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Jessica Ford #1
Pursuit
When rookie lawyer Jessica Ford gets the call from her boss, John Davenport, the senior partner at the illustrious law firm for which she works, she can tell he is well on his way to being drunk. He needs Jess to meet First Lady Annette Cooper, for whom Davenport is a personal lawyer, at a Washington, D.C., hotel. Jess is thrilled: this high-profile assignment must mean that she's earned her boss's trust and she's on her way to bigger things. But unfortunately, bigger isn't always better.
Jess doesn't remember much --- only that in the course of the late-night meeting with Annette Cooper, she ended up in the backseat of a car, speeding off into the darkness. All Jess knows is that the car crashed en route, and the other three passengers were killed, including the First Lady. Badly injured, Jess is the only survivor of what is trumpeted around the world as a tragic accident.
Although she has no memory about the events leading up to the accident, Jess is still bothered by one question: Was it really an accident? The Secret Service agent on the case, Mark Ryan, gets the feeling that Jess is hiding something. As his suspicions grow, Jess's world starts falling apart. First, she is brutally attacked in the hospital, barely escaping with her life. Then her boss dies under questionable circumstances. In fact, everyone who might possibly know the details about the First Lady's last few hours starts turning up dead. And then Jess understands: If she remembers that night, she'll be dead too.
Terrified and certain that the First Lady's death was no accident, Jess has only Mark Ryan to turn to ...
Jess doesn't remember much --- only that in the course of the late-night meeting with Annette Cooper, she ended up in the backseat of a car, speeding off into the darkness. All Jess knows is that the car crashed en route, and the other three passengers were killed, including the First Lady. Badly injured, Jess is the only survivor of what is trumpeted around the world as a tragic accident.
Although she has no memory about the events leading up to the accident, Jess is still bothered by one question: Was it really an accident? The Secret Service agent on the case, Mark Ryan, gets the feeling that Jess is hiding something. As his suspicions grow, Jess's world starts falling apart. First, she is brutally attacked in the hospital, barely escaping with her life. Then her boss dies under questionable circumstances. In fact, everyone who might possibly know the details about the First Lady's last few hours starts turning up dead. And then Jess understands: If she remembers that night, she'll be dead too.
Terrified and certain that the First Lady's death was no accident, Jess has only Mark Ryan to turn to ...
369 pages, Hardcover
First published March 23, 2005
157 people are currently reading
1659 people want to read
About the author
Karen Robards
126 books3,254 followersKaren Robards is the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of more than fifty books and one novella. She has won multiple awards including six Affaire de Coeur Silver Pen Awards for favorite author.
Karen has been writing since she was very young, and was first published nationally in the December 1973 Reader's Digest. She sold her first romance novel, ISLAND FLAME, when she was 24. It was published by Leisure Books in 1981 and is still in print. After that, she dropped out of law school to pursue her writing career.
Karen was recently described by The Daily Mail as "one of the most reliable thriller....writers in the world."
Karen has been writing since she was very young, and was first published nationally in the December 1973 Reader's Digest. She sold her first romance novel, ISLAND FLAME, when she was 24. It was published by Leisure Books in 1981 and is still in print. After that, she dropped out of law school to pursue her writing career.
Karen was recently described by The Daily Mail as "one of the most reliable thriller....writers in the world."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 320 reviews
August 15, 2016
Ended up being disappointed with this one. Found it hard to get into. Then, it got a bit more interesting. Then it all sort of finished. I didn't really care for either character. Thought the sort of "insta-love" was a bit OTT. Plot should have meant that it was a better read but, honestly, not sure if I will read the next one. This was hovering between a 2 and a 3!
May 20, 2019
3.5
Con una trama poco original pero ha conseguido engancharme. No se puede tomar como una novela romántica porque no lo es, la pareja es totalmente secundaris y creo que está puesta simplemente para contentar, porque no es importante ni afecta a la trama en absoluto
Pero me ha gustado porque crea expectación, está lleno de escenas de acción y realmente, aunque no sorprenda porque no puede ser de otra forma, te tiene en vilo la mayor parte de la novela,.
Una novela muy centrada en los dos, aunque es una relación que se cuece a fuego muy lento porque ella no para de dudar de él (eso es, quizás lo que más me ha gustado)
Con una trama poco original pero ha conseguido engancharme. No se puede tomar como una novela romántica porque no lo es, la pareja es totalmente secundaris y creo que está puesta simplemente para contentar, porque no es importante ni afecta a la trama en absoluto
Pero me ha gustado porque crea expectación, está lleno de escenas de acción y realmente, aunque no sorprenda porque no puede ser de otra forma, te tiene en vilo la mayor parte de la novela,.
