Sam and Haley Quaid buried their ten-year-old son and then ended their marriage, all in one week. It wasn’t a volatile divorce, but three years later, except for trading Christmas cards, Sam and Haley have completely lost touch…until a dramatic weather report sets their paths on a collision course once more.
Tropical Storm Gladys is heading straight toward coastal Texas, and locals are anxious as they prepare for potential devastation. Haley, a Realtor, has an appointment to show a property and is determined to keep it, but a hurricane isn’t the only looming news reports talk of two prisoners who’ve escaped from a nearby penitentiary only a few miles from the house Haley’s headed for.
When Sam’s phone rings with his ex-wife’s number, he immediately remembers the card he gave her when they parted on the courthouse steps. If you ever need me, call and I’ll be there . She hasn’t called in three years, and Sam is sure this can mean only one Haley is in danger, and it’s up to him to save her.
With her trademark emotional intensity and breakneck pacing, Sharon Sala returns with a harrowing story of danger, loyalty and the lengths we’ll go to protect the people we love most.
Sharon Sala is a Native Oklahoman and still lives within a two hour drive of where she was born. First published in 1991, she is a New York Times/USA Today, best-selling author with a 135 plus books published in seven different genres, including Romantic suspense, Mystery, Young Adult, Western, Fiction, Women’s Fiction and Non-Fiction.
Industry Awards include: Eight-time RITA finalist. (Romance Industry award) The Janet Dailey Award. Five-time Career Achievement winner from RT Magazine. Five time winner of the National Reader’s Choice Award. Five time winner of the Colorado Romance Writer’s Award of Excellence. Heart of Excellence Award., Booksellers Best Award. Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award RITA, presented by RWA. Centennial Award from RWA for recognition of her 100th published novel.
After the death of their son, Haley Quaid divorces her husband, Sam Quaid, and moves to Houston to become a real estate agent. It has been three years and Haley finally calls Sam. Haley has an accident in a home she was supposed to show but the couple backed out at the last minute. And her vehicle is gone. Meanwhile, a hurricane is headed her way. And to top it all off there are 2 escaped prisoners in the area.
It seemed odd to call her ex-husband who is hours away in Dallas instead of trying to call someone more local who could help. Like 911? But it is fiction so I have to forgive. I enjoy most of Ms. Sala's work and this was pretty good in my opinion. Sure I had issues with little things but it still worked for me and I have no real problems recommending this to Romance Fans.
Ever since I picked up King’s Ransom some 13 years ago, Sharon Sala has been my favorite romantic suspense author. Dark Water Rising just might be my favorite book by this talented author, to date. Ms. Sala has the gifted ability to grab her fans from the 1st page and keep delivering nail-biting drama until the final sentence. Sam and Haley Quaid weaved themselves into my heart and soul. My heart went out to Haley and the tragic situation that nearly took her life. I can’t begin to imagine what it would be like to be tied up and held hostage during a hurricane while waters are rising and your kidnappers are escapees from Prison. A great and masterful plot as only Sharon Sala can deliver.
A lot of the usual stuff I like in a Sala romantic suspense is here -- the couple are already a unit and work together, the criminals have a reason why they are going after the MCs that make sense, unexpected stuff happens a lot and characters act in unpredictable ways so the story isn't one where you can guess the plot points-- and yet I didn't like this one as much as some of the others.
I think there were places where the story simply didn't flow. Usually I don't mind the different POVS, but this just felt disjointed and choppy. If felt as if the story just wanted to move from Point A to point B and then onto Point C without any cohesion. Also there was a small subplot with a grieving widow that felt slapsticky in places.
Sam and Haley are a divorced couple whose marriage imploded under the force of their son's death. However, even though they are divorced, their divorce was more a result of grief not necessarily because they no longer loved each other. Haley being trapped in a house during a hurricane with a couple of escaped prisoners is a great catalyst to get them back together. She texts Sam because she thinks she is going to die and he is the only person she thinks about. He of course is a bad ass alpha dude and decides he is going to come to her rescue, hurricane or no hurricane. The romance part of the suspense could have been great. But even that felt rather perfunctory. There was no real romantic conflict because the external danger seemed to take up all the space for conflict, but even that wasn't an issue. I mean, I loved the relationship of Jack and Shelley from In Shadows who were happily married and in love during the course of their book. But in the case of Jack and Shelley the bone deep connection was well conveyed on page. This one just felt like it was all tell, no show.
