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The Pack #2
One Eye Closed
After barely escaping from a serial killer, Lyssa Reinholt Lupe is stunned when her husband Alex Lupe reappears. The DEA agent had disappeared without a word months ago, and now claims he's there to protect her. Lyssa can't denial the sensual hold Alex has on her, but she isn't sure she can trust him. Alex had believed leaving Lyssa would keep her safe. But now, he realizes only he can stand between her and the killer. This is his top priority, the only thing that matters to him. Even if it meant revealing the haunting secret that might drive away the only woman he'd ever loved - his ability to shape-shift into a wolf.
196 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2005
About the author
Karen Whiddon
211 books132 followersKaren Whiddon spun fanciful tales for her younger brothers as early as the age of eleven. Growing up in the Catskill Mountains of New York, then the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, she found enough magic in the rugged peaks to keep her imagination fueled for years.
Now making her home in North Texas, she shares her life with her hero-like husband and three doting dogs. She writes paranormal tales for Harlequin Nocturne including the popular Pack series and romantic suspense stories for Harlequin Romantic Suspense.
She's also written Fae novels for Lovespell and a long time ago, she wrote five Precious Gem Romances for Kensington publishing. These she now owns again and has put them up for sale on Amazon.com among other places
Now making her home in North Texas, she shares her life with her hero-like husband and three doting dogs. She writes paranormal tales for Harlequin Nocturne including the popular Pack series and romantic suspense stories for Harlequin Romantic Suspense.
She's also written Fae novels for Lovespell and a long time ago, she wrote five Precious Gem Romances for Kensington publishing. These she now owns again and has put them up for sale on Amazon.com among other places
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 21, 2021
One Eye Closed by Karen Whiddon is part of Silhouette's "Intimate Moments" line, and the second book in "The Pack" series. Story is told in alternating, third-person pov by the main characters: DEA agent (and werewolf) Alex Lupe, and Lyssa Reinholdt Lupe, Alex's estranged wife.
After Lyssa narrowly survives a savage attack from a serial killer, her absent husband Alex returns, insisting he's there to protect her. Their marriage had been intended to be in name only, but Lyssa got in too deep. The only thing that needs protection from Alex is her heart. Alex's worst suspicions are confirmed when he learns that the serial killer known as the Bone Man is a werewolf, and a crazed one at that. Since Lyssa escaped him, he's become obsessed with her and will stop at nothing to claim the woman he now believes is an immortal queen. Alex knows the regular police and FBI have no chance at stopping the Bone Man, and all of his instincts are clamoring to protect his wife...his mate. Can he convince Lyssa to let him help her, without revealing his secret?
It was a compelling enough story, and I'm sure I would have lapped it up 20 years ago. At this point in my life, however, I was somewhat meh about it. Alex was an ass for skipping out on Lyssa before (to spare her, I guess), but she took the gold in Idiocy in this book. Alex eventually convinces her that he's a werewolf and that the Bone Man is, too. Okay. But now we have this woman, fully human, who barely survived being attacked by the killer, has recently realized she may be pregnant, yet still thinks she has to be the one to take the Bone Man down?! WTF?! Bitch, I don't care if you're a goddamn ninja, you find out you're pregnant, you sit this one out. And, don't even get me started on Alex's nosy-ass, busybody aunt. She's the first one to suspect Lyssa was pregnant, then proceeds to get on the horn and let everyone else in Werewolf-ville know about it. She irritated the crap out of me.
The writing was good, the story was interesting, but the characters annoyed me. I'll be surly and give it a three.
After Lyssa narrowly survives a savage attack from a serial killer, her absent husband Alex returns, insisting he's there to protect her. Their marriage had been intended to be in name only, but Lyssa got in too deep. The only thing that needs protection from Alex is her heart. Alex's worst suspicions are confirmed when he learns that the serial killer known as the Bone Man is a werewolf, and a crazed one at that. Since Lyssa escaped him, he's become obsessed with her and will stop at nothing to claim the woman he now believes is an immortal queen. Alex knows the regular police and FBI have no chance at stopping the Bone Man, and all of his instincts are clamoring to protect his wife...his mate. Can he convince Lyssa to let him help her, without revealing his secret?
