The Charmers

by Elizabeth Adler

Mirabella Matthews' Aunt Jolly died unexpectedly and mysteriously, and as a result, Mirabella has inherited her villa in the South of France. Driving on the way from the train with Verity, the young woman she picked up along the way, Mirabella is run off the road by a motorcycle...and she soon discovers that the dangers do not end there. It turns out that Aunt Jolly had a past, and as the various men who were a part of it show up at the villa Mirabella and Verity must find out who can be trusted and who is using charm to mask the face of a murderer.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Romance, Book Club, Suspense, Thriller, Ebooks

288 pages, Hardcover

First published July 5, 2016

About the author

Born in Yorkshire, North England, Elizabeth Adler met her husband Richard (an American) while both were working in London. They have lived in England, Ireland, France, Brazil, and the United States and have traveled extensively. They have one daughter and live in Palm Springs, California. Her first novel, Private Desires (also titled Leonie), launched an enormously successful writing career, she also wrote as Ariana Scott. She has now written over twenty internationally acclaimed bestsellers.

Reviews

[Tiago | MrsMargotBlog · Rating 3 out of 5]

Não é de todo a melhor história que esta autora já nos apresentou, esta história é dividida entre o presente de Mirabella e o passado onde nos é contado a história de Jerusha e devo confessar que o que mais gostei do livro foi sem dúvida a história de Jerusha e tenho pena que não tenha sido tão desenvolvida.
A autora devia ter escrito um livro todo à volta da história de Jerusha porque eu acho que era muito rica e interessante, uma mulher que se tornou artista por ser bonita e isso tirou-a de uma vida de miséria, foi amante de vários homens, sobretudo do primeiro amor, um futuro rei... Tornou-se numa grande estrela e viveu um amor com um sobrevivente do naufrágio do Titanic que foi importante para a história deste livro, um amor que acabou por ser a sua ruína, no meu ponto de vista, injustamente acusada de ser uma assassina... E ficou tanto por saber sobre esta história.

Mirabella recebeu de herança a Villa Romantica da sua tia Jolly, que por sua vez tinha recebido de herança da sua mãe Jerusha.
Enquanto viaja para tomar posse do que recebeu conhece Verity, uma jovem rapariga que foge de um marido que a traiu e roubo-lhe tudo o que tinha, tornam-se rapidamente amigas e Mirabella convida-a a ficar na sua mansão.
O que Mirabella não sonha é que a sua herança é muito desejada por um homem muito perigoso, o Patrão e quando ela chega ao seu destino, sofre a sua primeira tentativa de homicídio por um dos homens do Patrão.
Resultado desse primeiro incidente, o caminho dela cruza-se com o de Chad que afirma também ter recebido de herança a mesma mansão.

Tenho dificuldade em catalogar este livro, porque acho que foi demasiado leve para ser considerado suspense/thriller, não há muito mistério porque sabe-se logo de antemão quem é que a quer matar, o pouco mistério que existe é sobre a história de vida de Jerusha. Também acho que não o posso considerar um romance porque existe pouco... acho que é uma mistura de ambos os géneros.

Este livro traz-nos uma história rápida de se ler, sem grandes pretensiosismos, ideal para quem procura uma leitura descomplicada.

[Karey Fullmer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Simple and stilted storyline.

Multiple versions of the same events told by different characters. No mystery.
Not her usual style of storytelling and a disappointing read.

[Cole · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read The Charmers in exchange for an honest review. As a fan of Elizabeth Adler, I was disappointed in this book. It lacked something - I've been trying to figure out what, but it just didn't have the same flow and depth of story as so many of Adler's other books. I didn't connect with the story or the characters - tough because Adler's other work is strong.

[Joanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book had so many word-usage errors (i.e. live instead of life, your instead you're) that it appeared to have been edited by Microsoft Spell-check. I mention this because counting those errors was the most interesting thing about this piece of dreck. Russian gangster, crazy redhead, runaway bride, handsome millionaire surgeon: they're all there. I tossed it at page 50.

