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Brown and de Luca #1.5
Dream of Danger
She didn't want to need him.
Murder brought self-help guru Rachel de Luca and Detective Mason Brown together. Their shared secrets drove them apart. But now they're together again in this riveting novella that begins where New York Times bestselling author Maggie Shayne's Sleep with the Lights On ended.
She may have been blind for twenty years, but Rachel's always had an uncanny gift for seeing through people—and she distrusts her assistant's new boyfriend at first sight. Amy isn't interested in Rachel's misgivings, though. She's too eager to celebrate Thanksgiving by introducing her family to the new man in her life.
Then Amy doesn't show up for the holiday….
Desperate to find her missing friend, Rachel has no choice but to turn to Mason. Their investigation into Amy's disappearance takes them ever deeper into danger—and reignites the attraction that they've both sworn to resist. Now it's a race against time as these reluctant partners fight to stave off passion and save a life.
Don’t miss Wake to Darkness, the next instalment in this suspenseful series, coming in December.
73 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2013
204 people are currently reading
1020 people want to read
About the author
Maggie Shayne
258 books2,575 followersI live in the teeny, tiny town of Taylor, NY, (Alliteration Alert!) though my mailing address is Cincinnatus, my telephone exchange is Truxton and I pay taxes and vote in Cuyler. All of these are at least in the same rural county in the southern hills of New York State; Cortland County. There are more cattle than people here. The nearest “big” cities are Syracuse and Binghamton and they are an hour away, in different directions, and not really all that big by most standards, though they both seem humongous to me. I look out my window to see rolling, green, thickly forested hills, wildflower laden meadows and wide open blue, blue skies. My road is barely paved. The nearest neighboring place is a 700 acre dairy farm.
My house is a big, century old farmhouse. I moved in here after my divorce in 2006. Just a little over a year later, the house, which I had named, SERENITY, burned. It was 99% gutted, and I lost my two dogs, Sally, an 11-year-old great Dane, and Wrinkles, my 14-year-old, blind bulldog. This was the culmination of my Dark Night of the soul, which had seemed to hit me all at once in 2006-2007. My mother died that year, after a 14 month battle with pancreatic cancer. She was only 60. The youngest of my five daughters had left home that same year, and while that’s not a tragedy at all, it felt like one to me. Then came the divorce. And finally there was the fire--it seemed my darkest night wasn’t quite finished with me after all. I had lost almost everything before that point, and as I poked through the wet ashes and soot the next day, I realized that I had now been stripped all the way to the bone.
No better time to start over. (And no, I didn’t come to that realization that day--there were a few days of wallowing in pity first, particularly the day after the fire, when I hit a deer and smashed up my car, which I was practically living in!)
That’s when I started to laugh. Just sat on the side of the road as the deer bounded, uninjured and carefree, out of sight, and laughed. It was just too ridiculous at that point, to do anything else!
And from there, I picked myself up, and brushed myself off, and said, okay, there’s only one way to go from here. Forward. And that’s what I did. There I was at the age of harrurmphemmph, living in my one, mostly undamaged remaining room, with a dorm-sized mini-fridge, a futon, a TV, my cat (nine lives!) and a laptop. And not much else. (Though thank goodness the room that survived the fire, was a room that had its own attached bathroom!)
Since then I have rebuilt my beloved home, which really has become my haven, my “Serenity.” I share it now with my fiancé, Lance, and we have accumulated quite the little family together. “Little” being a relative term. We have a pair of English Mastiffs, Dozer and Daisy, who weigh 203 pounds and 208 pounds respectively, and a little pudgy English Bulldog named Niblet, who is bigger than both of them, inside her mind. We also have the aforementioned cat, Glorificus (“Glory” for short,) who adores her canine pups and keeps them firmly in line. And we've acquired a pair of stray cats as well, a mother and son, Luna (Lulu for short) and Butters aka Buddy. Lulu showed up pregnant during a lunar eclipse, had a litter, and vanished again. We found homes for all the kittens except one. Butters. We got him fixed and kept him. A few months later, Lulu returned, again expecting. This litter was born on the "Monster Moon." Again, all the kittens were spayed and neutered and placed in homes, and this time we got Lulu to the vet in time to spay her before the cycle could repeat.
