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The Devil's Dance
When Romi Lachlan's fiancé disappears with half-a-billion dollars stolen from his company, she finds herself broke, blackballed, and the FBI's prime suspect.
Forced to take refuge with her crazy-as-a-bag-of-cats family at the Cactus Flower trailer park in Bisby, Texas, Romi's sure her life can't get any worse until Special Agent Benjamin Sawyer shows up, determined to recover the money and put her away.
It turns out that persuading the hard-nosed G-man she's innocent is the least of her worries. The body count in Bisby is rising, and Romi must uncover the secret to the town’s newfound prosperity before the secret buries her.
Grab your copy of this intense mystery-thriller today!
Praise for The Devil's Dance:
"Kristen Lamb is a word demon. Sardonic, humorous and afoul of propriety, her fiction takes no prisoners. This is fun stuff, written by a born novelist with a maverick sensibility.” Joel Eisenberg, Hollywood producer & award-winning novelist
Forced to take refuge with her crazy-as-a-bag-of-cats family at the Cactus Flower trailer park in Bisby, Texas, Romi's sure her life can't get any worse until Special Agent Benjamin Sawyer shows up, determined to recover the money and put her away.
It turns out that persuading the hard-nosed G-man she's innocent is the least of her worries. The body count in Bisby is rising, and Romi must uncover the secret to the town’s newfound prosperity before the secret buries her.
Grab your copy of this intense mystery-thriller today!
Praise for The Devil's Dance:
"Kristen Lamb is a word demon. Sardonic, humorous and afoul of propriety, her fiction takes no prisoners. This is fun stuff, written by a born novelist with a maverick sensibility.” Joel Eisenberg, Hollywood producer & award-winning novelist
344 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 15, 2017
8 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
May 22, 2017
Ms. Lamb is a master storyteller.
Can I just leave “WOW” here and walk away? I simply enjoyed this book. I’m one of the guilty who stayed up until 1:30 am to finish this novel. That alone means the author had my undivided attention. I loved Romi’s character. She is relatable/believable. Each time she had a crisis, I felt her pain. Cross that with delightful humor and engaging supporting characters, it was a compelling and fulfilling mystery. (Loved Romi’s Nana!!!)
The dialogue offered a lot of information. I had to back up a few times to see who was speaking. Would have loved a few more dialogue tags here and there to navigate my path. But no biggie. The suspense was expertly laid and each clue builds on the next. Romi teaming up with Sawyer is awesome. Of course, I would have enjoyed a little more romance, but who wouldn’t? Sawyer is a hottie.
The ending? Didn’t see that coming. (Sorry, no spoilers.)
I hope this means more Kristen Lamb books in the future. I highly recommend.
Can I just leave “WOW” here and walk away? I simply enjoyed this book. I’m one of the guilty who stayed up until 1:30 am to finish this novel. That alone means the author had my undivided attention. I loved Romi’s character. She is relatable/believable. Each time she had a crisis, I felt her pain. Cross that with delightful humor and engaging supporting characters, it was a compelling and fulfilling mystery. (Loved Romi’s Nana!!!)
The dialogue offered a lot of information. I had to back up a few times to see who was speaking. Would have loved a few more dialogue tags here and there to navigate my path. But no biggie. The suspense was expertly laid and each clue builds on the next. Romi teaming up with Sawyer is awesome. Of course, I would have enjoyed a little more romance, but who wouldn’t? Sawyer is a hottie.
The ending? Didn’t see that coming. (Sorry, no spoilers.)
I hope this means more Kristen Lamb books in the future. I highly recommend.
May 18, 2017
Couldn't put it down. Literally.
I picked up this book yesterday... and ended up staying up til 2am finishing it.
Romi is a delightful character. Her movie knowledge and wit helps her to cope with the town that never forgot her, complete with corrupt mayor, bully turned cop, and lost loves.
Sawyer is equally delightful and watching him grow and change from a person we don't trust to a person we love was awesome.
Overall, this was a fantastic cozy mystery, with all the puzzle pieces carefully laid out. Nothing is wasted. The plot left enough clues that you can predict fairly well, but still get the awesome surprises. Fantastic book. Can't wait to see more from Lamb!
I picked up this book yesterday... and ended up staying up til 2am finishing it.
Romi is a delightful character. Her movie knowledge and wit helps her to cope with the town that never forgot her, complete with corrupt mayor, bully turned cop, and lost loves.
Sawyer is equally delightful and watching him grow and change from a person we don't trust to a person we love was awesome.
Overall, this was a fantastic cozy mystery, with all the puzzle pieces carefully laid out. Nothing is wasted. The plot left enough clues that you can predict fairly well, but still get the awesome surprises. Fantastic book. Can't wait to see more from Lamb!
May 20, 2017
Wow! This was not my usual genre, but I had read Ms. Lamb's Rise of the Machine and figured I should at least take a peek.
Well, what a peak it was.
Romi jumps inside your head from the beginning and stays there to the end. The tenseness of each of her encounters make your heart beat along with hers.
I don't know how I'm gonna tell my dear wife I'm into romance novels.
OH, I know. I'll get her to read it. She'll understand.
Well, what a peak it was.
Romi jumps inside your head from the beginning and stays there to the end. The tenseness of each of her encounters make your heart beat along with hers.
I don't know how I'm gonna tell my dear wife I'm into romance novels.
OH, I know. I'll get her to read it. She'll understand.
May 21, 2017
The Devil's Dance begins in a Dallas unemployment office, where down-on-her-luck Romi Lachlan has been attempting to find work for a while. She's not proud. In fact, the circumstances leading to her recent bout with poverty have stripped most of the pride she'd acquired while a salaried employee at tech company, Verify. Her very expensive degree from Texas Christian leaves her unqualified for positions requiring an MBA, but way overqualified to push a mop. Today, though, with $500 to her name and a skirt with a seam splitting up the back, she meets the director of the Unemployment office and learns he's there because of HER. She sold his father the software that fleeced the family company for millions and, as penance, Mark was has to earn his way back into the old man's good graces. Spiteful, Mark informs Romi she'll never work anywhere again. Romi knows his family has a lot of sway in Dallas/Fort Worth, and when he says anywhere, she won't get a paper route. Facing homelessness in two weeks, swallows what's left of her pride and calls home.
Bisby, Texas, is a small town near the Mexican border. Romi remembers it as a rundown spot in the middle of nowhere with a potential to be "Santa Fe." She was not the only person to think so, she realizes, as she drives into town to find hipsters driving expensive cars and shops that would be at home in wealthier areas of Dallas. And the trailer park is not as it was growing up either. Her family is now the only remaining tenant of land her sister says is due to be razed for a vineyard. Her grandmother is a kleptomaniac, kept out of jail by an opportunistic d-bag of a cop. Her hoarding father is grumpy and insane. Her sister is bitter from having to deal with the two. And, to make Romi's life extra special, she was followed home by a hot FBI agent who's just waiting for her to make a mistake.
The Devil's Dance delivers readers a broad swath of Texas, from the playgrounds of the wealthy to the rotting remains of an abandoned farm. On that floor, roughly two dozen players participate in a strange waltz with a unique...and mostly unspoken...set of rules. As Romi makes the rounds, she has to negotiate with civil servants and gangbangers. Law enforcement and socialites. Family and friends. No one is safe, and Romi fears any wrong move could wind her in prison or dead. Until, finally, wrong moves are all she has left.
The story is dense. Heavy. Kristen Lamb deftly counters this with snark and wit. Romi and Special Agent Ben Sawyer have a quick chemistry as both natural adversaries and natural allies. Heather, Romi's sister, and their nana, provide enough sharp wit to keep the family interactions from despairing the reader into skipping those parts entirely. Rather, The Devil's Dance is engrossing, even when it's downright gross. The pieces of the mystery Romi has to solve are well placed within the story, ready to be cinched together at the end.
I do have two overlapping problems with the story. A) Romi has a bad habit of withholding information from Sawyer B) for the sake of not revealing information to the reader. I can't give an example without spoiling, so I won't, but by the third act, it annoyed me. Yes, Romi's a strong woman, but she's also supposedly "the smart sister" with access to a guy with Afghan tours to watch her six. However, it didn't annoy me nearly enough to knock a whole star off my rating. I give The Devil's Dance 4 1/2 ★.
Bisby, Texas, is a small town near the Mexican border. Romi remembers it as a rundown spot in the middle of nowhere with a potential to be "Santa Fe." She was not the only person to think so, she realizes, as she drives into town to find hipsters driving expensive cars and shops that would be at home in wealthier areas of Dallas. And the trailer park is not as it was growing up either. Her family is now the only remaining tenant of land her sister says is due to be razed for a vineyard. Her grandmother is a kleptomaniac, kept out of jail by an opportunistic d-bag of a cop. Her hoarding father is grumpy and insane. Her sister is bitter from having to deal with the two. And, to make Romi's life extra special, she was followed home by a hot FBI agent who's just waiting for her to make a mistake.
The Devil's Dance delivers readers a broad swath of Texas, from the playgrounds of the wealthy to the rotting remains of an abandoned farm. On that floor, roughly two dozen players participate in a strange waltz with a unique...and mostly unspoken...set of rules. As Romi makes the rounds, she has to negotiate with civil servants and gangbangers. Law enforcement and socialites. Family and friends. No one is safe, and Romi fears any wrong move could wind her in prison or dead. Until, finally, wrong moves are all she has left.
The story is dense. Heavy. Kristen Lamb deftly counters this with snark and wit. Romi and Special Agent Ben Sawyer have a quick chemistry as both natural adversaries and natural allies. Heather, Romi's sister, and their nana, provide enough sharp wit to keep the family interactions from despairing the reader into skipping those parts entirely. Rather, The Devil's Dance is engrossing, even when it's downright gross. The pieces of the mystery Romi has to solve are well placed within the story, ready to be cinched together at the end.
I do have two overlapping problems with the story. A) Romi has a bad habit of withholding information from Sawyer B) for the sake of not revealing information to the reader. I can't give an example without spoiling, so I won't, but by the third act, it annoyed me. Yes, Romi's a strong woman, but she's also supposedly "the smart sister" with access to a guy with Afghan tours to watch her six. However, it didn't annoy me nearly enough to knock a whole star off my rating. I give The Devil's Dance 4 1/2 ★.
May 23, 2017
I thoroughly enjoyed this read. The protagonist's personality is simultaneously smart,strong, endearing and funny. The storyline drags you in, keeps you guessing and delivers the climax with a punch! The romantic element was handled well, patiently drawing out sexual tension while building a believable friendship between Romi and her love interest. For an exciting read, with characters richly developed and descriptions that transport you to another place, I highly recommend this book. Well done Kristen Lamb. I look forward to the next one.
June 15, 2017
Texas, once the place has held you, never completely lets go. So it is with Kristen Lamb’s whirlwind debut.
We meet Romi Lachlan at rock bottom, well into the episode which will transform her life. Broke, desperate, but possessed of strength too great to allow her giving up, we experience this complex, captivating work of mystery and suspense entirely through her eyes. By ‘The End,’ she too holds us in a way likely to endure.
Lamb’s writing style is Texas through and through, in a way that makes one miss the broad vistas of the Lone Star State. The phrase “blue norther,” along with mentions of Farm to Market Roads and a dozen others took me back to the land of Travis, Crockett, and Bowie. It is from the stock of those good folk Romi inherits her strength to traverse the journey ahead. Biker buddy Ed, FBI Agent Sawyer, and Romi’s cast of addled and earthy family members are likewise distinct in her rapid-fire narrative. Reminiscent of the twists of ‘The Usual Suspects’, we’re kept guessing until the story is complete, the journey is over, and the anxious waiting for Kristen Lamb’s follow-up begins.
Four and a half stars rounded up on the strength of the characterizations herein and recommended as a solid work of thrills and mystery with elements of romantic suspense. You will read it more than once.
We meet Romi Lachlan at rock bottom, well into the episode which will transform her life. Broke, desperate, but possessed of strength too great to allow her giving up, we experience this complex, captivating work of mystery and suspense entirely through her eyes. By ‘The End,’ she too holds us in a way likely to endure.
Lamb’s writing style is Texas through and through, in a way that makes one miss the broad vistas of the Lone Star State. The phrase “blue norther,” along with mentions of Farm to Market Roads and a dozen others took me back to the land of Travis, Crockett, and Bowie. It is from the stock of those good folk Romi inherits her strength to traverse the journey ahead. Biker buddy Ed, FBI Agent Sawyer, and Romi’s cast of addled and earthy family members are likewise distinct in her rapid-fire narrative. Reminiscent of the twists of ‘The Usual Suspects’, we’re kept guessing until the story is complete, the journey is over, and the anxious waiting for Kristen Lamb’s follow-up begins.
Four and a half stars rounded up on the strength of the characterizations herein and recommended as a solid work of thrills and mystery with elements of romantic suspense. You will read it more than once.
October 18, 2017
Without giving away the plot, I would say, Kristen hits this suspense/romance perfectly. Romi, the main character, is barely scraping enough money for rent in a bad part of any neighborhood a mugger would avoid.. She's also targeted by the FBI. The unlikely heroine Agatha-from-the-Texas-trailer house-turned-wealthy-software-engineer-turned-into-suspect turns her talents into sleuthing... with the G man close behind. Lots of twists, turns. Kristen writes characters you can relate to, step into their shoes, all the while being able to laugh with Romi's sarcasm and snappy responses out of nowhere. None of her characters are flat or uninteresting. Some downright try to steal the show. I haven't read anything this good for a long time. I wouldn't just recommend it, were I a creative writing teacher, it would be required reading. This is why we readers love to read.
June 3, 2017
Even though this isn't my usual genre, I'm a huge fan of Lamb's blog ,and I was hoping to find some good laughs in her debut fiction. I give the book 4.4 out of five stars.
Although I liked the voice of the main character, I found her continual sniping annoying after only a few chapters. Which totally shocked me because I adore snarky teenagers in YA. Maybe because she was supposed to be a college graduate who was rising above a disadvantaged background? I'm not sure why it rubbed me the wrong way, but it did.
I thought the first few chapters were slow. Well-written, sure, but not really engaging. The story didn't really start until she went to Bisby...well maybe on the road trip. Yes, we find out that the things that happened in those early chapters were wrapped up in the mystery, but they took too long to live through. If I didn't love Lamb, I would have given up on this book by chapter three.
A long rant in the first chapter goes against every "Bob said this" rule of writing. Yes, it happened in a believable manner, but the author in me shook her head. The info dump could have been avoided and the important info squeezed in organically. In fact, I'll bet if you don't even read the first chapter, the only thing you'll miss is who Mark Cunningham is.
There was too much gore. And Romi adapted to it and became accepting of it too easily. Especially in the climax scene. I found myself thinking, "she would have totally puked," and "she would not be so together after seeing that" the whole time I read that tense and informative scene.
Also (and this is the spoiler so stop reading if you don't want to know in advance) I figured her sister was involved somehow. There were plenty of hints. But then she made the sister into a monster, and I couldn't swallow it. There's no way Romi would have been able to either. Her shock would have made her a sitting duck. More and more stuff was piled on that hadn't been hinted at earlier, and I found myself totally kicked out of the story.
The romance was not very believable, although the interaction between Romi and Sawyer was my favorite part of the book. I would have read an entire romance about her thinking he was a stalker, catching him watching her, then following her, and him trying to keep his real purpose under wraps until the midpoint. But that wasn't the story, and there wasn't enough time for them to get to the "I love you" phase of a relationship. Especially when Romi was under so much duress.
The entire thing is wrapped up in a tidy bundle in the last chapter, which is par for the course in mysteries. Some of the revelations there hadn't been hinted at earlier, and I was completely disengaged, reading to get to the end.
At a certain point, I couldn't put the book down. If you like suspense novels (and I'm not a fan of ones with too much gore which this one has), you'll enjoy this book. It delivers five-star entertainment.
Although I liked the voice of the main character, I found her continual sniping annoying after only a few chapters. Which totally shocked me because I adore snarky teenagers in YA. Maybe because she was supposed to be a college graduate who was rising above a disadvantaged background? I'm not sure why it rubbed me the wrong way, but it did.
I thought the first few chapters were slow. Well-written, sure, but not really engaging. The story didn't really start until she went to Bisby...well maybe on the road trip. Yes, we find out that the things that happened in those early chapters were wrapped up in the mystery, but they took too long to live through. If I didn't love Lamb, I would have given up on this book by chapter three.
A long rant in the first chapter goes against every "Bob said this" rule of writing. Yes, it happened in a believable manner, but the author in me shook her head. The info dump could have been avoided and the important info squeezed in organically. In fact, I'll bet if you don't even read the first chapter, the only thing you'll miss is who Mark Cunningham is.
There was too much gore. And Romi adapted to it and became accepting of it too easily. Especially in the climax scene. I found myself thinking, "she would have totally puked," and "she would not be so together after seeing that" the whole time I read that tense and informative scene.
Also (and this is the spoiler so stop reading if you don't want to know in advance) I figured her sister was involved somehow. There were plenty of hints. But then she made the sister into a monster, and I couldn't swallow it. There's no way Romi would have been able to either. Her shock would have made her a sitting duck. More and more stuff was piled on that hadn't been hinted at earlier, and I found myself totally kicked out of the story.
The romance was not very believable, although the interaction between Romi and Sawyer was my favorite part of the book. I would have read an entire romance about her thinking he was a stalker, catching him watching her, then following her, and him trying to keep his real purpose under wraps until the midpoint. But that wasn't the story, and there wasn't enough time for them to get to the "I love you" phase of a relationship. Especially when Romi was under so much duress.
The entire thing is wrapped up in a tidy bundle in the last chapter, which is par for the course in mysteries. Some of the revelations there hadn't been hinted at earlier, and I was completely disengaged, reading to get to the end.
At a certain point, I couldn't put the book down. If you like suspense novels (and I'm not a fan of ones with too much gore which this one has), you'll enjoy this book. It delivers five-star entertainment.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 23, 2017
I got almost NO sleep last night. I picked up The Devil's Dance and literally had to force myself to put the book down so I could catch two hours before I had to get up.
Are we SURE this is a first novel? Doesn't read like one. Romi and Sawyer are great together, and Romi is the not so typical strong female lead that is hard to find in stories. She's running from the failure of a company where she is suspected of helping embezzle millions. There are biker gangs, trailer park residents, rich conniving men and women, missing ex-boyfriends, and the twists/turns/double-backks kept me guessing the whole way.
Pick this one up and make sure you're caught up on your sleep and have cleared your calendar. You're not going to want to put this one down.
Tell me there's another story with Romi and Sawyer............please!!!
Are we SURE this is a first novel? Doesn't read like one. Romi and Sawyer are great together, and Romi is the not so typical strong female lead that is hard to find in stories. She's running from the failure of a company where she is suspected of helping embezzle millions. There are biker gangs, trailer park residents, rich conniving men and women, missing ex-boyfriends, and the twists/turns/double-backks kept me guessing the whole way.
Pick this one up and make sure you're caught up on your sleep and have cleared your calendar. You're not going to want to put this one down.
Tell me there's another story with Romi and Sawyer............please!!!
June 10, 2017
A heart-racing, riveting suspense story
Wow! What a book! When I read some of the reviews that said the readers couldn't put it down at the end, I rolled my eyes. I can put down nearly every book whenever I want to. Except...I couldn't put THIS book down once I was engrossed in it! You can read the plot points from other reviewers, so I'll just share my experience and impressions.
The story unraveled casually at the start, establishing Romi as a sympathetic character who, by spunk and brains, worked her way to the top of the world. Then she was knocked so far down that she has to use street smarts to survive amongst all the bottom feeders. When she is forced to return to her trailer park roots, instead of getting a break, her life gets increasingly worse. At this point, I was sort of picking up random clues, but I was eagerly anticipating Romi getting on her feet, scrambling out of there, and inflicting massive payback on her devil of a fiancé. I thought that's where the plot was going.
However, nothing turned out as I expected. Good was bad, up was down, better meant worse, everyone changed into someone else before my eyes. I found myself entangled in the thick sticky ever-tightening webs Romi--and now Ben--were trapped in. It got exponentially worse and so intense that, yes, I DID stay up all night until I finished it because I literally could NOT put it down!!
This story has all the right ingredients. A heart-racing, riveting suspense story. Layers and layers of unpredictable mystery, vivid and "real" characters (all over the spectrum), reluctant and believable romance, sarcastic humor, tough yet vulnerable protagonists, and a crazy ending (a little too gory for me, but probably not for most people). There is something for everyone, and it's very well written. There are very few gripping and great books out today, and this is one of them--an exciting and rare find!
Wow! What a book! When I read some of the reviews that said the readers couldn't put it down at the end, I rolled my eyes. I can put down nearly every book whenever I want to. Except...I couldn't put THIS book down once I was engrossed in it! You can read the plot points from other reviewers, so I'll just share my experience and impressions.
The story unraveled casually at the start, establishing Romi as a sympathetic character who, by spunk and brains, worked her way to the top of the world. Then she was knocked so far down that she has to use street smarts to survive amongst all the bottom feeders. When she is forced to return to her trailer park roots, instead of getting a break, her life gets increasingly worse. At this point, I was sort of picking up random clues, but I was eagerly anticipating Romi getting on her feet, scrambling out of there, and inflicting massive payback on her devil of a fiancé. I thought that's where the plot was going.
However, nothing turned out as I expected. Good was bad, up was down, better meant worse, everyone changed into someone else before my eyes. I found myself entangled in the thick sticky ever-tightening webs Romi--and now Ben--were trapped in. It got exponentially worse and so intense that, yes, I DID stay up all night until I finished it because I literally could NOT put it down!!
This story has all the right ingredients. A heart-racing, riveting suspense story. Layers and layers of unpredictable mystery, vivid and "real" characters (all over the spectrum), reluctant and believable romance, sarcastic humor, tough yet vulnerable protagonists, and a crazy ending (a little too gory for me, but probably not for most people). There is something for everyone, and it's very well written. There are very few gripping and great books out today, and this is one of them--an exciting and rare find!
June 24, 2017
When a woman gets blackballed because of a corporate scandal, she returns to the town where she grew up. Her problems follow her home, however, and only get bigger as she realizes someone is stalking her; suddenly she needs to figure out how to stay alive while also dealing with her family. Social media giant Kristen Lamb puts her efforts toward a likeable heroine stuck in a surprisingly mundane plot in The Devil’s Dance.
Romi Lachlan wants nothing more than to find a place where she can curl up and wait for the world to forget about her. It’s bad enough that the company she worked for, Verify, has crashed faster than a plane in a nosedive. It hurts even more that Verify’s top brass stole the income and savings of all the employees, Romi included.
The kicker, though, comes in the fact that top exec Phil, Romi’s fiancé—or, rather, ex-fiancé—betrayed her. Except that no one believes that Romi didn’t see his deception earlier. Many think she was in on the plan and is just waiting for the right time to join him on a sunny beach somewhere.
So Romi regularly visits the Texas Employment Commission pleading for help in getting a job. One of the senior case agents at the office has a direct connection to someone hurt by the major theft at Verify, and he’s bent on making Romi’s life miserable in revenge. Romi has nothing but her dignity left, but dignity doesn’t translate to a usable income.
When she runs into trouble, she knows she really has nowhere else to go but home. Romi left Bisby, Texas, with grand thoughts of moving up and out. Who needs a small backwater town where her mother ran off one day without a word, and her father, a mean man harder than a rock in the first place, has only gotten even more cantankerous with time? Plus, dealing with her crazy grandmother would make anyone go insane.
Romi does feel some guilt that her sister, Heather, stayed behind to deal with it all, but after some grumbling Heather tells her to come back. Romi expects the same hillbilly town outside of the trailer park where she grew up, but she finds herself in the middle of a major overhaul. Something about the revitalization efforts don’t make sense to Romi, however.
She finds out that the trailer park is scheduled for demolition within a month. An FBI agent shows up on her tail, grilling her about Phil’s location. Then the murders begin, and Romi gets the sneaking suspicion that somehow she’s walked into something big. Her goal is to stay alive long enough to figure out whatever it is, before someone—either the murderer or the FBI—gets to her.
Author Kristen Lamb has guided independent authors for years. Many writers continue to look to her blog and books for advice on how to best position themselves in the market for success. She emphasizes the quality of story above everything else, which is why the plotting and character problems in The Devil’s Dance may surprise her fans. Truly, the book needed a few more rounds of editing before publication.
The positives in the book lift it from the depths of mediocrity. Lamb’s writing, in many places, sparkles. As the protagonist, Romi shines. Her voice comes through loud and clear. In her explanation for how she created Romi, Lamb states that she wanted to address stereotypes while breaking them at the same time. She gives Romi a degree, summa cum laude, in information systems. Romi is smart, and she knows how to use her education and her common sense to get ahead. She doesn’t need to resort to dumb blonde tricks or lurid means.
It’s heartbreaking, then, that while Lamb breaks some stereotypes, she fulfills others in her plotting and story treatment. In the “big reveal” Romi goes into a monologue that lasts for 14 pages to explain every major question posed in the story. In other places, too, Romi suddenly comes up with all the information that a character just happens to need in the moment. The convenience of her knowledge is jarring and hard to believe.
One of the characters changes in a fundamental way, but because readers don’t spend much time with the person it’ll be hard for them to buy into the major shift that leads to the climax. The story itself veers into the territory of its genre—mystery/thriller—in a somewhat abrupt way. One minute Romi is trying to deal with a kleptomaniac grandmother; the next she’s trying to figure out how to solve a major case for the FBI. The rough transitions don’t make sense.
In fact, many of Lamb’s choices could have come from any one of her blog entries on how not to write a story. The repeated editing and formatting errors, too, will distract readers from the book enough to make them scratch their heads and wonder whether Lamb actually did write the book herself. It’s hard to believe that someone with her level of expertise would turn out a story that’s less than stellar.
A great protagonist and Lamb’s reputation may keep some readers engaged. Those who don’t know of her may give the book a pass. For those who want to experience a story that has the potential to turn into the blockbuster Lamb keeps talking about in her site entries, I recommend readers Borrow The Devil’s Dance.
Romi Lachlan wants nothing more than to find a place where she can curl up and wait for the world to forget about her. It’s bad enough that the company she worked for, Verify, has crashed faster than a plane in a nosedive. It hurts even more that Verify’s top brass stole the income and savings of all the employees, Romi included.
The kicker, though, comes in the fact that top exec Phil, Romi’s fiancé—or, rather, ex-fiancé—betrayed her. Except that no one believes that Romi didn’t see his deception earlier. Many think she was in on the plan and is just waiting for the right time to join him on a sunny beach somewhere.
So Romi regularly visits the Texas Employment Commission pleading for help in getting a job. One of the senior case agents at the office has a direct connection to someone hurt by the major theft at Verify, and he’s bent on making Romi’s life miserable in revenge. Romi has nothing but her dignity left, but dignity doesn’t translate to a usable income.
When she runs into trouble, she knows she really has nowhere else to go but home. Romi left Bisby, Texas, with grand thoughts of moving up and out. Who needs a small backwater town where her mother ran off one day without a word, and her father, a mean man harder than a rock in the first place, has only gotten even more cantankerous with time? Plus, dealing with her crazy grandmother would make anyone go insane.
Romi does feel some guilt that her sister, Heather, stayed behind to deal with it all, but after some grumbling Heather tells her to come back. Romi expects the same hillbilly town outside of the trailer park where she grew up, but she finds herself in the middle of a major overhaul. Something about the revitalization efforts don’t make sense to Romi, however.
She finds out that the trailer park is scheduled for demolition within a month. An FBI agent shows up on her tail, grilling her about Phil’s location. Then the murders begin, and Romi gets the sneaking suspicion that somehow she’s walked into something big. Her goal is to stay alive long enough to figure out whatever it is, before someone—either the murderer or the FBI—gets to her.
Author Kristen Lamb has guided independent authors for years. Many writers continue to look to her blog and books for advice on how to best position themselves in the market for success. She emphasizes the quality of story above everything else, which is why the plotting and character problems in The Devil’s Dance may surprise her fans. Truly, the book needed a few more rounds of editing before publication.
The positives in the book lift it from the depths of mediocrity. Lamb’s writing, in many places, sparkles. As the protagonist, Romi shines. Her voice comes through loud and clear. In her explanation for how she created Romi, Lamb states that she wanted to address stereotypes while breaking them at the same time. She gives Romi a degree, summa cum laude, in information systems. Romi is smart, and she knows how to use her education and her common sense to get ahead. She doesn’t need to resort to dumb blonde tricks or lurid means.
It’s heartbreaking, then, that while Lamb breaks some stereotypes, she fulfills others in her plotting and story treatment. In the “big reveal” Romi goes into a monologue that lasts for 14 pages to explain every major question posed in the story. In other places, too, Romi suddenly comes up with all the information that a character just happens to need in the moment. The convenience of her knowledge is jarring and hard to believe.
One of the characters changes in a fundamental way, but because readers don’t spend much time with the person it’ll be hard for them to buy into the major shift that leads to the climax. The story itself veers into the territory of its genre—mystery/thriller—in a somewhat abrupt way. One minute Romi is trying to deal with a kleptomaniac grandmother; the next she’s trying to figure out how to solve a major case for the FBI. The rough transitions don’t make sense.
In fact, many of Lamb’s choices could have come from any one of her blog entries on how not to write a story. The repeated editing and formatting errors, too, will distract readers from the book enough to make them scratch their heads and wonder whether Lamb actually did write the book herself. It’s hard to believe that someone with her level of expertise would turn out a story that’s less than stellar.
A great protagonist and Lamb’s reputation may keep some readers engaged. Those who don’t know of her may give the book a pass. For those who want to experience a story that has the potential to turn into the blockbuster Lamb keeps talking about in her site entries, I recommend readers Borrow The Devil’s Dance.
June 8, 2017
Kristen Lamb brings small town Texas to life in this suspenseful debut fiction novel. It is by turns poignant, sarcastic, frightening, and yes, even heartwarming.
Romi Lachlan thought she had it all, a successful career, the perfect fiancé, a charmed life. All that changed in one blindingly painful moment when her soon-to-be husband disappears with a fortune in company funds and leaves her holding the bag.
Angry, disillusioned, and penniless, Romi heads home to Texas, but the trouble has just begun.
Murder, mayhem, and one hot FBI agent makes The Devil’s Dance one enjoyable read!
I give The Devil’s Dance 4 lovely kisses
First posted on It's All About the Romance
Romi Lachlan thought she had it all, a successful career, the perfect fiancé, a charmed life. All that changed in one blindingly painful moment when her soon-to-be husband disappears with a fortune in company funds and leaves her holding the bag.
Angry, disillusioned, and penniless, Romi heads home to Texas, but the trouble has just begun.
Murder, mayhem, and one hot FBI agent makes The Devil’s Dance one enjoyable read!
I give The Devil’s Dance 4 lovely kisses
First posted on It's All About the Romance
November 19, 2017
Great thriller!
Romi goes home after her wealthy fiance takes off with her money as well as the town's. She doesn't know an FBI agent is following her, convinced she is going to meet up with her fiance. Things go from bad to worse for her. Book kept me guessing till the end.
Romi goes home after her wealthy fiance takes off with her money as well as the town's. She doesn't know an FBI agent is following her, convinced she is going to meet up with her fiance. Things go from bad to worse for her. Book kept me guessing till the end.
June 22, 2017
Fast-paced, with plenty of sarcasm. My kind of novel ;) If you love thrillers, and you love Texas, you will totally dig this book :)
July 9, 2017
I enjoyed the story. It was a fun, fast read.
August 28, 2017
Loved it! Read long into the night until I dropped my Kindle. Can't wait for the sequel.
February 6, 2023
Awesome! Characters feel real, and the plot is well structured and held my interest from beginning to end. I can't wait for the next book! Write fast, Kristen!
June 7, 2017
I don't read too many suspense/thriller/romance novels, but I so enjoyed Kristen Lamb's social media novel, Rise Of The Machines, I had to check out her debut Fiction work, The Devil's Dance.
It was a good decision. Ms. Lamb takes control of the story and reader at the outset. The plot, while complicated, is believable and the characters come to life with Lamb's descriptions.
The book has enough plot twist to keep you always guessing and a knock out surprise ending you don't see coming. Well done.
It was a good decision. Ms. Lamb takes control of the story and reader at the outset. The plot, while complicated, is believable and the characters come to life with Lamb's descriptions.
The book has enough plot twist to keep you always guessing and a knock out surprise ending you don't see coming. Well done.
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