It was a compelling enough story, and I'm sure I would have lapped it up 20 years ago. At this point in my life, however, I was somewhat meh about it. Alex was an ass for skipping out on Lyssa before (to spare her, I guess), but she took the gold in Idiocy in this book. Alex eventually convinces her that he's a werewolf and that the Bone Man is, too. Okay. But now we have this woman, fully human, who barely survived being attacked by the killer, has recently realized she may be pregnant, yet still thinks she has to be the one to take the Bone Man down?! WTF?! Bitch, I don't care if you're a goddamn ninja, you find out you're pregnant, you sit this one out. And, don't even get me started on Alex's nosy-ass, busybody aunt. She's the first one to suspect Lyssa was pregnant, then proceeds to get on the horn and let everyone else in Werewolf-ville know about it. She irritated the crap out of me.
The writing was good, the story was interesting, but the characters annoyed me. I'll be surly and give it a three.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 2, 2026
Read September 2024
2.5 stars
Book 2 is slightly better than book 1. It's surprising that this is a published book. There are a number of errors that should've been caught. (A few are shared at the end of the review.) I was often annoyed. 😬
This is primarily a romance, with a side of suspense. The serial killer subplot occurs off-page, until the grand finale. Then things quickly wrap up with no twists or turns. Everything that happens is to create drama and bring the MCs together.
Readers jump into a story that started three years ago. It shows how the MCs’ troubled relationship is finally reconciled. The romance is mostly sweet, with just one short, low-steam sex scene.
Two Positives:
⑴ It was interesting enough to finish.
⑵ The ending kept me on the edge of my seat.
❗S͓̽U͓̽M͓̽M͓̽A͓̽R͓̽Y͓̽ &͓̽ S͓̽P͓̽O͓̽I͓̽L͓̽E͓̽R͓̽S͓̽ ❗
🇲🇨🇸 (ages unknown)
𝐖𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭
Lyssa joined Hades Claws to try and save her sister. There she met Alex, who married her to keep her safe.
Alex Lupe (wolf shifter) was an undercover DEA agent. Lyssa didn't know that he was a federal agent.
Lyssa and Alex shared a bed and had sex. Lyssa left the gang when her sister was killed; Alex had to stay behind to finish his investigation. They met again at her sister's funeral, had sex, then Alex left without a word.
The book begins three months later:
It takes a serial killer nearly killing Lyssa, to reunite the MCs a third time. Alex sensed Lyssa's pain during her attack and realized a mate bond had formed between them. He goes to protect his wife. Lyssa is frightened to learn Alex is a shifter, but comes to accept him.
Like Book 1, there's a cute pet accessory—Lyssa's cat named Sam. He's not as cute as the puppy, though.
The Serial Killer Subplot.
A killer called "The Bone Man" is targeting women in the Catskills, removing a rib from each victim. Lyssa narrowly escapes being his fifth victim.
His crimes include:
▪️Defiling Claire’s grave
▪️Breaking into and vandalizing Lyssa’s house, splashing blood everywhere
▪️Burning down her house and plant nursery
Alex and Lyssa go to stay with his aunt in Leaning Tree, a small town in upstate N.Y. where his pack lives. There the Book 1 MCs—Alex’s sister Brenna and her husband—are happily married and expecting.
🔸Lyssa may be pregnant.
🔸Sexual desires lead to a brief sex scene.
The Bone Man calls to say he’s kidnapped Lyssa’s BFF, Marilee. He wants Lyssa to meet him.
🤨 Lyssa was afraid of Alex when he revealed he was a shifter, but then she turns foolishly brave and wants to pursue the killer. After ONE shooting lesson, Alex gives her a gun.
🤨 She only shows emotion when she believes her BFF is dead, not for her sister or when her home and business are destroyed.