Glory is not amused.
She has a story of her own, my old Glory cat, having been with me before the Dark Times descended, she went through it all with me, moved with me, survived the fire, and remains with me still. She's tolerating the newcomers. Barely.
My partner is an artist, a mechanic, a welder and an inventor, and the rumors are true, he is much younger than I
My house is a big, century old farmhouse. I moved in here after my divorce in 2006. Just a little over a year later, the house, which I had named, SERENITY, burned. It was 99% gutted, and I lost my two dogs, Sally, an 11-year-old great Dane, and Wrinkles, my 14-year-old, blind bulldog. This was the culmination of my Dark Night of the soul, which had seemed to hit me all at once in 2006-2007. My mother died that year, after a 14 month battle with pancreatic cancer. She was only 60. The youngest of my five daughters had left home that same year, and while that’s not a tragedy at all, it felt like one to me. Then came the divorce. And finally there was the fire--it seemed my darkest night wasn’t quite finished with me after all. I had lost almost everything before that point, and as I poked through the wet ashes and soot the next day, I realized that I had now been stripped all the way to the bone.
No better time to start over. (And no, I didn’t come to that realization that day--there were a few days of wallowing in pity first, particularly the day after the fire, when I hit a deer and smashed up my car, which I was practically living in!)
That’s when I started to laugh. Just sat on the side of the road as the deer bounded, uninjured and carefree, out of sight, and laughed. It was just too ridiculous at that point, to do anything else!
And from there, I picked myself up, and brushed myself off, and said, okay, there’s only one way to go from here. Forward. And that’s what I did. There I was at the age of harrurmphemmph, living in my one, mostly undamaged remaining room, with a dorm-sized mini-fridge, a futon, a TV, my cat (nine lives!) and a laptop. And not much else. (Though thank goodness the room that survived the fire, was a room that had its own attached bathroom!)
Since then I have rebuilt my beloved home, which really has become my haven, my “Serenity.” I share it now with my fiancé, Lance, and we have accumulated quite the little family together. “Little” being a relative term. We have a pair of English Mastiffs, Dozer and Daisy, who weigh 203 pounds and 208 pounds respectively, and a little pudgy English Bulldog named Niblet, who is bigger than both of them, inside her mind. We also have the aforementioned cat, Glorificus (“Glory” for short,) who adores her canine pups and keeps them firmly in line. And we've acquired a pair of stray cats as well, a mother and son, Luna (Lulu for short) and Butters aka Buddy. Lulu showed up pregnant during a lunar eclipse, had a litter, and vanished again. We found homes for all the kittens except one. Butters. We got him fixed and kept him. A few months later, Lulu returned, again expecting. This litter was born on the "Monster Moon." Again, all the kittens were spayed and neutered and placed in homes, and this time we got Lulu to the vet in time to spay her before the cycle could repeat.
Glory is not amused.
She has a story of her own, my old Glory cat, having been with me before the Dark Times descended, she went through it all with me, moved with me, survived the fire, and remains with me still. She's tolerating the newcomers. Barely.
My partner is an artist, a mechanic, a welder and an inventor, and the rumors are true, he is much younger than I
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 101 reviews
July 4, 2018
Can barely remember it.... finished it a few days ago.
November 19, 2013
This is a short story of only 50 pages, so I read it very quickly.
I loved the first book of the series
. This one is a direct sequel.
It's just like a quick snack before the next installment
Here Mason and Rachel are in search of Amy who's disappeared while going to her parents house for Thanksgiving.
There's still a very strong attraction between them, but their remain firm about remaining separate, even if we see that it's becoming more difficult.
There's Myrtle too. She's got obese. LOL
Amy's abduction brings to light Rachel's senses. They're not any more only her ability to read people, but much more.
It made the waiting for Dream of Danger much more difficult! *wink*
I loved the first book of the series
. This one is a direct sequel.It's just like a quick snack before the next installment
Here Mason and Rachel are in search of Amy who's disappeared while going to her parents house for Thanksgiving.
There's still a very strong attraction between them, but their remain firm about remaining separate, even if we see that it's becoming more difficult.
There's Myrtle too. She's got obese. LOL
Amy's abduction brings to light Rachel's senses. They're not any more only her ability to read people, but much more.