So this won't go down as one of the better Sala rom-suspense reads for me. Ok enough but not really great.
This has to be her worst book. Every single thing was detailed . Absolutely boring. I found myself skipping and jumping hoping I would find something interesting. A pity I cannot ask for my money back. One should be able to get a refund. I would not recommend this book.
This has to be her worst book.Every single thing was detailed.Absolutely boring.I found myself skipping and jumping,hoping I would find something interesting.A pity I cannot ask for my money back. One should be able to get a refund. I gave one star because there was no lower option.
A promising start but that was it. Saccharine coated phrases throughout and annoying characters especially Haley who turned from an independent woman into a whimpering character. Annoying overuse of the phrases “honey’, “baby” and “awesome”.
1.5 Stars because I actually finished it. I had never read a “action/thriller romance book” before and thought “why not?” and TBH it also it fulfilled the PopSugar Reading Challenge prompt of a book with three words in the title. I do not recommend this book. I think maybe as a hormonal teenager who liked racy things, I would have really appreciated the (very infrequent) vanilla sex scenes and also the extremely un-climactic action sections. But seriously this book sucked. It was about a woman, Haley, who sells real estate and who is semi recently divorced. (Backstory her son got cancer and the day of the funeral or shortly thereafter she leaves her husband and tries to build a new life cause it just hurts too much. Her ex, Sam, gives her his business card and says call if you ever need me) Anyway Haley gets trapped in a hurricane, falls down the stairs and eventually is stuck in house with escaped prisoners on the loose. They were in prison for robbing an armored truck and cheated the third guy in the crime, Alejandro “Dude” Santos, out of his money. Well within a few chapters the two prisoners are dead (Thank goodness Haley is good shot with a gun and that Sam who is a private investigator, gorgeous and still in love with her came to the rescue just in the nick of time). After a couple of days of Haley and Sam getting reacquainted in the hospital and shopping for new clothes in an inexplicable long Walmart section, an assassin is hired by Dude to take out Haley to find out where the loot is hidden. The lady assassin is foiled before she can even do any damage to Haley but she did quickly kill one person (sorry neighbor lady that lady assassin killed, you got a paragraph of backstory and I was uninvested and didn’t care). Then the ultimate bad guy, Dude, who was the wronged out of money and we follow throughout the book in extremely boring sections is killed within a few paragraphs of the last chapter. Good job Sam! Gag! -_- The only redeeming quality of this book was Mae Arnold (one of the first bad guys mother) who finds out her recently deceased husband cheated on her with “4 whores” in town after they each send flowers to his funeral, she goes around town telling them all to get checked for STDs, because it’s soooo relevant to the story at hand. My reviews sucks huh? Well the book sucks more!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
A really good romantic suspense with lots of fast paced exciting action that I read all in one sitting. During all the intrigue we watch a couple who independently recovered from a tragic event and re-build their relationship. Realtor Haley gets trapped in a house during a hurricane and calls for help from her ex-husband Sam, a private investigator.
Take a shot when she feels guilty. Take a shot when she says I’m sorry. Take a shot when he says I’m not letting you go so easy this time. Take a shot every time he thanks the lord. At this point you’ll be 46% finished and too drunk to read the rest.
Gosh this was just plain awful.....I like to read other reviews and was shocked at the number of 5 stars. Now perhaps if I had read it instead of listened to it, maybe, but not likely, I would have enjoyed it more. This was not a thriller, or a mystery. Let's call it what it was....pure saccharine coated romantic crap. Haley gets stuck in a house during a hurricane (instead of a cabin in a snowstorm-another popular plot) with 2 escaped prisoners and comes out on top after being rescued by her long divorced husband who she called instead of 911. She suddenly decides she wants to leave her life in Houston and move back in with her ex. In the meantime, one other crook is on the hunt for a missing 2 million dollar armoured car heist job and thinks Haley can reveal the whereabouts, so we have another thread added to the story. Every obstacle is so easily overcome that the story becomes way too laughable. And who forgets they have 2 million stored in their home? The dialogue what sickening to listen to...baby this and Haley simpering and whining. The only part I liked was Mae marching to each of the 4 other women to give them a piece of her mind! That made me give this 2 stars instead of one. I finished it, simply because it was background noise as I was working on a project at home. Definitely will NOT be seeking out anything else by this author.
Sharon Sala has written over 100 books and each book she writes just gets better and better.
Sam and Hailey Quaid face a tragedy together and it rips them apart, with Hailey seeking a divorce. Sam’s last words are “If You Every need me, call me”.
A few years down the road, Hailey is in Houston, Texas and is a real estate agent getting ready to show a beautiful home in an upper class residence.
She finds herself in the middle of a Hurricane, hurt and the plot takes a dramatic twist that puts her life in grave danger.
Then the book takes the readers on a journey of ups and downs. The Author puts The heroine and Hero through many obstacles, that most people wouldn’t survive. Not only in with their lives, but with the tragedy that pulled them apart. Will they survive the every dilemma thrown at them? Can they heal together. Or will a killer cut short their reunion?
There is also a story of struggle in the background of a secondary woman, who finds her life has been a lie, and all the good she had done was demolished by the people she thought she knew.
I read this book in 1 night, once I started, I couldn’t put it down. Finally finished it at 3:46 am.
Set in the Houston hurricane, divorced Haley Quaid is now a successful realtor after the death of her son that also killed her marriage to private detective, Sam Quaid. Haley has to prepare to show an upscale house and is determined to do so before the hurricane hits, but she doesn't make it and ends up being discovered, injured from a fall down the stairs, by a pair of escaped prisoners. When she realizes her danger, she calls Sam, convinced he might save her.
Fortunately, she's right, but not before she wounds both convicts and endures torture from them, too. When Sam gets to her, she's not out of danger, because the money they stole and their third partner in the heist are still at large and that partner is intent on finding where the money went. So continues the tale with occasional humorous sidesteps that keep the action moving.
But, with all this going on and Haley still healing from both physical and emotional wounds, will Sam be able to convince her that their divorce was a mistake he intends to rectify? A worthy challenge, to be sure.
Excellent! Sharon Sala has penned a beautiful story of reconciliation. Sam and Haley went through a parent’s worst nightmare only to experience more devastation during and after a hurricane. They fight their way through to become stronger than before. Suspenseful!
Sharon Saks never disappoints! I was hooked from the opening paragraph and didn't get anything else accomplished until the closing paragraph! This story covered every facet of the human experience. Thanks, again, Shaon!
I loved this book! If you like a good romantic suspense novel, this is it. I hate Haley had to go through what she went though, but in the end everything turned out alright and I’m happy for her and Sam.
I might have enjoyed this more if I hadn't read previously another several Sharon Sala books and the same issues that irked me in those novels irked me in this one.
It seems to me like Sala has an idea for a novel that would be sufficient for a novella, and then rather than add in more content relating to the lead characters adds in content related to extreme side characters that adds nothing to the story. These aren't supporting characters, but individuals who normally wouldn't get more than a sentence mention.
Examples in this book in which the h is rescued by her ex-husband during a hurricane flood from two escaped violent prisoners: - the mother of one of the prisoners gets a spiritual notification of her sons death - the father of that same prisoner has a heart attack after finding some hidden loot - the same father is found to have been having an affair with multiple women in his town at the time of his funeral - the same mother confronts those who have had an affair and stumbles over the words in her threats (saying SIDS instead of STDs, saying psoriasis instead of syphilis)
All these are huge distractions from the real story, and you are left with a feeling that Sala is just adding in content rather than focusing on the relationship and activities of the lead h and H.
Also, every character seems to pray to God or bless each other or thank God for outcomes which (for me) is just annoying.
I couldn't be bothered finishing this book as at 60% it seemed I was going to be reading more pointless information about extreme side characters than the lead h and H. Plus, a HEA was guaranteed so there didn't seem any point in continuing on.