[Laura Wonderchick · Rating 4 out of 5]

To use a play on words, this book is a "real charmer"! Kind of a cross between an modern day Agatha Christie & a Mary Higgins Clark. Alternating time periods & characters kept the storyline moving & fresh.

[Ireland · Rating 1 out of 5]

Do not read this book! It is a waste of time, paper, and ink. I have read previous books by Elizabeth Adler and liked them, this is a different story, complete disappointment. It seems similar to what happened with Julie Garwood and Susan Elizabeth Phillips, great writers in the beginning that turned into trash.

Specifically with this book the problems are: no mystery at all, everything is exactly as you're told from the very beginning; parts don't fit together, some of them don't even seem to have a purpose for being there; timelines and places don't fit together; the two main female characters are stupid and utterly unlovable, I didn't care what happened to them; the three main male characters were predictable and boring, again I didn't care what happened to any of them; there are some unanswered questions and some unexplained plot lines but you don't care you are so happy to get to the end.

Are there no proof readers or editors in publishing anymore? Do they just throw out a book by a bestselling author to make money?

[Muffin Pam · Rating 1 out of 5]

What did I just read? Did Ms. Adler write this book over one drunk night and publish it without any second glances? The characters were shallow with no actual life to them beyond terrible point of views that kept changing and a brief back story that comes out at some point but leads to nothing relevant to the story.

What was the deal with the painting? The one thing that was consistent throughout the story wound up having no significance in the end.

[Maria João (A Biblioteca da João) · Rating 2 out of 5]

3 de 10*

Elizabeth Adler já foi uma das autoras de livros (ditos mais leves) que me agradavam muito e cujas histórias me transportavam para lugares bonitos e paradisíacos, com finais felizes que sabem tão bem ler para intercalar com leituras mais pesadas.
Digo já foi, porque infelizmente já não é... Não sei o que lhe aconteceu, mas a verdade é que não só já não encontro os lugares e as histórias felizes nos seus livros como parecem escritos por outra pessoa, alguém que não cuidou dos detalhes mais elementares e, que por isso, apresenta uma história cheia de falhas e até sem uma linha cronológica muito fiável.

Comentário completo em:
https://abibliotecadajoao.blogspot.pt...

[Joana Campos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Acho que foi o mais fraquinho que já li da autora

[Evie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Charmers is an intriguing read only if the reader is okay with reading in first POV for multiple characters.

Mirabella inherits a beautiful Villa from an aunt whose mom had quite the story. There's a man who goes by The Boss and who's not accustomed to "no" for an answer. He wants Mirabella's Villa at all costs, even if it means he has to get rid of her.

Of course Mirabella's doesn't have a clue of what future awaits her and she sells her flat in London to relocate to her newly inherited Villa in France. On her way to the Villa she meets a young woman named Verity, who's running away from her cheating husband. Even though Mirabella's didn't want to talk to her at first, when she does she can't help herself and offers Verity a place to stay. The last high either one of them expects is to have an life threatening accident on their way to the Villa.

Then Chad shows up. He's a known surgeon and is on vacation. He's ready to claim the Villa next to his as his. Chad makes all these great plans on how he'll fix certain things, until he realizes the Villa next door to his isn't really his and instead he finds himself in the middle of a life threatening problem, and falling in love with the rightful owner of the Villa.

The Villa comes is tainted with a tragic, romantic history attached to it. It's original owner was a famous woman, who had many lovers but loved only one of them. There's a good portion of the story that's focused on her, I think that's maybe the best part of this book.

When her story is finished and you're back to the present day there are quite a things that are confusing. For instance when Verity is already at the Boss' Villa and the Colonel visits, but several chapters later Chad and the Colonel are looking for her at the hospitL and they are told the Boss took her. That seems out of order, given the Colonel had already visited her at the Villa, and the Boss kicked him out. Also there are some loose ends like the Boss' fate and Iron Man's painting.

Overall it was an okay read.

[Marisa Matos · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bem este livro não foi um livro fácil de ler. Parei por algum tempo porque o livro não me cativava.. mas finalmente este mês dediquei-me a lê-lo. Contudo, mesmo assim demorei muito a sentir empatia por esta história.. mas, mais ou menos a meio do livro finalmente me envolvi no enredo.
A história prometia e o mistério da Jerusha até me despertou alguma curiosidade.
No final, a história foi dececionante. Esperava mais.
O melhor? A personagem da Mirabella.
Achei um final muito previsível da intriga em geral, e um pouco forçado a conclusão das personagens em particular. Uma história com algumas falhas e falta de consistência.

[Suzana · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wouldn't recommend this novel. I found it read like a student creative writing assignment. I was generally annoyed at the continuous repetition informing the reader of how the main character obtained her new home. Not to mention they style which I found myself thinking this is too much like a B rated movie. Everything was so predictable and laughable. I cannot believe this author has written 31 other novels.

[Caryn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I used to love Elizabeth Adler's novels - the early ones that weren't so formulaic. They had much more detail and characters that you grew attached to as you were reading. This was just downright boring. I am very disappointed.

[Shalimar Cabrera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh, I got frustrated toward the end like the plot just gave up and became predictable. But the book kept me engaged enough throughout. Several grammatical errors and typos that were distracting.

[Maggie the Muskoka Library Mouse · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was what I term a "fluff read." It's easy to get through, has enough plot to move forward, and various characters. I really enjoy the exotic locales Elizabeth Adler uses in her novels. They are great for escaping reality for a bit. I was rather disappointed overall by this book, though. Near the end, several things happened completely out of the blue, and so did not make sense with the main storyline. It was so thrown together, I will definitely NOT be recommending it to anyone.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is yet another author I haven't read. I have heard of her, but always thought she did more like poetry. I was entertained for the most part by this book. However, there were a few parts that I found a little unbelievable and just seemed as though they had just been thrown in. I loved that the story went back and told the history of the house and the woman who it was built for. What a happy, mostly sad life she led.

I thought overall it was a great read and one that I enjoyed reading. The scenery descriptions made me feel as if I was there and I felt I really wanted to hang out with Verity and Mirabella. I'd definitely go shopping with them. Ha!!

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for approving my request and to Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Verdict: One of the reasons I picked up books by Adler is to be transported by unique characters to places I have never been. Adler has a way about her writing that makes you feel like you are right there in the story and along for the ride and experience wherever it might go. That being said, I found this one a little daunting with the constant change in POV. It made the pace so way down because I was constantly having to go back and re-read parts to remember what I just read. When I read a book I don’t want be bogged down with the whos, the whats, and the wheres, I just want to read and enjoy. This one involved a little too much back and forth thinking for my tastes.

*Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to be honest. I felt like this book was slow. I normally love Elizabeth Adler's books. They take me to places I'll never be able to visit. And "The Charmers" was no exception. So, that's not the problem for me. The story was good. There was a lot of action - good guys and bad guys, damsels in distress, which always makes for a good plot. I think it was in the character development and how slowly the plot developed.

However, I still enjoyed this book. It just took time for me to get to like the characters.

I received this book from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press in return for an honest review.

[Jamie Orlando · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was a bit confusing on all levels. It was written strangely in both first and second person which made it hard to get into and hard to figure out which characters perspective I was reading from. The book was very detailed at times about the surrounding landscape, but was strangely undetailed about time passage. I had to reread sections to figure out how much time "probably" passed between events. There were other reoccurring details and an overarching story that, when they were finally explained, were just glossed over. The ending was very rushed, and lacked a real resolution for most of the characters. Would not read again and would not recommend

[Sussie Hansen]

I always love Elizabeth Adlers books, I found this one to be a little silly in some of the chapters,
but liked the romance and the suspense.

[Dixie Goode · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book off the new book shelf at the library and while I enjoyed it enough to finish it, I was surprised to see how many other books there are by this author. It was a light, easy read, but dull at times and predictable. The details were retold too often from several different points of view. Then there was the fact that the men were not real at all, and felt like cartoons, even to the point where their names didn't matter, there was The Boss, The Colonel, The first Russian, The Second Russian. The women were better developed and had fun names, Verity, Mirabella, Jerusha, but contrasted with the faceless men, and the startlingly unusual women, there was a shortage of anyone who felt like you might meet them in real life. An ok book for airports or beaches, where being distracted is a given.