It made the waiting for Dream of Danger much more difficult! *wink*
July 22, 2015
Very good short story; I usually don't like novellas. This was an enjoyable read!
May 30, 2016
3 1/2 stars (rounded down to 3 stars, because the mystery of Amy's disappearance wasn't completely explained by the end of the story - and for that, I don't think this installment of the series stands on its own)
August 8, 2014
Self-help guru and author Rachel de Luca was blind for 20 years before recently regaining her sight. While blind, she developed a knack of reading people and seeing through their lies. So when she meets her assistant, Amy, new boyfriend, her senses go into overdrive. She distrusts him from the very beginning.
Amy is heading up to see her family for Thanksgiving with her new beau but on the morning of Thanksgiving, Rachel gets a phone call from Amy's mother saying that she didn't arrive home. Rachel gets a message to Detective Mason Brown and he comes to assist in the search.
Together, they set off in search of Amy, getting deeper into danger, and finding that they have a hrad time denying their attraction to each other...
This was a really good story. Although it was a "sequel" to Sleep With the Lights On, there is enough information in this book to fill you in on what happened.
I would like to have seen maybe another 10 pages or so to really build the tension some more. It sorted of ended lamely with no real idea of who the kidnappers were or why they did it. Could have been better, but not by much!
Paul
ARH
Amy is heading up to see her family for Thanksgiving with her new beau but on the morning of Thanksgiving, Rachel gets a phone call from Amy's mother saying that she didn't arrive home. Rachel gets a message to Detective Mason Brown and he comes to assist in the search.
Together, they set off in search of Amy, getting deeper into danger, and finding that they have a hrad time denying their attraction to each other...
This was a really good story. Although it was a "sequel" to Sleep With the Lights On, there is enough information in this book to fill you in on what happened.
I would like to have seen maybe another 10 pages or so to really build the tension some more. It sorted of ended lamely with no real idea of who the kidnappers were or why they did it. Could have been better, but not by much!
Paul
ARH
November 3, 2013
This is the sequel to Sleep with the Lights on..It is great to see that the chemistry between Rachel and Mason is still there.. They are taking a cooling off period from each other tho , and it is definitely getting to both of them.
Since she has regained the site she lost years ago, she is getting to know her self and the world again..But they definitely want to take their relationship to another level.
And Myrtle is back.. I can see her sitting in the car with her goggles and her scarf on..lol.
Another hit for Maggie Shayne. Can't wait for the next book I believe is due out in late November or beginning on December..
And the best part of this one is....its a free download..
Since she has regained the site she lost years ago, she is getting to know her self and the world again..But they definitely want to take their relationship to another level.
And Myrtle is back.. I can see her sitting in the car with her goggles and her scarf on..lol.
Another hit for Maggie Shayne. Can't wait for the next book I believe is due out in late November or beginning on December..
And the best part of this one is....its a free download..
July 13, 2014
Rachel De Luca and Mason Brown are stepping back and taking a break from their relationship when Rachel's assistant, Amy, goes missing. Amy and her latest boyfriend were on their way to her family home for Thanksgiving. Amy's mother called looking for her, saying Amy had never shown up. Rachel is suspicious of the boyfriend, Mel, since she really didn't like him when she met him. Soon she is calling Mason asking for his help in finding Amy.
This short story is a nice follow-up to "Sleep With the Lights On". Although it's only 67 pages long, the characters are well developed and the story never lets up. My rating: 4 Stars.
This short story is a nice follow-up to "Sleep With the Lights On". Although it's only 67 pages long, the characters are well developed and the story never lets up. My rating: 4 Stars.
August 3, 2016
Actual Rating: 2.5 Stars
This short novella was enjoyable, but felt kind of pointless and open-ended, like it would have been better off as a full-length novel with more material. That being said, I DID still enjoy it if only because I'm kind of in love with Rachel's voice and narration, and I'm kind of in love with Myrtle, the adorable blind bulldog. The mystery/suspense/thriller part was a little 'meh'. And Mason really just did not even feel present.
There are hints that there might be more to Amy's kidnapping, which I suspect may be addressed in a later book.
This short novella was enjoyable, but felt kind of pointless and open-ended, like it would have been better off as a full-length novel with more material. That being said, I DID still enjoy it if only because I'm kind of in love with Rachel's voice and narration, and I'm kind of in love with Myrtle, the adorable blind bulldog. The mystery/suspense/thriller part was a little 'meh'. And Mason really just did not even feel present.
There are hints that there might be more to Amy's kidnapping, which I suspect may be addressed in a later book.
April 13, 2015
I think I started this one on the wrong foot, since I didn't read any other installments to the Brown and de Luca series before picking it up. But even so, it was an enjoyable read. Rachel's amusing as heck!
Anyway, the rest of my thoughts have been arranged into a haiku:
"As the eye opens,
Receptors come alive, and
Will not be ignored."
Anyway, the rest of my thoughts have been arranged into a haiku:
"As the eye opens,
Receptors come alive, and
Will not be ignored."
December 13, 2014
Short Thanksgiving novella starring my favorite couple Rachel de Luca and Mason Brown.
Rachel's assistant Amy goes missing on her way to her parents for thanksgiving, and it is up to Rachel to find her and return her home safely.
Rachel's assistant Amy goes missing on her way to her parents for thanksgiving, and it is up to Rachel to find her and return her home safely.
January 2, 2015
3.5/5; 4 stars; B+
A good filler between book 1 and 2, this short story is not absolutely required but I enjoyed it just the same. Amy is a cool character and it was good to spend a bit more time with her.
A good filler between book 1 and 2, this short story is not absolutely required but I enjoyed it just the same. Amy is a cool character and it was good to spend a bit more time with her.
March 12, 2014
This was a really good novella. I enjoyed Mason and Rachel teaming up again to find Amy. But what wasnt explained was who it was and why it happened. I wanted the details. Oh well.
April 24, 2020
Amy Montrose is assistant to self-help writer Rachel de Luca and when Rachel watches as Amy rides off with her boyfriend, Rachel feels uneasy. He’s lying about something. They were supposedly driving to Amy’s mother’s house to celebrate Thanksgiving but she calls Rachel the next morning asking where Amy is. Rachel took a cell photo of Mel’s car as he and Amy left. Now she sends it to Detective Mason Brown with the note “Need u”.
A short but good novella. Although Mason and Amy are strongly attracted to each other, they insist they will just be friends until their personal lives are straightened out but she knows she can depend on him for whatever she needs.
A short but good novella. Although Mason and Amy are strongly attracted to each other, they insist they will just be friends until their personal lives are straightened out but she knows she can depend on him for whatever she needs.
February 13, 2024
I've never been a novella type of girl, so don't take my rating as a bad thing on this book. I just don't enjoy the short stuff. However, I read this just in case we got some more Mason/Rachel (Can I coin the phrase 'Machel' now for them?).
Quick little mystery that kind of feels unresolved. Yes everything worked out in the end but I can't help but feel a certain 'woman' had a lot more to do with this... A woman scorned etc...
3.5 stars, got to say I'm really enjoying these books. Onto the next one.
Quick little mystery that kind of feels unresolved. Yes everything worked out in the end but I can't help but feel a certain 'woman' had a lot more to do with this... A woman scorned etc...
3.5 stars, got to say I'm really enjoying these books. Onto the next one.
December 24, 2016
Another novella.
Great book. Strong characters in Rachel, Amy and Detective Mason Brown.
Although this is part of a series, it can be read as a stand alone. There are references to previous events, but this story is complete in and of itself.
Great book. Strong characters in Rachel, Amy and Detective Mason Brown.
Although this is part of a series, it can be read as a stand alone. There are references to previous events, but this story is complete in and of itself.
April 13, 2018
This is a fun little story that picks up from a previous story in the series without missing a beat. But even if you haven't read the first book in the series, the story leads you in gently like a stand-alone should. Good suspense and character development will leave you wanting more.
August 19, 2018
Good story
This was a quick read with a pretty good story line, though I would have enjoyed it more if it had been longer and with a little more depth to it. I liked the characters and hope to get to know them more in other stories.
This was a quick read with a pretty good story line, though I would have enjoyed it more if it had been longer and with a little more depth to it. I liked the characters and hope to get to know them more in other stories.
January 4, 2019
Enjoyable short story!
I enjoyed this short story! I’ve read a few of Maggie Shayne’s books and they always keep me engaged from start to finish! Love this couple, Mason and Rachel.
I enjoyed this short story! I’ve read a few of Maggie Shayne’s books and they always keep me engaged from start to finish! Love this couple, Mason and Rachel.
January 24, 2022
I love this series and these characters, but I wish I had paid attention to the fact that this was a novella. I'm not fond of short fiction, usually. I like meatier, longer reads, so I generally hold out for the next full novel in the series.
April 7, 2019
Peplexed
Usually I enjoy Ms. Shane's books but this one I just could not get into. It was leaving me wanting something more. Just couldn't get into.
Usually I enjoy Ms. Shane's books but this one I just could not get into. It was leaving me wanting something more. Just couldn't get into.
December 13, 2019
This short followup to book 1 sets Brown and deLuca on a short holiday adventure. It also provides a possibility for them to work together in the future.
December 27, 2019
A solid novella. The ending was actually quite open ended, and it was a great prologue to another story in the future.
May 30, 2021
Short interlude
Just a short story in between the first and second book but a good story to further along the relationship of the two main characters.
Just a short story in between the first and second book but a good story to further along the relationship of the two main characters.
March 27, 2025
Great.
February 25, 2017
I liked it but it was really short. Just a teaser for the rest of the series, I suppose, which I will probably never get the chance to read. If I do, though, I'll give it a shot-Maggie Shayne seems to be a good author and I liked the protagonist's voice, even if this novella was mediocre due to a lack of plot and depth because of its length. Enjoyable popcorn.
October 22, 2019
Originally Reviewed on Bewitching Bibliophile
I snagged this one even though I wasn't reading the series yet, and I'm so glad I did. This picks up a few months after the events of book one. Mason & Rachel have decided to give themselves some time to come to terms with what happened and also Rachel is new to having sight and wants to make sure she's really getting to know the 'new' her.
However, this new talent she's developed won't let her have some time. She senses when a friend is in grave danger and goes to Mason to get help. This is a brief story, really it's a chance to advance the narrative and give them a quick case to solve. Even though this isn't completely solved at the end. It's a way for Rachel and Mason to realize what was happening between them wasn't based on the case and it isn't going anywhere. We also get the beginning of a new case and one that wasn't solved and you just know it's going to come back to haunt them as well.
I enjoyed this quick read and can't wait to see where the full case goes.
★★★☆☆
Series In Order
< a href="https://www.bewitchingbibliophile.com... With The Lights On (Brown & De Luca 1)
RECOMMENDATIONS
Heather Graham
Lisa Jackson
Julie Garwood ( not Paranormal but Romantic Suspense)
I can't wait to see how this story fully develops. What do you think is going to happen?? Happy Reading my loves,
I snagged this one even though I wasn't reading the series yet, and I'm so glad I did. This picks up a few months after the events of book one. Mason & Rachel have decided to give themselves some time to come to terms with what happened and also Rachel is new to having sight and wants to make sure she's really getting to know the 'new' her.
However, this new talent she's developed won't let her have some time. She senses when a friend is in grave danger and goes to Mason to get help. This is a brief story, really it's a chance to advance the narrative and give them a quick case to solve. Even though this isn't completely solved at the end. It's a way for Rachel and Mason to realize what was happening between them wasn't based on the case and it isn't going anywhere. We also get the beginning of a new case and one that wasn't solved and you just know it's going to come back to haunt them as well.
I enjoyed this quick read and can't wait to see where the full case goes.
★★★☆☆
Series In Order
< a href="https://www.bewitchingbibliophile.com... With The Lights On (Brown & De Luca 1)
RECOMMENDATIONS
Heather Graham
Lisa Jackson
Julie Garwood ( not Paranormal but Romantic Suspense)
I can't wait to see how this story fully develops. What do you think is going to happen?? Happy Reading my loves,
December 16, 2013
Picking things up soon after the dramatic conclusion to Sleep With The Lights On; we see how Rachel De Luca and Mason Brown are faring in their attempt to readjust to 'normal' life. Thanksgiving is approaching and it soon becomes clear that Rachel and Mason's heads will have to be put together once again to uncover a mystery; this time the disappearance of Amy, Rachel's friend (beloved friend actually, but Rachel would be hesitant to admit this) and assistant.
Being a freebie and teaser for the second book in the series; Wake To Darkness, I found it quite surprising that this short didn't end on more of a cliffhanger. With that said, these characters are so strong and endearing that one doesn't necessarily require a cliffhanger in order to want to move onto the next stage of this fascinating story.
I also found it a tad surprising that at the 71% mark on my Kindle app, this short ends and the remainder is an excerpt from Sleep With The Lights On. Perhaps that is because some readers want to start with a freebie as an introduction to the story before they purchase. That's understandable, but do yourselves a favour and buy Sleep With The Lights on immediately. I got it for 59p a few weeks ago. How I love you, Kindle deals.
This was once again a thoroughly enjoyable read and it was great to catch up with Rachel, Mason and Myrtle. With Christmas coming up, I had planned to read a nice, feelgood festive book over the next few days...but nah; I think I'll get started on Wake To Darkness. It's set around Christmas, so it's still a Christmas book...with slightly less cheer and goodwill to all men, I suspect though.
Being married to an American, I can appreciate the importance of arriving for Thanksgiving dinner on time. Being the owner of an obese cat, I can also appreciate not wanting judgemental fingers and tongues waving in the direction of a beloved furry friend. I get you, Rachel De Luca. I'm glad you entered my literary life. I hope you enter many more. (Thanks, Maggie Shayne. Holiday hugs to you and yours too ;) ).
Being a freebie and teaser for the second book in the series; Wake To Darkness, I found it quite surprising that this short didn't end on more of a cliffhanger. With that said, these characters are so strong and endearing that one doesn't necessarily require a cliffhanger in order to want to move onto the next stage of this fascinating story.
I also found it a tad surprising that at the 71% mark on my Kindle app, this short ends and the remainder is an excerpt from Sleep With The Lights On. Perhaps that is because some readers want to start with a freebie as an introduction to the story before they purchase. That's understandable, but do yourselves a favour and buy Sleep With The Lights on immediately. I got it for 59p a few weeks ago. How I love you, Kindle deals.
This was once again a thoroughly enjoyable read and it was great to catch up with Rachel, Mason and Myrtle. With Christmas coming up, I had planned to read a nice, feelgood festive book over the next few days...but nah; I think I'll get started on Wake To Darkness. It's set around Christmas, so it's still a Christmas book...with slightly less cheer and goodwill to all men, I suspect though.
Being married to an American, I can appreciate the importance of arriving for Thanksgiving dinner on time. Being the owner of an obese cat, I can also appreciate not wanting judgemental fingers and tongues waving in the direction of a beloved furry friend. I get you, Rachel De Luca. I'm glad you entered my literary life. I hope you enter many more. (Thanks, Maggie Shayne. Holiday hugs to you and yours too ;) ).
July 10, 2015
Whitney Point, New York... her home, her friend’s home in Endicott...his car...Hilltop Motor Lodge..
Rachel De Luca: positive, popular self help book author; blind, but recently gained her eyesight back; her other senses very accute, and she regularly ‘reads’ people, and their motivations quickly;
Amy Montrose - assistant, friend, college student
Mel Brennan: Amy’s older boyfriend (ends up he’s married and has kids and lied about being a lawyer);
Myrtle: bulldog; friend
Mason Brown: cop;
Framework of story - Rachel has a bad feeling about Amy’s new boyfriend... and when Amy’s call Thanksgiving day asking about where Amy is, Rachel ‘knows’ something bad happend... She calls Mason, who comes immediately, and begin to investigate... go to the boyfriend’s house... go to Amy’s house (where neighbors heard her fight with boyfriend, and boyfriend left)... follow the highway (stopping at gas station where she used her credit card)... find her abandoned, flat tired car, and her phone under the car with a picture of a truck & license number... view video at gas station... track her to a motel... to a room... out the window (with handcuffs hanging off radiator in bathroom)... clunked on head by bad guy... take bad guy down... and Amy pulling herself towards them...
Personal... Rachel and Mason miss each other... want more sex with the other... but both are dealing with daily stresses (he’s getting used to raising his seriel killer brother’s children, she just got her eyesight back)... share a few kisses... he makes her a job offer, to work as a consultant with the police... will she accept or not? (Of course she’ll accept, we need the next book)...
