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Southern Knights #1
Michael's Gift
Michael Bennett: A police officer driven almost past the edge of reason by the visions that were his unwanted gift.
Valery Navarre: An innocent woman caught in a nightmare that didn't end when daylight came.
Michael Bennett could not know what had compelled Valery Navarre to seek him out, any more than he knew why he had been chosen to see terrible crimes long before they occurred. All he knew was that this stranger had come to mean more to him than his own shadowed life - a life that would not be worth living if she, too, fell victim to a tragedy that he could foresee, but could do nothing to prevent...
Valery Navarre: An innocent woman caught in a nightmare that didn't end when daylight came.
Michael Bennett could not know what had compelled Valery Navarre to seek him out, any more than he knew why he had been chosen to see terrible crimes long before they occurred. All he knew was that this stranger had come to mean more to him than his own shadowed life - a life that would not be worth living if she, too, fell victim to a tragedy that he could foresee, but could do nothing to prevent...
- GenresRomance
248 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 1994
1 person is currently reading
48 people want to read
About the author
Marilyn Pappano
192 books126 followersAward-winning and bestselling author, international traveler, feted at a Hollywood premiere . . .
All true . . . but my regular life is a whole lot more routine. Deal with the five big puppers who share our house, babysit our grandson, battle the jungle that is our yard, pray for summer in winter and dream of winter in summer, and hunker down at the computer -- that's my real life.
I grew up in Oklahoma and had the fun of living in Georgia, Alabama, California and the Carolinas, thanks to my husband's Navy career. When he retired, we came home to Oklahoma and have lived in the same house for seventeen years. That's a real "Wow!" for someone used to the nomadic military life.
Writing was the perfect career for all that moving. Have computer, will travel. I've set books, or part of them, in every state we've lived in and been inspired by every place I've ever been. I've now written somewhere around 80 books, and I think I've got only about 8,000 stories left to tell.
My biggest hobby is starting new projects -- starting. Not completing. I'm still not done with the cross-stitched Army seal I started when our son joined out of high school. He did tours in Georgia, Colorado, Korea, Italy, Iraq, Afghanistan and Louisiana, and has been out for a few years. So I'm a little slow.
I like to think about getting organized, painting my living room in cool beachy colors, and turning my entire five-acre yard into a garden. I also dream about having every room in my house clean at exactly the same time, but I live by the motto of the woman who taught me to quilt: A clean house is the sign of a bored woman.
And I've never been bored.
All true . . . but my regular life is a whole lot more routine. Deal with the five big puppers who share our house, babysit our grandson, battle the jungle that is our yard, pray for summer in winter and dream of winter in summer, and hunker down at the computer -- that's my real life.
I grew up in Oklahoma and had the fun of living in Georgia, Alabama, California and the Carolinas, thanks to my husband's Navy career. When he retired, we came home to Oklahoma and have lived in the same house for seventeen years. That's a real "Wow!" for someone used to the nomadic military life.
Writing was the perfect career for all that moving. Have computer, will travel. I've set books, or part of them, in every state we've lived in and been inspired by every place I've ever been. I've now written somewhere around 80 books, and I think I've got only about 8,000 stories left to tell.
My biggest hobby is starting new projects -- starting. Not completing. I'm still not done with the cross-stitched Army seal I started when our son joined out of high school. He did tours in Georgia, Colorado, Korea, Italy, Iraq, Afghanistan and Louisiana, and has been out for a few years. So I'm a little slow.
I like to think about getting organized, painting my living room in cool beachy colors, and turning my entire five-acre yard into a garden. I also dream about having every room in my house clean at exactly the same time, but I live by the motto of the woman who taught me to quilt: A clean house is the sign of a bored woman.
And I've never been bored.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 23, 2011
I loved Michael's Gift. Michael is a cop who works drugs, he was a firm believer in god after all his father is a preacher but ever since he lost his best friend Evan that faith has gone and he almost gave in to alcohol when his other college friend Remy helped him.
Michael has visions all his friend know it and have helped him. He can't control these visions and his last vision got Evan killed. Now, they have started again. He is seeing a woman, who is scared and afraid and he has drawn her, when Remy comes to his place and he knows that Remy needs his help for that woman but Michael is afraid and not sure he wants to go down that road. That woman he learns later through his friend Smith is Remy's estranged cousin and a witness to a murder perpetrated by a big time criminal.
Valery is a creature of habit and one day on her way to home, she witnessed a murder and what she heard made her run. She is afraid, not sure who to trust, doubtful about Remy. Valery went to live with Remy's parents after her parents divorced and none of them wanted her, she was hurting and Remy abandoned her at that time and later shattered her heart. She has these intuitions and turns up on Michael's doorstep, telling him that she doesn't want anyone to know where she is. The first few days go by unremarkably, kind of in a limbo, they talk.
Valery learns that Michael is divorced, his wife couldn't deal being married to a cop, she also learns about the guilt and doubt of faith he is suffering from. Michael on his part is amazed to see Valery at his doorstep. Michael makes Valery realize that she is still that hurt girl, she has friends but none that are close and her relationships don't have the power to hurt her, she has issues.
I liked the pace of the book, slow in the middle, two people getting to know each other. I liked Michael, he was one of those men, who didn't think women were good for one thing, instead he didn't believe in casual sex. I liked how he brought about a dress for Valery when he went to her place to pick up some clothes.