[Adrienn · Rating 1 out of 5]

First book I read from the writer and did not expect much from a chick lit (bought this book only because I visited the French Riviera) but it was a dissapointment. Shallow characters (sometimes literally so dumb it was painful to read)..awful superficial thinking of the women in the book, no clear storyline, countless boring repetitions. The peak of the story ended in a stupid way: big bad guy just running off leaving everything (only taking the desired painting but turns out he had no clue on its history whatsoever)... things just happened to have a happy ending not nearly givin enough background explaining why / how the couples matched up.
I have just finished it 15 min ago and still a bit upset of how much better it could have been! I Have no desire to try and read other books by same author...

[Michelle Veronica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick read. Thankfully so, because between the flat, stereotyped characters, the predictable ending, the grammatical errors and the flip-flopping between 1st and 2nd person narratives, it was unreasonably difficult to stay 'in' the book. Were Verity's fingernails "pink polished" or "deep red?" Why mention them at all if the description couldn't be kept straight between a few pages? A small detail, but discrepancies such as this made me distrustful of the author's storyline. At the same time, there were interesting pieces of the backstory that could have been much better fleshed out and tied in. Who was the woman in black? Why did she do what she did? Etc., etc.

[Ruth Lanton · Rating 2 out of 5]

The characters were not well developed, and they didn't feel "real." The villain was way too villainous, with no depth whatsoever. Things are MUCH more interesting when there's no real "bad guy" but just people with differing goals. Things didn't come to a logical conclusion so much as "falling into place too neatly" when enough pages had elapsed.

I've read other books by this author, and those had characters that felt real and a good emotional impact. This one reads to me like a first draft- a good idea for the story, but it just wasn't developed completely. This needed to have some things cut and other things expanded to turn it into a good read.

[Susan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gave Elizabeth Adler another chance. She's not a writer, she's a dreamer who puts them on paper even if they don't flow together smoothly. Nor does she have proofreader or an editor judging from grammar errors and mistakes in this novel which were annoying for the reader. This is not worth your time. Characters are not well developed, writing varies from first to second person and repeats herself throughout the novel (to fill up pages?). It's not even "fluff" reading - it's boring, boring, boring! Dismal from beginning to end.

Cannot believe this author has written over 30 novels. Elizabeth Adler should provide the reader with quality rather than quantity! I've tried two and won't be reading another. Both were a complete waste of time.

[Kristina Maye · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not sure what to think. I am a person who likes to read books that I have no idea who the person is that is doing all the killing etc right up to the end. A few things that were said in the book didn't get cleared up. Like what happen to the russian spy after he was in the hospital. Didn't the Boss set a bomb to explode after he left on his boat and then it didn't seem to explain what happen to that part.

[Victoria B. · Rating 1 out of 5]

If it wasn't for a New Year's resolution to try to finish every book I read, I would've DNF'd at 15%. This is probably one of the worst books I've read in a long time. Rambly. Overly descriptive. Repetitive. Long run-on sentences. Plot was predictable AND inconsistent. Characters seemed inconsistent. Details seemed inconsistent. The story behind Mirabella's hands was ridiculous. What happened? Her editor did a terrible job.

[Beverley · Rating 1 out of 5]

In The Charmers everyone is young, rich, and beautiful. The book reads like a first draft full of inconsistencies. Other reviewers have pointed out specific errors in spelling and storyline. Although my library had a shelf full of Elizabeth Adler books this one will be the first as well as the last one that I read.

[Eileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the aunt of Mirabella passes away suddenly and mysteriously, she inherits her aunt's villa in France. Many twists and turns, an accident, and many suitors show up, when she arrives.
Then Mirabella has to decide who can be trusted and find out is there is a murderer among one of them. A good read and lots of detail to get into the story.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book by one of my favorite authors but I found it scattered, almost like it was over edited with scenes cut out. At times I would be confused on how a character was in one place & all of a sudden they are somewhere else. Story line was so good & loved the setting but I found myself disappointed in the end