“You’re coming with me?” “I told the family I’d be gone all day.” “When did you do that?” “After I got your text.” “All I said in that text was that I needed you.”... as he backed down the driveway - That way he didn’t have to look at me when he said, “That’s all you had to say, Rache.”
Rachel De Luca: positive, popular self help book author; blind, but recently gained her eyesight back; her other senses very accute, and she regularly ‘reads’ people, and their motivations quickly;
Amy Montrose - assistant, friend, college student
Mel Brennan: Amy’s older boyfriend (ends up he’s married and has kids and lied about being a lawyer);
Myrtle: bulldog; friend
Mason Brown: cop;
Framework of story - Rachel has a bad feeling about Amy’s new boyfriend... and when Amy’s call Thanksgiving day asking about where Amy is, Rachel ‘knows’ something bad happend... She calls Mason, who comes immediately, and begin to investigate... go to the boyfriend’s house... go to Amy’s house (where neighbors heard her fight with boyfriend, and boyfriend left)... follow the highway (stopping at gas station where she used her credit card)... find her abandoned, flat tired car, and her phone under the car with a picture of a truck & license number... view video at gas station... track her to a motel... to a room... out the window (with handcuffs hanging off radiator in bathroom)... clunked on head by bad guy... take bad guy down... and Amy pulling herself towards them...
Personal... Rachel and Mason miss each other... want more sex with the other... but both are dealing with daily stresses (he’s getting used to raising his seriel killer brother’s children, she just got her eyesight back)... share a few kisses... he makes her a job offer, to work as a consultant with the police... will she accept or not? (Of course she’ll accept, we need the next book)...
“You’re coming with me?” “I told the family I’d be gone all day.” “When did you do that?” “After I got your text.” “All I said in that text was that I needed you.”... as he backed down the driveway - That way he didn’t have to look at me when he said, “That’s all you had to say, Rache.”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 1, 2016
Marketed as a free novella, this is, at best, a short story with very little closure but still a nice glimpse into the progression of the Brown/de Luca romance.
The Good: The suspense was actually pretty good. I was honestly scared for Amy and was afraid she was certainly going to meet her end. Perhaps it was because I'm a fan of The Walking Dead where they tend to kill off their regular cast with, well, regularity but I was really thinking they'd find Amy all butchered by some whackadoo serial killing team. Shayne did a great job with the nail biting aspect of this story. Also, I liked seeing Mason and Rachel back and see their potential relationship grow closer to an actual relationship.
The Bad: The overall shortness of the story left some dangly bits that I felt should have had some closure. At 67 pages, this was almost half the length I'd expect from an actual novella. Maybe more words could have had this feeling more complete than it ultimately was. As a fan of the characters, I was already fully invested in them after reading Sleep With the Lights On but someone who hasn't read that book and only read this one may find the character development virtually non-existent and the plot wrapped up too quickly.
In a Nutshell: An OK addition to the Brown/de Luca series but only for those who have already read the first book. So, read the first book then pick this freebie up for an extra glimpse into Rachel and Mason's relationship.
The Good: The suspense was actually pretty good. I was honestly scared for Amy and was afraid she was certainly going to meet her end. Perhaps it was because I'm a fan of The Walking Dead where they tend to kill off their regular cast with, well, regularity but I was really thinking they'd find Amy all butchered by some whackadoo serial killing team. Shayne did a great job with the nail biting aspect of this story. Also, I liked seeing Mason and Rachel back and see their potential relationship grow closer to an actual relationship.
The Bad: The overall shortness of the story left some dangly bits that I felt should have had some closure. At 67 pages, this was almost half the length I'd expect from an actual novella. Maybe more words could have had this feeling more complete than it ultimately was. As a fan of the characters, I was already fully invested in them after reading Sleep With the Lights On but someone who hasn't read that book and only read this one may find the character development virtually non-existent and the plot wrapped up too quickly.
In a Nutshell: An OK addition to the Brown/de Luca series but only for those who have already read the first book. So, read the first book then pick this freebie up for an extra glimpse into Rachel and Mason's relationship.
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