Una novela muy centrada en los dos, aunque es una relación que se cuece a fuego muy lento porque ella no para de dudar de él (eso es, quizás lo que más me ha gustado)
avoid
June 10, 2022Self Note AVOID.
SPOILERS
H Cheats after this book ends with a HEA.
In their sequel, we hear that he cheated on this book h with his ex gf, and the sequel - Justice -is their 2nd chance. 🙄
Plain j h.
SPOILERS
H Cheats after this book ends with a HEA.
In their sequel, we hear that he cheated on this book h with his ex gf, and the sequel - Justice -is their 2nd chance. 🙄
Plain j h.
July 6, 2020
İyi başladı, iyi devam etti ama final kısmı oldu bittiye gelmiş gibiydi. Son sayfalarda hem Jess hem de Mark adeta aydınlanma yaşayıp olayı çözüverdi 🤔
September 8, 2009
Mark Ryan, marry me!
I loved this book! I didn't think it was going to have a romantic twist at all, I was expecting more John Grisham-style legal writing, so I was plesantly surprised at the mixture of crazy action and suspsense and romance.
I felt the beginning was a little slow, and when I say beginning I mean absolute beginning, like the first chapter or so. After that it picks up and burns white hot. I couldn't put it down; first thing when I got up this morning I couldn't wait to start it again. The main characters, Jess and Mark, are running from everyone's worst enemy - the government. There's no where to go that they can't find them, which sucks for them but makes a great book. I like how the author draws out the discovery of the whole plot until nearly the end, but I did feel like it was anti-climatic...I was kind of surprised by the actual event that instigated the whole dramatic flight. I didn't think it was as bad as all that, but then I guess I'm not the President of the United States!
Great book, definitely recommend!
I loved this book! I didn't think it was going to have a romantic twist at all, I was expecting more John Grisham-style legal writing, so I was plesantly surprised at the mixture of crazy action and suspsense and romance.
I felt the beginning was a little slow, and when I say beginning I mean absolute beginning, like the first chapter or so. After that it picks up and burns white hot. I couldn't put it down; first thing when I got up this morning I couldn't wait to start it again. The main characters, Jess and Mark, are running from everyone's worst enemy - the government. There's no where to go that they can't find them, which sucks for them but makes a great book. I like how the author draws out the discovery of the whole plot until nearly the end, but I did feel like it was anti-climatic...I was kind of surprised by the actual event that instigated the whole dramatic flight. I didn't think it was as bad as all that, but then I guess I'm not the President of the United States!
Great book, definitely recommend!
June 7, 2022
1,5 tan 2 yıldız. Bitsin gitsin diye okudum. Kadın karakter çok bunalttı.
March 29, 2009
Rating: 3.5 / 5
This was a pretty good book. Much better than her last release, Guilty, but in my opinion, still no where near as good as her older romantic suspense books.
Jessica Ford is a young lawyer for a big D.C. law firm. One night, she gets a call from her boss; he orders her to go to a hotel bar, where the First Lady of the U.S. is waiting, and accompany her to an as yet unknown location. Accustomed to doing what needs to be done for her job, Jess goes. At the hotel, she finds a distraught Annette Cooper downing shots, and none of her security detail in tow. After some trouble, she manages to get the First Lady into the waiting car and they leave.
The next thing she remembers is waking up in bunch of brush with her whole body in pain. The First Lady and everyone else in the car is dead. Jess remembers almost nothing...initially...but she knows something isn't right, that it wasn't just a car accident.. The thought seems to prove right when someone tries to kill her in the hospital. She tries to tell Secret Service agent Mark Ryan, but she's not sure she trusts him. As more people around her die, though...people who knew the First Lady...the only recourse she has is to trust Mark. Someone clearly wants her dead so that she can't talk about whatever it is they think she knows.
For me, this book was leaps and bounds better than Guilty, which I really disliked. But I didn't love this one. In all areas I'd consider it above average, but not making it to great in any sense. It wasn't a book I struggled to make it through and the story was fairly engaging. Though it did kind of remind a little of Grissom's The Pelican Brief.
But as someone who has read nearly every book by Robards, this one still doesn't compare to her older romantic suspense books. It just feels rather flat compared to those books. Books like Paradise County and Whispers at Midnight had an intensity to them, a real zing to the storylines that sucked you in that, for me, just wasn't there in Pursuit (or her other recent books like Guilty and Obsession). They come across as rather basic and formulaic.
Character wise for Pursuit...I liked Jess and Mark, but like the book itself, they were very in-the-moment. Almost all aspects of the characters are about what's going on in the current storyline. Robards tried to drop in some sideline facts about them, but honestly, they felt so out of the blue it came off weird. Each character had a "secret" about their pasts revealed about 2/3rds through the book, but they completely spring up without any warning or foreshadowing that it leaves those details feeling a bit contrived. Overall, I just didn't really connect with the characters much, though I wanted to.
Which is another aspect where this book, and the last couple, fall short in comparison to her older books. Those books had much more dynamic characters. More depth, more passion, just more everything.
The romance angle was fairly average. The storyline dictated most of the book and the romance felt a bit blah, but it wasn't horrible. Just not memorable either.
If I consider this book as just a book without thinking of the author or her past books, this one wasn't too bad. Not great but a little better than average. But since I am very familiar with the author and her books, I have to admit that Pursuit does come up a little short. I think I said it in my last review, and it still stands true...Robards last bunch of books all seem very interchangeable. Her last two heroines have been lawyers; the last 3 heroes (at least) have all been in law enforcement in some capacity. They've all had that "big city" feel. There's just not much to make them unique. And it seems as though Robards is another romance author slowly making the romance aspect smaller and smaller. Very disappointing considering how much I've enjoyed so many of her books. I'll probably still read her next book, though (whenever it comes out). I'm not completely turned off to her books yet.
This was a pretty good book. Much better than her last release, Guilty, but in my opinion, still no where near as good as her older romantic suspense books.
Jessica Ford is a young lawyer for a big D.C. law firm. One night, she gets a call from her boss; he orders her to go to a hotel bar, where the First Lady of the U.S. is waiting, and accompany her to an as yet unknown location. Accustomed to doing what needs to be done for her job, Jess goes. At the hotel, she finds a distraught Annette Cooper downing shots, and none of her security detail in tow. After some trouble, she manages to get the First Lady into the waiting car and they leave.
The next thing she remembers is waking up in bunch of brush with her whole body in pain. The First Lady and everyone else in the car is dead. Jess remembers almost nothing...initially...but she knows something isn't right, that it wasn't just a car accident.. The thought seems to prove right when someone tries to kill her in the hospital. She tries to tell Secret Service agent Mark Ryan, but she's not sure she trusts him. As more people around her die, though...people who knew the First Lady...the only recourse she has is to trust Mark. Someone clearly wants her dead so that she can't talk about whatever it is they think she knows.
For me, this book was leaps and bounds better than Guilty, which I really disliked. But I didn't love this one. In all areas I'd consider it above average, but not making it to great in any sense. It wasn't a book I struggled to make it through and the story was fairly engaging. Though it did kind of remind a little of Grissom's The Pelican Brief.
But as someone who has read nearly every book by Robards, this one still doesn't compare to her older romantic suspense books. It just feels rather flat compared to those books. Books like Paradise County and Whispers at Midnight had an intensity to them, a real zing to the storylines that sucked you in that, for me, just wasn't there in Pursuit (or her other recent books like Guilty and Obsession). They come across as rather basic and formulaic.
Character wise for Pursuit...I liked Jess and Mark, but like the book itself, they were very in-the-moment. Almost all aspects of the characters are about what's going on in the current storyline. Robards tried to drop in some sideline facts about them, but honestly, they felt so out of the blue it came off weird. Each character had a "secret" about their pasts revealed about 2/3rds through the book, but they completely spring up without any warning or foreshadowing that it leaves those details feeling a bit contrived. Overall, I just didn't really connect with the characters much, though I wanted to.
Which is another aspect where this book, and the last couple, fall short in comparison to her older books. Those books had much more dynamic characters. More depth, more passion, just more everything.
The romance angle was fairly average. The storyline dictated most of the book and the romance felt a bit blah, but it wasn't horrible. Just not memorable either.
