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Are You Afraid?
She thought the darkest part of her life was behind her...
At the age of sixteen, Jessica Langford endured and escaped the grip of a serial killer who buried his victims alive. After overcoming this terrifying experience, she started her own radio program to help those living in fear. If she could survive her past, why not help others do the same?
...until the darkness closed in again.
But now her past is being resurrected. An anonymouse man calls in to her how with remarkable knowledge of her traumatic experience - and her worst fears. With help from Detective Jake Merridan - a gorgeous cop on the brink of burnout himself - Jessie must try to uncover the intentions of this mysterious caller, to find him before he kills again and makes her life worse than anything she's ever feared.
At the age of sixteen, Jessica Langford endured and escaped the grip of a serial killer who buried his victims alive. After overcoming this terrifying experience, she started her own radio program to help those living in fear. If she could survive her past, why not help others do the same?
...until the darkness closed in again.
But now her past is being resurrected. An anonymouse man calls in to her how with remarkable knowledge of her traumatic experience - and her worst fears. With help from Detective Jake Merridan - a gorgeous cop on the brink of burnout himself - Jessie must try to uncover the intentions of this mysterious caller, to find him before he kills again and makes her life worse than anything she's ever feared.
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 7, 2006
13 people are currently reading
251 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 5, 2008
Absolutely riveting! This book shows why Carla Cassidy is on my personal BOLO file, she is a constant performer and a good read. Her characterization in Are You Afraid is multi-dimensional and the storyline tremendous. If you like your romantic/suspense well-balanced and unique, this is a title that is worth picking up.
March 20, 2008
Not bad. A quick romantic thriller. Kept my attention but didn't wow me.
March 10, 2015
Good read
Kept me interested enough to pick up every time I had a free minute. Never read this author before but I probably will now.
Kept me interested enough to pick up every time I had a free minute. Never read this author before but I probably will now.
November 8, 2022
I love Carla Cassidy books! They actually got me into reading mysteries and looking forward to reading.
September 8, 2014
Full book review at http://mysterysequels.com/are-you-afr...
Are You Afraid is romantic suspense with some thriller undertones. Jessica (dr. Jesssica Langford) is a psychiatrist who has her radio call-in show at a nearby studio. Her main topic: fear. Her clients and call-ins: people who are experiencing debilitating fear, phobia and pretty much anything that makes them tremble running scared. Her knowledge on the topic: her own past.
As a young girl of age 16 she almost died at the hands of a sadistic rapist and killer called the T&B killer. She was raped, badly hurt, buried alive and left to die. However she escaped her fate and after years of therapy she finally came on top and stronger for it. She does have a small and secret phobia though, the fear of the dark. But otherwise she is great in helping her clients get over their own fears. The T&B killer never got caught and Jessica was his only victim who escaped.
One night during her regular show she receives a call from someone called Cameron who asks her about Jessica’s fear of cemeteries and the dark. This chills Jessica to the bone because the grave where she was buried alive all those years ago did have the name Cameron on it. Later she decides it was just a fluke, a random caller, nothing more. Except more things happen that make her confused, scared and almost paranoid.
After some debating with herself, she decides to call the police, but soon realizes that the police can’t do much to help her. Well, except for detective Jake Merridan, who can’t get Jessica out of his mind.
Jake is currently working a serial killer case, and all the clues point to the fact that his case and Jessica’s stalker case are somehow related. Maybe the stalker knows something about Jessica’s past and wants to exploit that, or just maker her miserable?
Are You Afraid is romantic suspense with some thriller undertones. Jessica (dr. Jesssica Langford) is a psychiatrist who has her radio call-in show at a nearby studio. Her main topic: fear. Her clients and call-ins: people who are experiencing debilitating fear, phobia and pretty much anything that makes them tremble running scared. Her knowledge on the topic: her own past.
As a young girl of age 16 she almost died at the hands of a sadistic rapist and killer called the T&B killer. She was raped, badly hurt, buried alive and left to die. However she escaped her fate and after years of therapy she finally came on top and stronger for it. She does have a small and secret phobia though, the fear of the dark. But otherwise she is great in helping her clients get over their own fears. The T&B killer never got caught and Jessica was his only victim who escaped.
One night during her regular show she receives a call from someone called Cameron who asks her about Jessica’s fear of cemeteries and the dark. This chills Jessica to the bone because the grave where she was buried alive all those years ago did have the name Cameron on it. Later she decides it was just a fluke, a random caller, nothing more. Except more things happen that make her confused, scared and almost paranoid.
After some debating with herself, she decides to call the police, but soon realizes that the police can’t do much to help her. Well, except for detective Jake Merridan, who can’t get Jessica out of his mind.
Jake is currently working a serial killer case, and all the clues point to the fact that his case and Jessica’s stalker case are somehow related. Maybe the stalker knows something about Jessica’s past and wants to exploit that, or just maker her miserable?
May 28, 2025
First time to read this author. I had great expectations when I started off this novel, but I finnished it with mixed feelings. I enjoyed some aspects of it - for instance the well drawn out suspense in the beginning. Also CC does a brilliant job of telling part of the story from the kids' POV. Much better than a lot of authors who introduce kids into stories and either leave them out through most of the story or give them too much maturity that they often appear unrealistic. CC did a great job here and it was for me, one of the key highlights of the book. Re: the parts that were not so great...first, we are introduced to a great suspense storyline which then takes a back seat in the middle and is revived again at the end. I felt we should have had more insight into the investigations (what were the clues?..interactions/reactions within members of the investigation task force, what does the boss think etc...). This would have helped with tension building. Instead, we only get a summary after every few days from the Hero's POV of lack of progress with the case. Potentially this could have been a riveting read but tension was not built up enough for this to happen. The other issue I had with the story is several lapses in credibility. Consider for instance the heroine, having faced many past and present fearful and near horrific incidences, insisting she would rather spend the night alone in her house. This with a serial killer on the loose and a stalker on her heels. Whatever her reasons, it just sounds foolish. I can't say more without revealing too much of the story, but in a nutshell, I think the novel had great potentential but didn't live up to expectation.
December 24, 2015
I really liked the balance between the suspense and the romance. Jake, a Kansas police detective, is following one serial murder investigation at work, while Jessica, a psychologist, copes with a stalker and the recurring fears from a horrible kidnapping and near-murder when she was a teen. They meet when she starts to report a series of creepy phone calls. I loved how immediately protective of her she was without going all alpha and moving her into his house and driving her to work every day. Her reticence to the relationship makes perfect sense and she doesn't blow hot and cold for no reason.
The kids, the exs, and the babysitters were all handled very well. I liked that she and Larry still had a good relationship. He was the weakest part of the story though. Hard to believe that if he was so wishy-washy and chasing after younger women, that he would have made the effort to be married to her with her background. The various red-herrings were all explained and tied things up well without being too neat and perfect.
Only complaint: I couldn't believe that she could be so weird about the scars since she'd been pregnant. Her OB and plenty of other healthcare providers would have seen them. And it seems unlikely that she wouldn't have had any issues with them while she was pregnant. But
The kids, the exs, and the babysitters were all handled very well. I liked that she and Larry still had a good relationship. He was the weakest part of the story though. Hard to believe that if he was so wishy-washy and chasing after younger women, that he would have made the effort to be married to her with her background. The various red-herrings were all explained and tied things up well without being too neat and perfect.
Only complaint: I couldn't believe that she could be so weird about the scars since she'd been pregnant. Her OB and plenty of other healthcare providers would have seen them. And it seems unlikely that she wouldn't have had any issues with them while she was pregnant. But
February 9, 2011
The title of this book instantly grabbed my attention because it had been a long time since is had read a good thriller that could actually scare me. I had hoped that with a title like "Are You Afraid?" this may do the trick. I was very right, The book is a powerful romantic thriller that kept me guessing at it's plot twists and turns throught the entie book. I felt like I could feel the fear right along with the character and it made me sympathize wit her. I did however, notice small things throughout the length of the book that struck a nerve of annoyance. For example, one person can only drink so much coffe in a day and it seemed like every character made a new pot of coffe every other page. Other than that, It was a great read and kept my brain going.
July 8, 2009
Good storyline but it didn't draw me in. It's not absorbing and the scary parts weren't the least bit chilling. It was weak in a lot of parts. I could put it down anytime and not feel any urge to pick it up and pick up where I left off. Not recommended. 2/5 stars.
June 9, 2007
The first book by Carla Cassidy that I read. I could not put it down. Great mystery
July 28, 2011
pretty good but somehow i knew it would be him.
September 4, 2011
Don't turn out that light for scary things hide in the dark...or better yet right in front of your face. Great characters, excellent storyline..What more could you ask for?
March 24, 2012
Had a few good twists at the end that I only half-expected. The romance seemed to be put on the back burner with feelings somewhat rushed but it kept my attention and I didn't want to put it down.
November 6, 2013
couldn't put this one down- in only 3 days I read this book - I normally read every night for 30 minutes or so but not this book I read late into the night -
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June 14, 2016It was soul crushing on what he did with the vitims and it was a really great book but i hoped that jake had fought with the lilly killer
January 13, 2017
Amazing
As always Carla Cassidy has given us a book,that has me looking forward to seeing more.This story has everything,mystery,suspense,thrills.Also a strong love interest.
As always Carla Cassidy has given us a book,that has me looking forward to seeing more.This story has everything,mystery,suspense,thrills.Also a strong love interest.
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September 1, 2017I like this book. it's full of suspense. it makes you wanna read more till the end. definitely worth a reading
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews