giving me the opportunity to review this book. I hope that Shattered gains the critical and commercial success due to it.
A longer review appears here
Shattered lived up to my expectations and is a tense “who-done-it” with lots of twists and turns. I felt the psychological effects on the victims were extremely well portrayed.
If I have any niggles about Shattered, they are minor. I felt that, in the first part of the book, we were told too many times, in almost the same words, how animosity-filled had been Carol and Guy's divorce: I got it the first time; I was fed of hearing about it by the third time. I didn't feel retelling it added to the story but rather slowed down the pace of the beginning of the book.
The various threads of the characters' – major and minor – lives are beautifully interwoven, resulting in a tapestry of a story that needs to be read more than once to find all the clues as they first appear.
I particularly enjoyed that the story changes viewpoint regularly – that way the reader gets to see much more of the action. This technique adds to the tension for the reader as we can see the pitfalls and traps ahead of characters and thus will them not to fall in, whilst suspecting that they will do so anyway.
So in summary: buy Shattered! It is a little slow to start, with an element of repetition, but once the suspense starts to build and the status quo is challenged, it is a tense page-turner.
Thank you, Donna, for giving me the opportunity to review this book. I hope that Shattered gains the critical and commercial success due to it.
A longer review appears here
August 18, 2012
I loved this one. The writing is superb. The story had great pacing and flowed beautifully making the reading easy. The characters are full, believable, and likable. The premise, although not at all original, is good and well executed without discrepancies or flaws of any kind that I could see. The descriptions are very well done without being too wordy. I could "picture" Carol's house, the beach, the office, the lighthouse, and every other location. I could see the characters. I love it when an author is able to do that and Ms. Ball did it to perfection. The family dynamic is realistic and it's easy to identify with their issues. The dialogue is genuine and believable. There is absolutely nothing "flat" in this story.
I did have to suspend disbelief in a couple of areas relating to actions of the police, but it was easy as the story was so compelling and the few issues I had were not major.
There was some course language, largely from one character, in one scene. If there was more than that I don't recall it, so it wasn't overused. There was no graphic sexual content. The violence was not too graphic, just enough to further the plot.
Shattered drew my attention and compelled me to keep reading. It is absolutely 5-star worthy
I did have to suspend disbelief in a couple of areas relating to actions of the police, but it was easy as the story was so compelling and the few issues I had were not major.
There was some course language, largely from one character, in one scene. If there was more than that I don't recall it, so it wasn't overused. There was no graphic sexual content. The violence was not too graphic, just enough to further the plot.
Shattered drew my attention and compelled me to keep reading. It is absolutely 5-star worthy
July 5, 2012
This book was different from any I have read by Donna Ball. I love her Lady Bug Farm books and her Raine Stockton series. This book was more in the thriller genre.
The setting is a beach resort town in Florida. It seems that during spring break week a serial killer is on the loose. To add to the tension, Carol and Guy's daughter, Kelly had run away two years before and was now calling. This book was unputdownable!
The setting is a beach resort town in Florida. It seems that during spring break week a serial killer is on the loose. To add to the tension, Carol and Guy's daughter, Kelly had run away two years before and was now calling. This book was unputdownable!
May 28, 2012
I don't normally read books about serial killers but I gave this a try because I enjoy Donna Ball's books. Shattered drew me in from the first page. I read it in one sitting - I couldn't put it down.
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December 1, 2012good
August 13, 2015
Quick read, but a good one. I did guess the killer but still enjoyed the ride.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews