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The Night in Question
The Night In Question by Harper Allen released on Aug 23, 2002 is available now for purchase.
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 2002
3 people are currently reading
54 people want to read
About the author
Harper Allen
31 books29 followersHarper Allen is a Canadian writer of romance novels. She is a four-time nominee for a Career Achievement Award by Romantic Times Book Reviews magazine and her novel Dressed To Slay was named the magazine's choice for Best Silhouette Bombshell of 2006.
Her Irish ancestry lends them a touch of Celtic mysticism, while her work as a reporter in the criminal court system gives her books a darker edge, first and foremost each one is a story about a man and a woman falling in love and holding on to that love. Her characters have always been real people with real flaws, desperately struggling to find the love that will redeem them - and for that Harper need look no further for inspiration than her own life.
Harper grew up in a blue-collar motor city, and with comments such as "Does not play well with others" on her grade-school report cards. Underneath the motorcycle leathers and the rose tattoo, beats the heart of a true romantic. The day she met the man who eventually became her husband, she told her sister, "I've just met the man I'm going to marry. How long do you think it'll take him to figure it out?" They married, and had little kids, who aren't the first ones picked for the volleyball team. Her idea of a great date with her husband is going to a baseball game. Her idea of a great baseball game is any one in which the Red Sox win.
Her Irish ancestry lends them a touch of Celtic mysticism, while her work as a reporter in the criminal court system gives her books a darker edge, first and foremost each one is a story about a man and a woman falling in love and holding on to that love. Her characters have always been real people with real flaws, desperately struggling to find the love that will redeem them - and for that Harper need look no further for inspiration than her own life.
Harper grew up in a blue-collar motor city, and with comments such as "Does not play well with others" on her grade-school report cards. Underneath the motorcycle leathers and the rose tattoo, beats the heart of a true romantic. The day she met the man who eventually became her husband, she told her sister, "I've just met the man I'm going to marry. How long do you think it'll take him to figure it out?" They married, and had little kids, who aren't the first ones picked for the volleyball team. Her idea of a great date with her husband is going to a baseball game. Her idea of a great baseball game is any one in which the Red Sox win.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 18, 2018
The Night in Question
January 28, 2003
Until "The Night in Question" came along it seemed like forever since I read an Intrigue I really loved. Even Harper Allen's last one wasn't one of her best. This one's right up there.
"The Night in Question" is an intense read that combines moving characters and a strong mystery. Julia and Max are two deeply felt characters with tragedy in their pasts who find the strength and courage to overcome them. Julia is a gritty and more flawed character than most Intrigue heroines. That's what makes her so fascinating. Unlike the heroine of Allen's "Protector with a Past," another tortured Julia, this one is easier to relate to and sympathize with. She's also given a hero in Max with just as much to overcome and as much to gain from love. The author takes as much care to develop the mystery as she does the romance. There are plenty of secrets to be uncovered along the way and a good amount of action. The witness protection angle did strike me as a little off too, but the author has been very meticulous with her research in the past. She included author's notes in her first two books to note changes she'd made and there were parts of "The Night in Question" that demonstrated she'd done her homework. I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and go with it. It's such a little thing I wouldn't let it bother me when there are so many wonderful things in this book.
I was about ready to give up on Intrigues after the last few months of so-so books. I wasn't sure why I was reading them anymore (contrary to popular belief, I don't like writing bad reviews for Intrigues). This one was wonderful, full of the emotion and mystery the best Intrigues should have. There might be hope for the line after all.
January 28, 2003
Until "The Night in Question" came along it seemed like forever since I read an Intrigue I really loved. Even Harper Allen's last one wasn't one of her best. This one's right up there.
"The Night in Question" is an intense read that combines moving characters and a strong mystery. Julia and Max are two deeply felt characters with tragedy in their pasts who find the strength and courage to overcome them. Julia is a gritty and more flawed character than most Intrigue heroines. That's what makes her so fascinating. Unlike the heroine of Allen's "Protector with a Past," another tortured Julia, this one is easier to relate to and sympathize with. She's also given a hero in Max with just as much to overcome and as much to gain from love. The author takes as much care to develop the mystery as she does the romance. There are plenty of secrets to be uncovered along the way and a good amount of action. The witness protection angle did strike me as a little off too, but the author has been very meticulous with her research in the past. She included author's notes in her first two books to note changes she'd made and there were parts of "The Night in Question" that demonstrated she'd done her homework. I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and go with it. It's such a little thing I wouldn't let it bother me when there are so many wonderful things in this book.
I was about ready to give up on Intrigues after the last few months of so-so books. I wasn't sure why I was reading them anymore (contrary to popular belief, I don't like writing bad reviews for Intrigues). This one was wonderful, full of the emotion and mystery the best Intrigues should have. There might be hope for the line after all.
June 23, 2014
3 1/2 Stars ~ Two years ago Julia's whole life became a living nightmare when the private plane her husband and brother-in-law were on exploded. As the person who had handed her husband the wrapped package that contained the bomb, Julia had been convicted of four murders. What shocked the jury was that had it not been for a tummy upset, Julia's own four year old daughter would have been on the plane as well. Now 18 months after her incarceration, Julia's conviction has been over turned on a procedural technicality, one that leaves a bitter taste in Max's mouth. He'd been the FBI investigator on the case, and was bitterly enraged that the local PD hadn't dotted all the i's and crossed all the t's. Max's meeting with Julia on the day of her release was to be strictly to warn her off ever trying to find her daughter. Julia presents herself as a hard and cold woman and he's convinced even more that she's guilty. But Julia's equally determined to be reunited with her daughter and to begin a new life, one that no one will ever steal from her. Hiring a computer hacker recommended from a friend inside, Julia's so close to an address, only to have Max barging in flashing his federal credentials and scaring off the hacker. Max tells her some home truths about her daughter Willa, and that the child deserves more than a life on the run. The words hit home to Julia and broken and despondent she realizes that Max is right. The despair Max sees in Julia suddenly hit him, because no mother who loved their child as much as Julia appears to love Willa would have cold heartedly put her child on that plane. And with this truth, Max begins to rethink everything about the case from two years ago.
This story gripped me right from the first emotionally intense pages. The heart break Ms. Allen is able to portray in Julia is truly gut wrenching. Max sees that Julia's lived in hell and still is, and his role in putting her there eats at him. He's been living in a limbo of his own for the past ten years, ever since his pregnant wife died tragically in a car accident. Julia's recognizes his pain and tries to pull him back to the land of the living. The path to find the real murderer is a roller coaster ride and Julia and Max's chemistry and bond is undeniable. I've read a few of Ms. Allen's books and have found them all to be page turners, this one has that edginess and then some.
This story gripped me right from the first emotionally intense pages. The heart break Ms. Allen is able to portray in Julia is truly gut wrenching. Max sees that Julia's lived in hell and still is, and his role in putting her there eats at him. He's been living in a limbo of his own for the past ten years, ever since his pregnant wife died tragically in a car accident. Julia's recognizes his pain and tries to pull him back to the land of the living. The path to find the real murderer is a roller coaster ride and Julia and Max's chemistry and bond is undeniable. I've read a few of Ms. Allen's books and have found them all to be page turners, this one has that edginess and then some.
April 24, 2012
Two stars means okay, but it really wasn't okay. I didn't hate it, but I did finish it so I feel that it should be one and a half stars. I used to devour Harlequin novels as a teen. I found this one laying around and it fit the parameters of a Book Challenge I was taking. Wow! Um....wow. The crime-solving plot was interesting. It was twisty-turning, making you look at all the suspects and casting blame this way and then that way. The love story, though, was completely implausible. A federal agent falls for the trophy wife he helped to put behind bars. The romance takes place over three days. What really, really bothered me though was all the out loud internal monologue. I can't understand why this author choose to have these people talk their feelings out loud? Why couldn't she just write it in the prose? It just made the characters seem ridiculous.
September 12, 2021
Good plot but love is implausible. How did she fall in love and in bed so hastily with someone helped her being falsely convicted for murder of four people?. He didn't even show enough regret for what he did. Also both H and h were sounding quite stupid.
May 8, 2021
Did not finish this book. Did not like it
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews