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Common Denominator
Art can be messy. Art can get your ear cut off. Art can be deadly. Jess Freeman sees the painting on the wall but best friend, Paul Noland, finds a work of art beyond exquisite. When Paul falls for a young museum curator, he puts himself and Jess in the middle of a forgery scheme that could kill them both.
Common Denominator is a romantic suspense starring Jess Freeman, a woman on the verge of forty who has it all together - except her train wreck love life. Paul Noland, Jess's best friend from childhood, is fighting the sands of time by limiting his romances to the shallow end of the dating pool. See how Jess and Paul's life choices dangerously collide and meld in 'Common Denominator'.
Common Denominator is a romantic suspense starring Jess Freeman, a woman on the verge of forty who has it all together - except her train wreck love life. Paul Noland, Jess's best friend from childhood, is fighting the sands of time by limiting his romances to the shallow end of the dating pool. See how Jess and Paul's life choices dangerously collide and meld in 'Common Denominator'.
227 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 28, 2013
3 people are currently reading
239 people want to read
About the author
C.E. Wolff
1 book73 followersMy Start:
After spending over twenty years as a technical writer, I gave it all up to write about something I truly know about - DRAMA. I write romantic suspense novels with a twist of humor and a dollop of sexiness. I've found that I also like dabbling in other genres, depending on my mood at the moment, or if I need to metaphorically kill someone.
My work:
My debut novel, 'Common Denominator', is a romantic suspense starring Jess Freeman, a woman on the verge of forty who has it all together - except her train wreck love life. Paul Noland, Jess's best friend from childhood, is fighting the sands of time by limiting his romances to the shallow end of the dating pool. See how Jess and Paul's life choices dangerously collide and meld in 'Common Denominator'.
Look for '7 Days to Lambeau' in Spring 2014 - Laughs, anger, and tears abound when Maggie Shelton embarks on a road trip of memories to fulfill her husbands dying wish.
My life:
I live my dreams in the suburbs of Dallas, Texas with my brilliant and handsome husband, my beautiful and talented wordsmith daughter, three preciously precocious stepchildren, and two bed-hog Great Danes. Life is better than good.
After spending over twenty years as a technical writer, I gave it all up to write about something I truly know about - DRAMA. I write romantic suspense novels with a twist of humor and a dollop of sexiness. I've found that I also like dabbling in other genres, depending on my mood at the moment, or if I need to metaphorically kill someone.
My work:
My debut novel, 'Common Denominator', is a romantic suspense starring Jess Freeman, a woman on the verge of forty who has it all together - except her train wreck love life. Paul Noland, Jess's best friend from childhood, is fighting the sands of time by limiting his romances to the shallow end of the dating pool. See how Jess and Paul's life choices dangerously collide and meld in 'Common Denominator'.
Look for '7 Days to Lambeau' in Spring 2014 - Laughs, anger, and tears abound when Maggie Shelton embarks on a road trip of memories to fulfill her husbands dying wish.
My life:
I live my dreams in the suburbs of Dallas, Texas with my brilliant and handsome husband, my beautiful and talented wordsmith daughter, three preciously precocious stepchildren, and two bed-hog Great Danes. Life is better than good.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 12, 2014
Disappointing: unrealistic and 2-D characters, horrible story arc, unbelievable plot points, poorly proofread /unevenly edited
I rarely give bad reviews and hesitate to post this one. I wanted to like this book. I was pulled in, at first. Somewhat interesting story, main characters, situations. Despite some proofreading errors, I continued. Wanted to give a new author the benefit of the doubt.
Then, the number of mistakes became ridiculous. Simple things, but signs of amateurish teamwork that are very frustrating and give indie pubs a bad name. Examples: confusions between "their" and "they're," "your" and "you're," other spelling and grammar mistakes and overall sentence structure. These all fell short of good publishing standards by a lot. Whatever this author paid the proofreader, it was too much. She should get a refund.
Not wanting to give up because I had made a commitment to review this book, I continued. Parts of the story line and the two main characters showed some promise. However, every one of the secondary characters was a stereotype, without exception. They were 2-dimensionally and boringly depicted or came across as numbingly inconsistent. Each character was an insult to some group: women, men, British citizens, gays, mothers and criminals of all kinds. "Bimbo"? Really? Calling her own sister a "wench"? Harping on age differences between lovers, then going along with it: which is it?