If I consider this book as just a book without thinking of the author or her past books, this one wasn't too bad. Not great but a little better than average. But since I am very familiar with the author and her books, I have to admit that Pursuit does come up a little short. I think I said it in my last review, and it still stands true...Robards last bunch of books all seem very interchangeable. Her last two heroines have been lawyers; the last 3 heroes (at least) have all been in law enforcement in some capacity. They've all had that "big city" feel. There's just not much to make them unique. And it seems as though Robards is another romance author slowly making the romance aspect smaller and smaller. Very disappointing considering how much I've enjoyed so many of her books. I'll probably still read her next book, though (whenever it comes out). I'm not completely turned off to her books yet.
September 25, 2009
Karen Robards stories are usually pretty average, but I found this one to be below what I expect from her. It was not written well at all ("they were stuck together like peanut butter and jelly"), give me a break. The story did have promise as the plot wasn't bad, but it was too unbelievable and the characters were unforgetable. I read it earlier this week and I can't even recall their names. There wasn't must trust between the characters so it was kind of unbelievable that they would even want to be together.
Don't waste your time on this one.
Don't waste your time on this one.
June 18, 2016
Gerçekten kitaba kaç puan vereceğimi şaşırdım. 4 le 3 arasında geldim sürekli. Kitabı almamın tek nedeni kapağıydı. Ve kapağı hala seviyorum. :) Ama kitapta eksik birçok nokta vardı sanki. Bazı yerlerde inanılmaz sıkılırken bazı kısımları ciddi anlamda çok sevdim. Fakat sonlara doğru aksiyon artarken fazla mı abartılmış ne. :( Konular sırf bağlansın diye düğüm atılmış da atılmış. Gerçekten bazı diyaloglarda güldüm. Ayrıca karakterleri daha da ayrıntılı yaşamak isterdim.
İkinci kitabı da var. Alır mıyım, bilmiyorum.
Merak ediyor muyum? Deli gibi...
İkinci kitabı da var. Alır mıyım, bilmiyorum.
Merak ediyor muyum? Deli gibi...
June 21, 2024
Buena novela, bastante predecible, entretenida, ideal para la playa!!!🏖️
July 26, 2019
My Karen Robards fest is not going well. This book had an interesting idea of a plot, the murder of the (fictional, TG) First Lady of the USA (and two other victims), but failed to deliver. The weakest link, the heroine. In the beginning you warm to her, she's not a leggy amazon with blonde/red hair who has no idea how gorgeous she is but everybody falls in love with her, this one is rather geeky and petite and supposedly intelligent. Why can't women writers write intelligence into their women? The mind boggles. They can give you endless descriptions of 'having the hots', of underwear and shoes,of family and pet relations, but when it comes to writing about their heroines' reasoning and brains it is all empty statements. What we actually get is yet another TSTL heroine who destroys the enjoyment of the book.
Here we have Jessica who becomes the target of the administration's ability to murder whoever they like. She proceeds by trying to escape from the only person who has helped her and saved her life (twice). The person she has a crush on. Instead of spending time putting heads together to get to the bottom of the plot, we are endlessly bored with the heroine's utterly inane reasoning. On and on she goes about mistrusting the hero (the man who had plenty of opportunity to kill her but saved her life twice before...you'd think that is a significant clue that you can trust a person, but no, not in a Karen Robards book). The reader cannot but scream, GET ON WITH THE REAL STORY AND STOP THIS NONSENSE! Also, there are plot elements that don't make sense, for example the heroine, who is just a lawyer, is not merely computer savvy she is the USA's no. 1 hacker! The hero, the head of a Secret Service detail in the White House knows nothing about hacking!!! Give me a break!
I don't think I'll be reading another Karen Robards book for a very very long time.
Here we have Jessica who becomes the target of the administration's ability to murder whoever they like. She proceeds by trying to escape from the only person who has helped her and saved her life (twice). The person she has a crush on. Instead of spending time putting heads together to get to the bottom of the plot, we are endlessly bored with the heroine's utterly inane reasoning. On and on she goes about mistrusting the hero (the man who had plenty of opportunity to kill her but saved her life twice before...you'd think that is a significant clue that you can trust a person, but no, not in a Karen Robards book). The reader cannot but scream, GET ON WITH THE REAL STORY AND STOP THIS NONSENSE! Also, there are plot elements that don't make sense, for example the heroine, who is just a lawyer, is not merely computer savvy she is the USA's no. 1 hacker! The hero, the head of a Secret Service detail in the White House knows nothing about hacking!!! Give me a break!
I don't think I'll be reading another Karen Robards book for a very very long time.
September 14, 2021
I don't recall the novel being anything like the blurb. That being the case, I didn't find it memorable either. It started out being a murder conspiracy, then ended up being a chase story, with the protagonists running from the murderers. I do remember an attraction between Jess and Mark, but nothing to set your bloomers on fire. Overall, it was a decent enough novel.
April 2, 2021
Encantada con la elección!
un libro que se lee bien, rápido y te mantiene en tensión.
un libro que se lee bien, rápido y te mantiene en tensión.
August 13, 2020
Instant Love within 24 hours. It was interesting but the ending was a little abrupt. It was like the number of words was reached so the end was quickly summarized.
November 8, 2017
I have to say right off the bat - I listened to this book - or the first 3 CDs of it, at any rate - and I didn't finish it. The book itself was good, but the narrator drove me bananas. She sounded as if she were trying to avoid detection, reading with a whisper, almost - and her s's were soooooooooo sibilant, it got to the point where I was irritated. Her male characters all sounded alike - a crackly, aged voice with nary a variation in pitch or timbre, and were an odd mix of southern and Boston. It's rare that I can't kind of 'block out' a narrator's less-than perfect traits, but I just couldn't take it anymore. Maybe I'll try reading the physical version of the book instead... but man, this book needed some serious mastering, with a gifted technician, to equalize the sound, and get rid of those terrible, sibilant esses.
November 17, 2012
Jessica is a new lawyer, her boss calls her drunk and because she is still a flunky she gets up in the middle of the night to track down the first lady. After she finds her and gets her in the car, somebody chases them and everyone but Jessica ends up dead in the car accident. While in the hospital someone tries to kill Jessica, a secret service agent Mark believes her and tries to keep her safe. When Marks car blows up when both of them were supposed to be in it, they find out that it is the Secret Service trying to kill them. Mark and Jessica have to find out what the first lady was running from, who is really trying to kill them and deal with their attraction to each other. Jessica is a normal woman; she works hard helps to support her mother and sister. She isn't outrageously beautiful; she wears glasses and isn’t stick skinny. Mark is a hot agent with an ex-wife and a teenage daughter, he has relationship issues. He is very good at his job, outside of his daughter that is the only thing that matters to him, until Jessica. Pursuit is a fast paced, what is going to happen next and who really did it book. The story line is actually believable, with just enough irrationality thrown in to keep things interesting. I loved how the relationship between Mark and Jessica developed; they are so different from each other. The mystery of who was trying to kill them kept me guessing right up to the end. I loved this book and can't wait to read the next one.
March 11, 2016
Story: This book started out really well - I was totally engaged in the action and mystery surrounding the First Lady and Jessica. It was shaping up to be a great read. But once Jess teamed up for real with Mark Ryan it lost some momentum: overlong descriptions on insignificant items crept in, lots of repetitive feelings iterated ad naseum by Jessica, some basic mystery plot holes were unconvincingly papered-over, eight ppl karked it by just over half-way and no uncorrupt fed/cop thought it was unusual. Nope - the mysery lost the plot!
Narration by Franette Liebow: 1 star. I found this the most disappointing aspect of this story. Liebow's pitch and volume fluctuate too much for me: one minute she drops her voice so low and quiet that I have to turn up the volume by at least half, the next she blares out the next line and nearly bursts my eardrums. And a few times she swallows the end of a sentence (or maybe I just couldn't hear her...). I really disliked her male voices - they all sounded like gravelly older women who drink too much whiskey. ...All in all, I was really pleased to find out the ending of the story so that I could switch narrators.
Narration by Franette Liebow: 1 star. I found this the most disappointing aspect of this story. Liebow's pitch and volume fluctuate too much for me: one minute she drops her voice so low and quiet that I have to turn up the volume by at least half, the next she blares out the next line and nearly bursts my eardrums. And a few times she swallows the end of a sentence (or maybe I just couldn't hear her...). I really disliked her male voices - they all sounded like gravelly older women who drink too much whiskey. ...All in all, I was really pleased to find out the ending of the story so that I could switch narrators.
March 31, 2018
Lawyer Jessica Ford is sent by her boss, the First Lady's personal attorney, to retrieve her and return her to the White House. On the way back there is an accident and everyone is killed except Jessica. After an attempt is made on her life in the hospital and she remembers the events of the crash, she knows it was murder and she is an unwanted witness. Mark Ryan is the Secret Service Agent in charge of the First Lady's detail and sees red flags everywhere. When Jessica is targeted again and then both narrowly escape another try, they start their own investigation. There is lots of action and suspense, as well as romance. A satisfactory read but a little unbelievable in the number of deaths with no one putting any of the links together except the 2 main characters. I read book 2 a while ago and was interested in the pre-story. This was a definite stand-alone and did not hint at a follow-up or the change in relationship at the start of the second book.
December 24, 2014
I really liked this book. I wasn't too sure to begin with if I would complete it but kept going. It's what I refer to as a 'slow burner', it takes a while to get going.
This is the first time I have read anything by this author and I really enjoyed it. She (the author) managed to mix a murder mystery with a love story quite successfully. It's definitely worth a read.
This is the first time I have read anything by this author and I really enjoyed it. She (the author) managed to mix a murder mystery with a love story quite successfully. It's definitely worth a read.
December 6, 2016
I loved the suspenseful aspect of this, however, the romance throughout was unnecessary and cringe worthy *rolls eyes*, I mean
May 1, 2020
Este libro me ha gustado mucho! No sólo una vez que lo coges ya no lo puedes soltar, sino que la trama de fondo es bastante interesante! Me ha sobrado un poco el cliché de chica frágil y chico fortachón que siempre la salva, pero bueno, es un libro con algunos añitos así que lo puedo comprender.
March 15, 2010
fun book, know exactly what I'm getting when I read a Robards
January 20, 2012
Thoroughly enjoyed this one. Good mix of romance and suspense.
April 5, 2015
Well if you like conspiracies you would like this one. After the First Lady is killed in a tragic car accident there is a massive cover up and more lives lost.
July 22, 2019
I picked up Pursuit in the paperback section of the library, being a sucker for romantic liaisons, Feds, politics, and good characters. It was a great read on vacation - light, harmless, a little smutty, and I liked the characters. I then went on to read more of Robards' books and that's where the issues cropped up.
Karen Robards is fond of using the same phrases, similar descriptions, and similar characters in her books. Most of the guys are "smokin' hot" or some similar cheesy description, with dark hair and dark eyes that widen and narrow with their veiled emotions. Most of the women are a bit damsel-in-distress, in over their heads but plucky and with a semblance of courage. They tend to be either petite or leggy blonds or redheads who fill out a pair of jeans well. The women typically end up running for their lives, chased by unknown bad people, and either scantily-dressed and/or barefoot. There's always a twist at the end - not shocking, just enough to make it a little less predictable.
Therein lies the problem. For quick, summer, slightly smut with a twist at the end, pick up any of Robards' books in any particular order (excluding the historical smut and the Charlotte Stone books which are essential ghost smut). They are not poorly written, nor are they well-written. I actually found a typo or two in one of her later books - an annoyance to be sure.
As far as Pursuit, having read six of Karen's books, it's on the better side of her books. I'm glad that she wrote a sequel with the same character because the end was rather abrupt. Characters and relationships - like that with the First Lady - could have been interesting but were dropped for no reason. I wondered if, as I was reading this, the author had been a Silhouette Romance writer and it appears that her earlier books were essentially that. That said, it's nice to have a little smut with your mystery mixed with hurt/comfort and romance. I just wouldn't buy it.
Karen Robards is fond of using the same phrases, similar descriptions, and similar characters in her books. Most of the guys are "smokin' hot" or some similar cheesy description, with dark hair and dark eyes that widen and narrow with their veiled emotions. Most of the women are a bit damsel-in-distress, in over their heads but plucky and with a semblance of courage. They tend to be either petite or leggy blonds or redheads who fill out a pair of jeans well. The women typically end up running for their lives, chased by unknown bad people, and either scantily-dressed and/or barefoot. There's always a twist at the end - not shocking, just enough to make it a little less predictable.
Therein lies the problem. For quick, summer, slightly smut with a twist at the end, pick up any of Robards' books in any particular order (excluding the historical smut and the Charlotte Stone books which are essential ghost smut). They are not poorly written, nor are they well-written. I actually found a typo or two in one of her later books - an annoyance to be sure.
As far as Pursuit, having read six of Karen's books, it's on the better side of her books. I'm glad that she wrote a sequel with the same character because the end was rather abrupt. Characters and relationships - like that with the First Lady - could have been interesting but were dropped for no reason. I wondered if, as I was reading this, the author had been a Silhouette Romance writer and it appears that her earlier books were essentially that. That said, it's nice to have a little smut with your mystery mixed with hurt/comfort and romance. I just wouldn't buy it.
January 4, 2018
Ugh! So much potential and all i got was cliched crap! First of all, I listened to the audio book and the narrator was AWFUL! Raspy, monotone, grandma voice... At times she would drop her voice so low that I couldn’t hear what she is saying! But overall her impression of the characters was bad - she tried to give them different voices but they sounded annoying and fake....
Secondly- the story! Great potential, but the book failed on both counts- both as a thriller and as a romance! The thriller part of the story started off well enough , but then just became silly! And the end was just anticlimactic (we pretty much had to be reminded of who the killer was once his identity was revealed , because it was just one more name in a sea of names thrown at us). All the conflicts over such a controversial video were taken care of so easily and neatly.... Blah!
The romance... what romance?! They kiss for the first time about 85% into the book. She is a dork , he’s an older hot dude, she’s into him and making a fool out of herself, but we don’t even get an inkling that he is into her until 85% into the book!!! Then all of a sudden we have instalove! Zero chemistry.... and talk about awkward sex talk where she says “oh yes! I love you so much..” in the throes of passion, yet they’ve just kissed and got it on for the first time that night!
Secondly- the story! Great potential, but the book failed on both counts- both as a thriller and as a romance! The thriller part of the story started off well enough , but then just became silly! And the end was just anticlimactic (we pretty much had to be reminded of who the killer was once his identity was revealed , because it was just one more name in a sea of names thrown at us). All the conflicts over such a controversial video were taken care of so easily and neatly.... Blah!
The romance... what romance?! They kiss for the first time about 85% into the book. She is a dork , he’s an older hot dude, she’s into him and making a fool out of herself, but we don’t even get an inkling that he is into her until 85% into the book!!! Then all of a sudden we have instalove! Zero chemistry.... and talk about awkward sex talk where she says “oh yes! I love you so much..” in the throes of passion, yet they’ve just kissed and got it on for the first time that night!
February 16, 2024
DC attorney Jessica Ford gets a phone call from her powerful boss with a strange request. She is to get into a car that he is sending over, go to a hotel, retrieve the First Lady, and await further instructions. When Jess gets there, she discovers that the First Lady is afraid of her Secret Service detail and wants to avoid them. One jumps into the car anyway. Hours later Jess wakes up in the hospital. She is the sole survivor of a horrific automobile accident. Jess tells the doctors and investigators that she doesn't remember anything. When she interrupts a man trying to inject something into her IV, Jess realizes that her life is in danger. She is starting to remember and it isn't good. The only person she can count on to protect her is a hunky Secret Service agent. But can she really trust him? The two of them are on the run while they try to unravel this web of deception. The suspense in this book was so high that I found myself mentally yelling at the two main characters to hurry up with the sex and get back to the plot. This was a real page turner.
February 19, 2020
I really liked this book. I picked it up randomly and had no idea what it was about or who it was written by. I have never read a thriller like this, I guess you could call it a political drama. I really liked the flow of the story and the character developments. Jess is put into a situation that is hard to identify with but I was still able to feel like I was in her shoes through the course of my reading. The romance between Mark and Jess felt a bit forced but honestly, if I was in that situation with someone, of course, I'm going to fall for them. Mark seemed like a good guy and I wish we got to know him more. The ending was a bit rushed and left me with my mouth open and confused. However, when it was wrapped up I felt happy because more coincidences were happening. I really recommend this book to people who like political crime dramas and steamy scenes. Overall for me, it was a good book but I have no intention to read the sequel.
September 25, 2018
Jessica Ford, as instructed by her boss, meets the First Lady at a bar and attempts to escort her to an unknown destination. Their limo crashes and, when Jessica awakens, Mark Ryan, a Secret Service agent, is hovering over her. She is terrified and cannot remember exactly what has happened, only that it was not an accident. Mark begins to believe when Jessica is attacked in her hospital room. They begin a desperate search for answers while trying to escape the people who are trying to silence her.
September 23, 2025
4.5 I just loved this. I thought Robards did a great job with this story- the characters were great, the plot exciting and innovative, the setting compelling. I really liked Jessica and Mark- they were smart and capable. The only downside here was that it felt a little rushed and disjointed towards the end, and I thought the actions of the “bad guys” were pretty dumb- they didn’t really hold up if you thought much about it at all. But who cares- this was a fun ride. I’m looking forward to the next one in the series!
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