Michael is the one to first confess and realize his feelings but his telling Remy about Valery spooks her and makes her feel betrayed. I liked how everything came together, the way the emotions were shown, their actions justified, all perfect.
I would love to read the stories about the other friends now.
Michael has visions all his friend know it and have helped him. He can't control these visions and his last vision got Evan killed. Now, they have started again. He is seeing a woman, who is scared and afraid and he has drawn her, when Remy comes to his place and he knows that Remy needs his help for that woman but Michael is afraid and not sure he wants to go down that road. That woman he learns later through his friend Smith is Remy's estranged cousin and a witness to a murder perpetrated by a big time criminal.
Valery is a creature of habit and one day on her way to home, she witnessed a murder and what she heard made her run. She is afraid, not sure who to trust, doubtful about Remy. Valery went to live with Remy's parents after her parents divorced and none of them wanted her, she was hurting and Remy abandoned her at that time and later shattered her heart. She has these intuitions and turns up on Michael's doorstep, telling him that she doesn't want anyone to know where she is. The first few days go by unremarkably, kind of in a limbo, they talk.
Valery learns that Michael is divorced, his wife couldn't deal being married to a cop, she also learns about the guilt and doubt of faith he is suffering from. Michael on his part is amazed to see Valery at his doorstep. Michael makes Valery realize that she is still that hurt girl, she has friends but none that are close and her relationships don't have the power to hurt her, she has issues.
I liked the pace of the book, slow in the middle, two people getting to know each other. I liked Michael, he was one of those men, who didn't think women were good for one thing, instead he didn't believe in casual sex. I liked how he brought about a dress for Valery when he went to her place to pick up some clothes.
Michael is the one to first confess and realize his feelings but his telling Remy about Valery spooks her and makes her feel betrayed. I liked how everything came together, the way the emotions were shown, their actions justified, all perfect.
I would love to read the stories about the other friends now.
January 31, 2008
Michael's Gift
is the first in Marilyn Pappano's 6-book Southern Knights series.
Set in New Orleans, Michael is a cop with a paranormal 'gift' and a whole lot of ghosts and guilt. He isn't dark and brooding, he's dead man walking. Pappano does an excellent job of fleshing out this character and his motivations. Our heroine, Valery, comes to him, first in dreams and visions, then because she is telepathically drawn to him.
Valery is also an emotional zombie. Michael was a preacher's kid but has lost faith in God, believing in nothing except his closest friends while Valery has lost faith in people and trusts no one except God. Despite the religious overtones here, this is not a "Christian" story. It is simply a dichotomy of two souls who are both empty and in need of healing.
But Valery is also in need of protection. Having witnessed a murder, the bad guys want her dead. Having overheard some of their conversation, she believes the 'good guys' want her dead, too.
The only thing lacking is the detail in the denoument. The fault most likely is that of the limitation in length rather than the storyteller's skill. To describe a bullets-flying battle by simply saying 'all hell broke loose' is unacceptable and that brought an otherwise excellent story down a notch or two.
Pappano does a good job introducing readers to secondary characters and offers sufficient detail to interest readers in their stories, which are told in subsequent books in the series. I am looking forward to reading Regarding Remy, the second book in the Southern Knights series.
Set in New Orleans, Michael is a cop with a paranormal 'gift' and a whole lot of ghosts and guilt. He isn't dark and brooding, he's dead man walking. Pappano does an excellent job of fleshing out this character and his motivations. Our heroine, Valery, comes to him, first in dreams and visions, then because she is telepathically drawn to him.
Valery is also an emotional zombie. Michael was a preacher's kid but has lost faith in God, believing in nothing except his closest friends while Valery has lost faith in people and trusts no one except God. Despite the religious overtones here, this is not a "Christian" story. It is simply a dichotomy of two souls who are both empty and in need of healing.
But Valery is also in need of protection. Having witnessed a murder, the bad guys want her dead. Having overheard some of their conversation, she believes the 'good guys' want her dead, too.
The only thing lacking is the detail in the denoument. The fault most likely is that of the limitation in length rather than the storyteller's skill. To describe a bullets-flying battle by simply saying 'all hell broke loose' is unacceptable and that brought an otherwise excellent story down a notch or two.
Pappano does a good job introducing readers to secondary characters and offers sufficient detail to interest readers in their stories, which are told in subsequent books in the series. I am looking forward to reading Regarding Remy, the second book in the Southern Knights series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 1, 2013
Michael’s Gift is the first book of the Southern Knights series by American author, Marilyn Pappano. The Knight in this book is Michael Bennett, a cop with visions that allow him to see victims in danger, an unwanted gift that led to the death of his partner. Valery Navarre is his latest vision: a woman who witnessed a hit on an informant, a woman in danger. Valery can’t go to the FBI because her cousin Remy is an agent and she has reason to believe he is involved with the hit. A strange force draws her to Michael, a feeling he is a man she can trust. This romance/drama is set in New Orleans and has a little more depth than the average romance. As well as some sexy romance, there are a few heart-stopping moments of danger and quite a bit on intrigue. The other Marilyn Pappano books in the series are Regarding Remy and A Man Like Smith.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews