Extreme Measures

by Michele Ashman Bell

Following the trauma of her estranged husband's untimely death, Emma Lowell is happy with the life she has rebuilt for herself. She's engaged to a wonderful man and anticipates a fresh start, free from her troubled past. Only one persistent obstacle Margaret Lowell, her former mother-in-law. Margaret continues to be a demanding presence in Emma's life, and her requests have become increasingly disconcerting. When Margaret asks Emma to accompany her on a sentimental journey to the family s mountain cabin, the young woman reluctantly agrees. After all, her fiancé is out of town. No one will miss her. Emma could never have suspected the horror that awaits in the snow-bound cabin, for beneath Margaret Lowell's elderly façade lies a sinister and terrifying nature and a plot born of insanity. Alarmed by the dark plan that unfolds, Emma struggles to escape the isolated cabin in a chilling game of cat and mouse. As the danger escalates, and with little hope of rescue, Emma must engage in a battle of wills if she is to avoid becoming the final piece in Margaret s twisted puzzle . . .

Genres: Lds Fiction, Mystery

220 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2015

About the author

I grew up in St. George, Utah, where a lot of my family still lives, but now reside with my husband and family in the Salt Lake City area. My favorite thing to do is support my kids in their many interests. Between basketball, ballet and piano lessons we squeeze a lot into a week, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Reviews

[Sheila (sheilasbookreviewer) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This new quick read (under 200 pages) by Michele Ashman Bell will keep your anxiety high, and find you yelling a lot at the main character Emma. I wanted her to think through things better before she did them. Always listen to your first thoughts, because they’re usually right! As Emma is too easily manipulated by her crazy ex mother-in-law, Margaret, you can hardly believe what is unfolding on the pages. Each little thing that happens you want to scream out warnings to Emma. The suspense is elevated chapter by chapter as Margaret does terrifying things to her. Margaret has many mental problems that are truly at the heart of all of Emma's problems. The author does a great job with writing this insane and very troubled woman.

Thank heavens that Emma’s two close friends, Cassie and Jess investigate why their friend is missing and get Emma’s fiancé, who is traveling overseas, involved. They had a hard time getting the police to help them at first. Overall, the story ends well, but you will go through many heart pounding, page turning, chilling moments before you read the happy ending.

[Aimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahhhh! What happens when an old lady goes psycho?! Very bad things. Oh man, this was a good book with one very creepy woman. Seriously, crazy stuff. But I liked it! ha.

This is a very plot driven book. That isn't to say that the characters weren't developed or anything because they were great, but I was definitely more connected to the plot. I was desperate to find out what was coming next. What was going to happen? What was Emma going to do? And that Margaret. . . wow. CREEPY PSYCHO!!

I tore through this book- couldn't put it down. It was good stuff.

This is an LDS fiction book. The main characters are both LDS and some religious beliefs are talked about. My thanks to Covenant Communications for allowing me to read and review this book for them.

[Emma Wadsworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

BR#1 Emma Wadsworth
“No… I won’t… Emma tried to voice her opposition but her weakened condition combined with the sheer madness of what Margaret was suggesting proved too much for her. More words formed, but she had no strength. She was losing; there was no fight left in her. The book Extreme Measures by Michele Ashman Bell,is a very good book. The book is 220 pages, but goes by quickly due to the characterization, plot twists, and descriptiveness. In the book, Emma’s former mother in law(Margaret Lowell) pretends to be someone that she is not. Because Margaret acts this way, it leads all of the other characters to make choices, that are not always the best. Emma’s emotions repeat throughout the entire book: fear, shock, hate, forgiveness, and even love. In this book, there are so many plot twists. The characters will be heading somewhere, then BAM! They suddenly go somewhere, or something happens. Overall i really liked this book, it kept me on the edge of my seat, waiting for what would happen next. It also was very suspenseful, it kept me up late into the night wanting to finish the book. But too scared to read it in the dark. I would give this book a 4.5 rating. The only part of the book that I did not like, was the Epilogue. I just wished that I had a better understanding of how Emma recovered, and how she had to continue her life and forgive Margaret even though she did terrible things to her. I would definitely recommend this book, especially to those people who love suspense, and a little bit of horror.

[Katie (hiding in the pages) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This started out as a nice little story and quickly turned very suspenseful! I love a good suspense and I really couldn't read this one fast enough. Emma was married to a jerk and after he passed away, his mother suddenly became very attentive to Emma, demanding a lot of her time and attention. Emma is set to remarry and doesn't think it'll hurt to honor one last request of Margaret's. But that could be the worst mistake of her life.

I couldn't help but feel Emma's panic and was desperately hoping for her to figure out some way to get out of her situation and away from insane Margaret. Just when I thought there couldn't possibly be another twist, there was. I loved the way the story took the reader on the outside occasionally, to what Emma's friends, Jess and Cassie, were doing to find her. Although we don't come to intimately know the characters, they are great and we do know they types of people they are--both good and bad. I loved the way it all wrapped up and the epilogue was perfect.

Content: no language; mild-moderate violence (due to the situation, but it wasn't graphic); mild romance (talk of infidelity with no description); moderate religious elements (most of the characters are LDS and there is a lot of praying--but really...who wouldn't pray in such a scary situation?!) Clean.

*I received a copy in exchange for an honest review*

[Mindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I sat down Sunday morning before church expecting to read a few chapters before I got out of bed and ready for my day. Good thing it was Fast Sunday and I have 1:00 church, because I read the entire book in one sitting! Extreme Measures is extremely fast-paced and one crazy ride (and I mean that literally). The whole time I was anxiously turning pages to see what else Margaret would do to poor Emma. What I really loved was Emma's determination to survive and fight. She was helpless at first, but as she got stronger, she was really able to keep her wits together when all was hope was crumbling around her. I really enjoyed the switch in views when the author would show us Emma's friends Cassie and Jess desperately seeking information on what happened to Emma. They were able to untangle the web of lies and deceit that Margaret did to get her scheme going. I suspected something early on as to what Margaret's intentions were with Emma, and what really was going on was even more disturbing than what I thought of. (I'm glad what happened wasn't what I thought.) Although, there was a lot nail-biting suspense, there were some holes that I thought didn't quite get resolved, or were too convenient. I did think the ending was a perfect way to bring resolution for Emma and her fiance Landon.

I received a paperback copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Becca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book brings "bad" mother-in-law to a whole new level. Seriously.

When Emma's mother-in-law Margaret falls off the deep end, Emma ends up in a battle for her life. Margaret has decided that Emma will never have happiness until she is done with her. She drugs Emma, tortures her, and keeps her hostage.

Emma, struggles to find a way to escape Margaret, while her friends and fiance are out looking for her as well.

I was interested enough to see what happened, but I wasn't a fan of how it was written. It was a fast paced book, and had a lot of messed up stuff in it, that was very interesting. I just think it lacked connection between things that happened. I wish it would have flowed together better.

Having said that, the story itself was interesting. The characters were done well, and it was fascinating to see how the mother in law cracks. The whole situation is crazy. Crazy.

I am not quite sure what else to say about it. I enjoyed it enough to finish, it just was kind of "eh" for me.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, this book was super suspenseful! I loved the way the plot of this book was. I really liked Emma, but she really needed to learn to tell her ex-mother-in-law "no" sometimes. I think she did learn that by the end of the book. I also liked her fiance Landon, it was obvious how much he cared for her and how concerned he was when she was missing. I really thought that Emma's friends, Jess and Cassie, were amazing. They went above and beyond in trying to figure out just what had happened to Emma. And Margaret, wow! She was a terribly evil and really well-written sinister character. She gave me the creeps! It probably didn't help that I read a great deal of this book at night in the dark on my kindle.

I thought that the plot was really well done, it kept me guessing and I didn't want to put it down. The ending was great too! I love Michelle Ashman Bell's suspense books and I can't wait to read the next one!

[Tarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

This isn't a typical book for me to read. I like suspense novels, but I like a dash of romance on the side :) This was just the "suspense" part, and I missed having something to look forward to. I will say that I was surprised when I realized who the author was. I've read a number of her other novels and I have to admit that this novel felt like a first novel, not something from someone who has written multiple ones.


The best written character was Margret, the crazy mother-in-law. She had depth and dimensions, all of the other characters seemed over the top and not believable at all.


I really wanted to like this book, but I kept putting it down and starting something else.

*I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for a review.

[Andrea · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book blurb for Extreme Measures grabbed my attention. Sadly, I never did get fully pulled into the story. The idea was interesting, but I didn't feel a connection with any of the characters. I was curious about how everything would end up, so I kept picking the story back up, but I did a lot of skimming. Margret's scheming was way over the top for me, and it kept coming in waves. The dialogue didn't really grab me either.

[Becky Zabriskie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have read many books by this author and I really liked them but this book felt like it wasn't even by the same person. The book was so predictable-no surprises-NONE. The character development was shallow and I didn't even like any of them-the main character was whiny and annoying and she never stepped up and became strong or even developed into a likable person. I felt like this could have been a first book written by a new author because it was so choppy.

[Robin King · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a perfectly simple intro to horror! I'm not a big scary novel reader and this one was just the perfect mix of creepy and cute. It's a fast read and I felt like I had to keep reading to find out how the main character got out of her mess. Though it's not a "romance" per se, I love a good happy ending and this one didn't disappoint. If you are a little scared of horror, take the plunge on this one. You won't be sorry.

[Debbie · Rating 1 out of 5]

LDS fiction

While in the middle of a heavy book, picked this up for something light to take my mind off the subject matter of the other book. After the first 10 pages the story was quickly set-up and became very predictable. There were several editing errors, and I just about didn't finish the book, I just wasn't engaged. When it ended I wished I had followed my first instinct to stop and return it to the library.

[Norah Baron · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an okay book. Not my favorite by this author. There was so much left without knowing why and that bugged me a lot. Also a lot of the book seemed way far fetched and parts just kept dragging on. Suspenseful yes but in the end there was no conclusion or answers to things that it's left me bothered. I feel I wasted my time reading this book.

[Stephanie Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who would think an elderly woman could be so crazy. Definitely not the grandmother type. Emma is a very strong woman. You would have to be to put up with a cheating husband and a mother-in-law who feels her son can do no wrong! When I started this book, I didn't think it would turn out the way it did. It had a lot of twists and turns. I enjoyed the story!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love MAB's novel's, so I was super excited to get this new one. It was good, but it just didn't resonate with me. It was a suspenseful novel, but it was missing the little extra something to make it great. Margaret was a truly messed up a lady--which I liked. A good villain.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book didn't disappoint! It started fast right off and kept me turning pages to the end. Although I like the girls to be strong it was good to show that it is a strength to have people you can lean on.

[Amber · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had a hard time getting into this

[Pam Jewell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A suspenseful story, hard to put down, wondering what twist will come next!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am glad this was a quick read. I enjoyed it!

[Brooke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow. This was...not good. Very one-dimensional characters, predictable plot, cheesy dialogue. Only plus was that I read it in under an hour.

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good

I loved this book and I couldn't put it down.I love this author. It was a fast read because I couldn't wait to turn the pages

[Ronda · Rating 3 out of 5]

didn't love

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a strange and mind boggling read. I was really disappointed that Landon was as out of the picture as much as he was, because he is her fiance! I feel most of the time Emma's friends were more concerned about her than he was. Also after they saved Emma her freak out level was extremely dramatic. Also ****spoiler alert**** Margret, the crazy psycho ex-mother-in-law, injected Emma with some medication to make her go into an early menopause (which was kind of/really weird and random) I felt like Emma's reaction, compared to her previous reaction, wasn't intense enough. She cried for all of two seconds, and then it was just a small concern at the back of her mind. Earlier in the book Emma mentioned being really excited to have a family, so her response to the whole situation was like going to a restaurant ordering the chicken and then learning that they ran out. I was shocked she wasn't more concerned and heart broken than she was. The book was a quick read, but was really strange.

[p j · Rating 4 out of 5]

my first time reading a book since high school! (4 years ago btw) I love how the suspense is kept me on the edge of my seat. took five hours for me to read. i’m glad there was a happy ending. I don’t like Margaret I never liked her and now I know why! shes cruel and evil. how can someone hurt a pregnant woman??

[Daisy Dandelion · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow! The protagonist was really unrealistic. As were a lot of other things. But I guess for a CLEAN suspense book it was pretty good.
I read this book for the Extreme Book Nerd library challenge to fill the category of "a book with a metal illness." It fit that category perfectly.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story really is a "thriller"! Emma Lowell will battle her ex-mother-in-law for her life and her freedom. I loved that her friends never gave up, and her fiancé's support and love.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was very intense and made you want to find out what was going to happen. The mother-in-law was nuts. I liked the theme of having faith during trials.

[Swhe641200 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really did not enjoy this book. It was about an ex mother in law who lost her perfect son and blamed the ex wife. It was a cruel book.

[Abbie Butcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seriously never tire of reading this one, so so so good! Can't put down and will definitely keep reading over and over again!

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot was massively unbelievable and the drama was incredibly over the top. I love this author but was laughing through the entire book at how ridiculous it all was.