Why are the criminals all "sinister" with zero back stories? Why does the main antagonist have no obvious motivation? We learn more about her taste in clothes and plastic surgery than we ever do about what makes her do what she does.
The main plot, a supposed thirty-year "love" story, is flat-out ridiculous. Maybe if these characters were in their mid-twenties, we could believe they didn't yet acknowledge/know their true feelings for each other, having been childhood friends, blah blah blah. But, they're hovering around and over 40, have stayed "best friends" all their lives, and work together every day. Meanwhile, they continually trash each others' dates/lovers. Unless they have recurring amnesia or personality disorders, the concept is absurd.
The female main character's obsession with her appearance, physical attributes, clothing and underwear, even in the middle of public places, might have been funny if it weren't so dysfunctional and unbelievable. What 39-year-old professional, educated woman, the VP of a large corporation, doesn't know how to dress and conduct herself in public?
And, what 42-year-old male behaves sexually as if he's seventeen? i could just be out of touch, I suppose. A president of a successful corporation who has remained unmarried and not become a parent obviously has issues.
This begs the question: what do these two see in each other? They're each a mess. Are they supposed to be anti-heroes? Success.
Whatever she paid the editor: also too much. There is a horrible amount of repetition: I swear, the main character and her sister have the exact same conversations, about two basic topics, more than three times. So do the two main characters. Why? Does this book's editor not know how to tell an author to CUT and when to insert new material?
The subplots are so thin as to be pulled directly from someone else's novels and plopped into this one. Not even worth recounting. Cliche after cliche abounds without even one redeeming original moment. Could have phoned it all in.
I stuck it out to the end, hoping she would redeem it, and then POOF: it just stops. No actual ending, no resolution worth discussing.
Up until the non-ending, i was willing to give it three stars for effort and blame most of the problems on her "helpers," but I just can't. Two stars. Readers: not worth your time.
I rarely give bad reviews and hesitate to post this one. I wanted to like this book. I was pulled in, at first. Somewhat interesting story, main characters, situations. Despite some proofreading errors, I continued. Wanted to give a new author the benefit of the doubt.
Then, the number of mistakes became ridiculous. Simple things, but signs of amateurish teamwork that are very frustrating and give indie pubs a bad name. Examples: confusions between "their" and "they're," "your" and "you're," other spelling and grammar mistakes and overall sentence structure. These all fell short of good publishing standards by a lot. Whatever this author paid the proofreader, it was too much. She should get a refund.
Not wanting to give up because I had made a commitment to review this book, I continued. Parts of the story line and the two main characters showed some promise. However, every one of the secondary characters was a stereotype, without exception. They were 2-dimensionally and boringly depicted or came across as numbingly inconsistent. Each character was an insult to some group: women, men, British citizens, gays, mothers and criminals of all kinds. "Bimbo"? Really? Calling her own sister a "wench"? Harping on age differences between lovers, then going along with it: which is it?
Why are the criminals all "sinister" with zero back stories? Why does the main antagonist have no obvious motivation? We learn more about her taste in clothes and plastic surgery than we ever do about what makes her do what she does.
The main plot, a supposed thirty-year "love" story, is flat-out ridiculous. Maybe if these characters were in their mid-twenties, we could believe they didn't yet acknowledge/know their true feelings for each other, having been childhood friends, blah blah blah. But, they're hovering around and over 40, have stayed "best friends" all their lives, and work together every day. Meanwhile, they continually trash each others' dates/lovers. Unless they have recurring amnesia or personality disorders, the concept is absurd.
The female main character's obsession with her appearance, physical attributes, clothing and underwear, even in the middle of public places, might have been funny if it weren't so dysfunctional and unbelievable. What 39-year-old professional, educated woman, the VP of a large corporation, doesn't know how to dress and conduct herself in public?
And, what 42-year-old male behaves sexually as if he's seventeen? i could just be out of touch, I suppose. A president of a successful corporation who has remained unmarried and not become a parent obviously has issues.
This begs the question: what do these two see in each other? They're each a mess. Are they supposed to be anti-heroes? Success.
Whatever she paid the editor: also too much. There is a horrible amount of repetition: I swear, the main character and her sister have the exact same conversations, about two basic topics, more than three times. So do the two main characters. Why? Does this book's editor not know how to tell an author to CUT and when to insert new material?
The subplots are so thin as to be pulled directly from someone else's novels and plopped into this one. Not even worth recounting. Cliche after cliche abounds without even one redeeming original moment. Could have phoned it all in.
I stuck it out to the end, hoping she would redeem it, and then POOF: it just stops. No actual ending, no resolution worth discussing.
Up until the non-ending, i was willing to give it three stars for effort and blame most of the problems on her "helpers," but I just can't. Two stars. Readers: not worth your time.
April 5, 2014
This book was recommended by a friend and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I really enjoyed it. Being a romantic suspense, I thought it would be too "girlie" for me but, from a man's point of view, the characters were well developed and the plot was well laid out with an entertaining pace. The author paints a picture of a seductive villain that you quickly grow to hate as you see past her beauty. The character of Jess is probably one that most women could relate to - she's perfectly flawed with a big heart. And Paul, well, I had hopes that he would pull his head out of his butt before I reached the end. Even the secondary characters are lovable (except for the villainess's sidekicks - who are cold-blooded and creepy - as they should be!) and real.
This is a true hit with cinema potential! Thanks C.E.!!!
This is a true hit with cinema potential! Thanks C.E.!!!
May 13, 2014
Common Denominator was a great novel to read on my recent flight. I'm glad I decided on this one, because it kept my attention the entire time and made the hours literally *fly* by. Jess and Paul are longtime friends who can never get their relationship figured out. Are they "just friends" or something more? Add seductive Vanessa into the mix and all bets are off.
If you are looking for a fun romance with some suspense and mystery thrown in for good measure, then don't pass up this well written novel. It will having you guessing what happens until the very end.
If you are looking for a fun romance with some suspense and mystery thrown in for good measure, then don't pass up this well written novel. It will having you guessing what happens until the very end.
March 18, 2014
Highly recommend Ms. Wolff’s first outing as a novelist, a romantic mystery novel with a depth worthy of her own real life background. Well written and well paced that reflects Ms. Wolff’s own diverse background. Intriguing plot twists and reveals that make it a memorable read. Looking forward to future books by this talented author.
August 27, 2016
I was only a few pages into this book and became instantly hooked! The love triangle between Paul, Jess and Vanessa was very suspenseful and I couldn't wait to read what happened next. C.E. Wolff created an original story that was romantic, sad, exciting and sometimes even scary!! I can't wait to read more from this author!
July 15, 2014
“Common Denominator” should appeal to cozy mystery fans.
Read full review in the 2014 June/July Double Issue of InD’tale Magazine.
Read full review in the 2014 June/July Double Issue of InD’tale Magazine.
March 13, 2014
Fun and romantic mystery! I had a great time reading this novel and I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys Texas, chaotic love lives, and suspense!
December 4, 2015
When childhood friends Jess Freeman and Paul Noland attend an art show, Jess sees only paintings on the wall, but Paul sees a work of art that’s exquisite, and he’s smitten. Paul’s relationship with art curator Vanessa Reynolds, though, plunges him and Jess into a complicated art forgery scheme that threatens more than their lifelong relationship, it threatens their very lives.
Common Denominator by C. E. Wolff is a suspense novel that begins on a tense note, and keeps the blood rising until the surprising climax. A chilling story of love, trust, and betrayal that sets the bar high for the others in the genre. Wolff is a master of misdirection, keeping the reader guessing as the stakes are raised ever higher. Can the good guys prevail, or will they fall prey to a vicious madman and his duplicitous vamp of a daughter? You’ll have to read Common Denominator to find out.
Tight writing and extremely well-developed characters mark Wolff as a writer to keep an eye on.
Common Denominator by C. E. Wolff is a suspense novel that begins on a tense note, and keeps the blood rising until the surprising climax. A chilling story of love, trust, and betrayal that sets the bar high for the others in the genre. Wolff is a master of misdirection, keeping the reader guessing as the stakes are raised ever higher. Can the good guys prevail, or will they fall prey to a vicious madman and his duplicitous vamp of a daughter? You’ll have to read Common Denominator to find out.
Tight writing and extremely well-developed characters mark Wolff as a writer to keep an eye on.
May 26, 2014
Wonderful book - couldn't put it down - highly recommend it!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews