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Innocent Witness
A Child's Only Hope
Little Penny Drake had witnessed a murder and would no longer speak. Only Dr. Steve Sherman could help bring the child out of her shell. Seeing her daughter respond to the psychologist brought tears to Deanna Drake's eyes - and warmth to a place in her heart that had been cold for a long, long time.
Steve never mixed business with pleasure, but the beautiful, elusive Deanna breached his defenses and roused the man behind the professional mask. Somewhere out there, a killer watched mother and child - and Steve vowed that to get to them, the killer would have to go through him first!
Little Penny Drake had witnessed a murder and would no longer speak. Only Dr. Steve Sherman could help bring the child out of her shell. Seeing her daughter respond to the psychologist brought tears to Deanna Drake's eyes - and warmth to a place in her heart that had been cold for a long, long time.
Steve never mixed business with pleasure, but the beautiful, elusive Deanna breached his defenses and roused the man behind the professional mask. Somewhere out there, a killer watched mother and child - and Steve vowed that to get to them, the killer would have to go through him first!
- GenresRomance
250 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 28, 2019
Little Penny Drake witnessed her father's murder and has retreated into a shell of silence. Her mother Deanna implores Dr. Steve Sherman to help, and she ends up setting up a practice for him in her hotel in Colorado. But obviously, someone doesn't want Penny talking.
Zzzzzzz.
Zzzzzzz.
Zzzzzzz.
Oh, excuse me. I was napping a lot while reading this utterly underwhelming romantic mystery. Heavens above, it was dull! Deanna Drake is one of those women who married a man much older than her, and didn't really love him, but just hung around anyway. She was completely unaware that he would be up to something that would get him killed. She seems completely unaware of a lot of things, really. Not the sharpest tool in the shed. She's a very passive character. She lets her staff treat her like shit and never tries to do anything about it.
Unlike the usual Intrigue story, this plays out over several weeks....and not a lot ever really happens. Steve has lots of therapy sessions with Penny, while Deanna wrings her hands a lot. Yawn. It was badly written, with the viewpoint switching between Deanna and Steve several times within the same paragraph. Hit "Enter" twice when you're moving to a new point of view, Leona! It's much less confusing for the reader!
The thrills were absent. The identity and motive of the killer is completely arbitrary. The romance was very subdued. There's some dancing (ban this sick filth!) and a bit of kissing, and that's it. By the end, for the happy ever after, Steve is all, "You'll have to leave your hotel, but that's okay, we'll just buy you another one." Yes, really!
I completed this while on a lovely trip down south in Bunker Bay, WA. I left the book behind when we left as a gift for whoever rents there next. They'll either love me or hate me.
Zzzzzzz.
Zzzzzzz.
Zzzzzzz.
Oh, excuse me. I was napping a lot while reading this utterly underwhelming romantic mystery. Heavens above, it was dull! Deanna Drake is one of those women who married a man much older than her, and didn't really love him, but just hung around anyway. She was completely unaware that he would be up to something that would get him killed. She seems completely unaware of a lot of things, really. Not the sharpest tool in the shed. She's a very passive character. She lets her staff treat her like shit and never tries to do anything about it.
Unlike the usual Intrigue story, this plays out over several weeks....and not a lot ever really happens. Steve has lots of therapy sessions with Penny, while Deanna wrings her hands a lot. Yawn. It was badly written, with the viewpoint switching between Deanna and Steve several times within the same paragraph. Hit "Enter" twice when you're moving to a new point of view, Leona! It's much less confusing for the reader!
The thrills were absent. The identity and motive of the killer is completely arbitrary. The romance was very subdued. There's some dancing (ban this sick filth!) and a bit of kissing, and that's it. By the end, for the happy ever after, Steve is all, "You'll have to leave your hotel, but that's okay, we'll just buy you another one." Yes, really!
I completed this while on a lovely trip down south in Bunker Bay, WA. I left the book behind when we left as a gift for whoever rents there next. They'll either love me or hate me.
April 17, 2018
July 19, 2000
Leona Karr returns for her tenth Intrigue with "Innocent Witness." Deanna Drake's daughter Penny has not spoken since witnessing her father's murder months earlier. Deanna turns to Dr. Steve Sherman for help and hopes the child psychologist can break through to Penny. But somewhere, a killer would do anything to keep Penny from remembering. Could Steve keep Penny and her mother safe from a murderer?
"Innocent Witness" is a cute story, but is unfortunately overshadowed by Amanda Stevens' "The Littlest Witness" (Intrigue 549). That book came out a few months ago and had a very similar premise. "Innocent Witness" is a cross between that book and Karr's own "Child of the Night," where a child psychologist uses play therapy to break through to a little girl who has become remote following the death of a parent. I would recommend "The Littlest Witness" over this one (but not "Child of the Night," which is horrible). Readers who do decide to give "Innocent Witness" a chance will find a warm story with well-developed characters told in Karr's unique style.
Though not too suspenseful, the author provides many suspects for the mystery, and the story has its share of unexpected moments. This is one of those rare Intrigues that takes place over an extended period of time (over a month), so we can see Deanna and Steve's romance progressing gradually. Their relationship is also surprisingly low on sexual tension. There is no sex, so readers who don't like too much overt sexuality will be relieved it isn't here. The antics of Deanna's daughter and Steve's son are amusing, though anyone who doesn't like books with cute kids in them will want to avoid this one at all costs. Only the ending is jarring in a story that moves slowly and smoothly, with an abrupt climax that comes out of nowhere. While not very exciting, this is a sweet book featuring characters readers might enjoy getting to know. A pleasant read for a summer afternoon.
Leona Karr returns for her tenth Intrigue with "Innocent Witness." Deanna Drake's daughter Penny has not spoken since witnessing her father's murder months earlier. Deanna turns to Dr. Steve Sherman for help and hopes the child psychologist can break through to Penny. But somewhere, a killer would do anything to keep Penny from remembering. Could Steve keep Penny and her mother safe from a murderer?
"Innocent Witness" is a cute story, but is unfortunately overshadowed by Amanda Stevens' "The Littlest Witness" (Intrigue 549). That book came out a few months ago and had a very similar premise. "Innocent Witness" is a cross between that book and Karr's own "Child of the Night," where a child psychologist uses play therapy to break through to a little girl who has become remote following the death of a parent. I would recommend "The Littlest Witness" over this one (but not "Child of the Night," which is horrible). Readers who do decide to give "Innocent Witness" a chance will find a warm story with well-developed characters told in Karr's unique style.
Though not too suspenseful, the author provides many suspects for the mystery, and the story has its share of unexpected moments. This is one of those rare Intrigues that takes place over an extended period of time (over a month), so we can see Deanna and Steve's romance progressing gradually. Their relationship is also surprisingly low on sexual tension. There is no sex, so readers who don't like too much overt sexuality will be relieved it isn't here. The antics of Deanna's daughter and Steve's son are amusing, though anyone who doesn't like books with cute kids in them will want to avoid this one at all costs. Only the ending is jarring in a story that moves slowly and smoothly, with an abrupt climax that comes out of nowhere. While not very exciting, this is a sweet book featuring characters readers might enjoy getting to know. A pleasant read for a summer afternoon.
June 2, 2020
This was a sweet romantic suspense. I loved it as much as I would a chocolate éclair. Definitely a recommended read.
June 24, 2015
Toddler Penny has been utterly silent since witnessing her father's murder. Desperate to help her daughter, her mother Deanna seeks out psychologist Steve, a doctor whose special brand of play therapy has helped many traumatised children in the past. As Steve is due to take the summer off to spend time with his young son, Deanna invites the pair of them to spend a month at her hunting and fishing resort in the mountains if Steve agrees to spend an hour each morning in therapy with Penny. But when he gets to the resort, he realises that getting Penny to talk isn't as simple as he thinks, because once she starts talking she can tell people who killed her father - and the murderer isn't going to let that happen.
As a family story, this was quite delightful. It was comfortable and undemanding, and even the climax where the murderer is unmasked was less scary than exciting and even funny. As a romance, it doesn't quite do it for me. I didn't feel any real heat between Steve and Deanna. Additionally, I didn't understand most of Deanna's motives. Why did she stay with her husband, if they didn't love each other and he ignored Penny? She's a healthy, intelligent, together woman - why not get divorced?
So I'm not sure if I liked this or not. I enjoyed the kids' antics, and the family outings, but didn't find it romantic or particularly suspenseful. 3 stars.
As a family story, this was quite delightful. It was comfortable and undemanding, and even the climax where the murderer is unmasked was less scary than exciting and even funny. As a romance, it doesn't quite do it for me. I didn't feel any real heat between Steve and Deanna. Additionally, I didn't understand most of Deanna's motives. Why did she stay with her husband, if they didn't love each other and he ignored Penny? She's a healthy, intelligent, together woman - why not get divorced?
So I'm not sure if I liked this or not. I enjoyed the kids' antics, and the family outings, but didn't find it romantic or particularly suspenseful. 3 stars.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews