UNAWARE: A Suspense Novel

by Susan P. Baker

What you don’t know can hurt you.

Frustrated with the two controlling men in her life, Dena Barlow Armstrong has outlined a rosy future for herself and her children, independent of them. Her husband, Zack, constantly pushes her to turn over her inheritance to him, and when she doesn’t, he punishes her with his indifference. Her law partner and cousin, Lucas, controls her money and the types of cases she accepts.

Just as Dena begins to achieve her goal of independence, someone emerges with very different plans for her. Unaware of the danger she faces, Dena lives each day as a wife, mother, and attorney. Then one day, when her husband is out of town, the stranger lurks in her garage, waiting until she and the children go to bed…

322 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2017

About the author

My English war bride mother was a real penny pincher, but in the early years of their marriage, my parents had to pinch pennies. Not long after my mother arrived in the U.S., she encouraged my father to complete his education. He used the GI Bill to obtain a law degree while she was having four babies and working part time doing such odd jobs as collecting the money out of coin-operated machines in washaterias.

We moved to Galveston when I was four, which is when my father claimed he taught me to read. We lived on the water, swimming, fishing, and crabbing in Offatts Bayou. As far as I can remember, we had no purchased books in our house when I was growing up. We didn't have the money. But Mom took the four of us to the Rosenberg Library every two weeks where we'd check out the maximum number of books allowed, six each. We even took library books on vacation with us so we could read them in the car instead of fussing and constantly asking, "Are we there yet?"

I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. I used to write little stories as well as entertain my invisible friend, Sally, who lived in my side of the closet. My parents discouraged me from seeking a writing career, so after several false starts I eventually obtained a BS in Criminal Justice.

I finally was hired as a Probation Officer about a week before I started law school. I was married with a couple of kids of my own by then, so I worked and attended Law School (in Houston) for three years.

I mostly practiced criminal and family law. In fact, I was board certified in family law. After eight years of practicing law, I ran for district court judge and was elected. I was the first woman in Galveston County to run.

By that time, I was writing a lot. I'd published My First Murder. I moved away and back to Galveston several times and now live in Cypress near my younger daughter.

People often approach me with ideas for books, but with a background like mine, I have no shortage of my own.

Reviews

[Nicki Southwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ginny Sellers has had enough of her brutal husband Alan. Funded by her brother Martin, she seeks a divorce. Martin finds her an attorney, Dene, who agrees to take on the case even though her partner doesn't want their firm to handle family law.

Alan Sellers is a bully, violent and with a sense of injustice. His mother left him and his father, and it was drilled into him that all women leave. He doesn't think that Ginny will go through with it as she is frightened of him.

Dena and Zack have two children whom they dote on. Dena is not happy in their marriage and she suspects Zack feels the same. He works long hours which doesn't make him feel anything but resentful. He thinks that Dena should allocate some of her trust fund to make their lives easier and so that he doesn't have to work so hard. Sensibly she won't.

Ginny's brother Martin is a policeman and is not afraid to use his position to warn Alan off. He doesn't like or trust him, which is just as well.

Dena has to act as the go-between between Ginny and Alan and just wants things to go smoothly. Alan has a vile temper but is trying hard not to show it too often. He has plans to get her back or at least get his hands on some money. His view is that if he can't have her, then no-one else can.

This novel is fast paced and will keep you guessing throughout. The main characters are believable even if not very nice. It is good to see that villains get their just deserts.

I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are all my own and completely unbiased. My thanks to NetGalley for this opportunity.

[Momma Says: To Read or Not to Read · Rating 2 out of 5]

The cover and blurb for Unaware sucked me in completely with promises of edge of your seat suspense. Unfortunately, something got lost in the translation for me. The story is fast-paced and there is a lot going on, but most of the characters irritated me to no end. With the exception of Dena, I couldn't find much to like about any of the other characters. Martin is polite and caring one minute and bossy and overbearing to the point of being a jerk the next. The biggest problem and the thing that killed what could've been some chilling suspense was our bad guy. As antagonists go, this one has to be one of the worst, and I don't mean that in the way you expect in a suspense novel. He is a bad guy, but I lost count of the number of eye-rolling moments he caused. Without a doubt, he's a pitiful excuse for a human being, but he's not creepy in the way you'd expect. In fact, I didn't find him creepy at all. Instead, it's like he bumbles through, trying to decide what to do next, and the problems he runs into bordered on the ridiculous at times. We do get a twist, but it's way too obvious, and there's a good bit of action in the conclusion, but it was just too little, too late. From the ratings I've seen, I'm clearly in the minority here, and maybe I've just read too many stories of this type and become jaded, but this one clearly wasn't for me.

[Christer Tholin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dena works as a lawyer and struggles with the challenges to combine her professional work with handling her family. In both her professional life and her private life, Dena is being bullied around – by her cousin and partner in the lawyer office and by her husband on the private side. She is not prepared to accept this any longer and has made a plan to split up with the two men. While she starts implementing her plans, she takes on a new case helping a young girl to get separated from her brutal husband. This first looks like any other family law case, but Dena gets more and more personally involved in it and finally has to fear for her life.
This book is a real page turner, after the first 5 chapters or so, the reader is aware that something bad will happen and the tension never ceases until the very end. The characters are extremely well described and they act absolutely consistently. Due to their different agendas, the evolving plot is inevitable.
I enjoyed reading this book very much and will be on the lookout for more books of Susan Baker!

[Sue Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unaware by Susan P Baker.

What you don’t know CAN hurt you.

Frustrated with the two controlling men in her life, Dena Barlow Armstrong has outlined a rosy future for herself and her children, independent of them. Her husband, Zack, constantly pushes her to turn over her inheritance to him, and when she doesn’t, he punishes her with his indifference. Her law partner and cousin, Lucas, controls her money and the types of cases she accepts.

Just as Dena begins to achieve her goal of independence, someone emerges with very different plans for her. Unaware of the danger she faces, Dena lives each day as a wife, mother, and attorney. Then one day, when her husband is out of town, the stranger lurks in her garage, waiting until she and the children go to bed…
An absolutely fantastic read.  Loved Dena character.  Shocked at the ending. Didn't see that coming.  5*

[Marilyn Heffner · Rating 5 out of 5]

ENTERTAINING, ENJOYED and couldn’t put it down. I never read more than a couple chapters of a book at a time. But this afternoon I picked the book, UNAWARE up an couldn’t put it down. Each chapter is short and leaves you with having to read the next before putting it down and next and next. Susan P. Baker writes a good book that takes place in Galveston, Tx. (A place I’ve visited many times).

[Rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. It had a wonderful love story in the midst of a mad man who was after the main characters. I loved the plot and how the author described the emotions the characters were feeling. It will be a story I will remember. I will be following the author and will be looking into more of her books for sure! A great read!

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strong 3, for whatever reason!

I randomly picked this from my downloads.
I have zero recollection of obtaining it.
Decided to read it anyway, and actually enjoyed it.
Some issues, but I thought about it when I wasn’t reading so I will call it a success.

(The cover needs changing IMO!)

[Susie Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great suspense until the end. The attorney won on all counts.