Sam and Haley Quiad lost their son when he was only 10 years old. The loss completely devastated Haley. She was blind to Sam's pain and made a hasty decision to divorce him. The tragic death of a child can sometimes tear a couple apart when most people think it should bring them together.
Haley moved to Houston, sought help for her grief and the loss of herself, her child, and her marriage. She threw herself into her work and became a highly successful relator. Sam never remarried and he still lives in Dallas but not in the same house where he lived with Haley and their son. He never stopped loving her and he told her that if she ever needed him he would come.
Well she needs him and he will come.
This story is about grief, loss, and separation to a degree but it is also about redemption, strength, love and forgiveness.
Ms. Sala writes about strong women and the men who love them and this story is no different. There is a lot of action and danger lurks around every corner. What these two characters have been through only solidifies the bond that was always between them even if Haley lost sight of that for 3 years. It's a well written story and I am never disappointed by Ms. Sala's writing.
Another great read by Sharon Sala and it may be my favorite book of hers that I've read so far. Sharon Sala is my go-to author for romantic suspense novels so that's saying a lot for this book.
I loved the main characters, Sam and Hailey Quaid! The death of their son tore their marriage apart but three years later a series of events take place when Hailey is trapped in a property she was scheduled to show to some clients as a hurricane hits Houston. Hailey calls Sam to help her and she has even bigger problems than the hurricane. Sam has been waiting for a call from Hailey for three years and the call brings them together in a fight to save Hailey's life.
I can only hope that Sharon Sala writes a sequel to this book. Sam is a private investigator so there could be many books written about Sam and Hailey and their lives together. Dark Water Rising is masterfully written and is a book you won't want to put down. A wonder romance and thriller about a dynamic Texas couple that will remain in my mind for a long time to come.
Sharon Sala has quickly become one of my favorite authors as her stories never disappoint and Dark Water Riding is no exception! Haley and Sam Quaid divorced soon after their ten year old son died, neither knowing how to handle the situation but never getting over their love for each other and Sam always told Hayley to call if she needed him Enter tropical storm Gladys heading straight towards Texas and it was a doozy! Haley who is now a realtor was showing a house when the storm hit and she suffered a fall leaving her stuck alone to ride the storm out.. At the same time 2 escaped convicts are looking for a place to hide and as luck would have it they stumble into the house where Haley was holed up in.. Hayley somehow gets a message to Sam and he comes to her rescue but there is more than just the devastation outside from the storm when he arrives ! A quick read and a story I just couldn’t put down!
Sharon Sala is one of my Go-To authors but I have a hard time squaring “Dark Water Rising” with her other books I’ve read. The plot line of Haley and Sam Quaid’s easy reunion while facing down two escaped convicts during a hurricane is barely plausible. Mae, mother to one of the convicts, stretched the bounds of credibility with her escapades, especially her confrontations with her deceased husband’s paramours. All four of them. But I have to ask, what did any of that have to do with the plot premise? If there was a connection, it blew right past me. Add to that some of the poor sentence structure and I can’t help but think this is an early Sala work that was only recently published. It just isn’t up to her usual standards. At least, not in my opinion.
Haley Quaid left her husband after their son's death. She became a successful Real estate person. She got caught in a Hurricane in Houston and was trapped in the house she was going to show to prospective buyer before the evacuation. She fell down the stairs and hit her head which knocks her out and now she can't escape the hurricane. She calls Sam, her ex-husband who told if she ever needed his help to call. He is in Dallas and promises to come and rescue her. Meanwhile two prisoners escape and are on the property and eventually break in the house. Haley hides from them and paints on the door, don't enter under construction. Sam gets there to save Haley but her life is still in danger from the third robber.
Me Sala did it again it was a great read.loved Sam and Haley a great couple .This is what !ov e should be like constant and faithful.there was passion but not uncontrolled lust.This couple had passed lust to unbelievable tragedy.. Their love had carried them through .This is the kind of book that I love to read an sure some of the little humorous
To us stories actually happened to someone ms. salahas known. The personal pad and action figure sounds like something my son would have done .Mae Arnold was the perfect woman scorned I hope she is having the time of her life in Miami. All in all a great book.it was a non stop read for a rainy day.