Alex visits the FBI office, where the agents seem like bungling idiots. Because they didn't listen to Alex, Claire’s decoy and many agents are killed.
Alex and Lyssa visit the agent at the hospital, who was nearly killed by the killer’s 'pet wolf'. Lyssa faints again after learning she's pregnant.
🙄 Lyssa, in a TSTL move, decides to leave the hospital and walk in the forest. Predictably, she's kidnapped in order to have the climatic conclusion.
The Exciting Conclusion:
Lyssa is taken to the killer’s lair, where she finds Marilee is alive. Alex tracks her by her ringtone, fights the Bone Man and injures him. Lyssa shoots him dead.
Alex will resign from the DEA. He asks Lyssa to marry him, this time for real. HEA.
The Bone Man was a wolf-shifter obsessed with an old legend about an immortal queen created from a human rib. He’s been killing blonde women—Claire was his first victim—searching for his “woman of light.” (I was bummed to learn he's a complete stranger.)
🇪🇷🇷🇴🇷🇸∶
🕳️ Biggest Plot Hole:
🔻 We're told often that shifters can only be killed with fire or silver bullets. The MCs think the Bone Man is dead—even though he was shot with regular bullets. (Shortly after, Lyssa is kidnapped.)
🔻 When Alex turns into a wolf to show Lyssa what he is, a very bright light appears (unlike book one).
Prickles of light stabbed the air, so bright she shaded her eyes.
If this happened every time, humans would've discovered shifters long ago.
🔻 After Alex shifts back to human, his senses are supposed to be sharper. He tries to talk to a terrified Lyssa, but can't hear her with the windows up. He tells her to roll it down a crack.
So much for his heightened senses! 🙄
🔻Aunt Elaine says that Lyssa is pregnant.
Alex thinks: Pregnant. Not once had the possibility even remotely occurred to him. Nor, judging from Lyssa’s frantic reaction, had it occurred to her.
A few pages earlier, Lyssa said:
"I did a home pregnancy test. Three of them actually, all different brands. They all were negative. I'm not pregnant. It's stress!"
Obviously, it HAD occurred to her!
2.5 stars
Book 2 is slightly better than book 1. It's surprising that this is a published book. There are a number of errors that should've been caught. (A few are shared at the end of the review.) I was often annoyed. 😬
This is primarily a romance, with a side of suspense. The serial killer subplot occurs off-page, until the grand finale. Then things quickly wrap up with no twists or turns. Everything that happens is to create drama and bring the MCs together.
Readers jump into a story that started three years ago. It shows how the MCs’ troubled relationship is finally reconciled. The romance is mostly sweet, with just one short, low-steam sex scene.
Two Positives:
⑴ It was interesting enough to finish.
⑵ The ending kept me on the edge of my seat.
❗S͓̽U͓̽M͓̽M͓̽A͓̽R͓̽Y͓̽ &͓̽ S͓̽P͓̽O͓̽I͓̽L͓̽E͓̽R͓̽S͓̽ ❗
🇲🇨🇸 (ages unknown)
𝐖𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭
Lyssa joined Hades Claws to try and save her sister. There she met Alex, who married her to keep her safe.
Alex Lupe (wolf shifter) was an undercover DEA agent. Lyssa didn't know that he was a federal agent.
Lyssa and Alex shared a bed and had sex. Lyssa left the gang when her sister was killed; Alex had to stay behind to finish his investigation. They met again at her sister's funeral, had sex, then Alex left without a word.
The book begins three months later:
It takes a serial killer nearly killing Lyssa, to reunite the MCs a third time. Alex sensed Lyssa's pain during her attack and realized a mate bond had formed between them. He goes to protect his wife. Lyssa is frightened to learn Alex is a shifter, but comes to accept him.
Like Book 1, there's a cute pet accessory—Lyssa's cat named Sam. He's not as cute as the puppy, though.
The Serial Killer Subplot.
A killer called "The Bone Man" is targeting women in the Catskills, removing a rib from each victim. Lyssa narrowly escapes being his fifth victim.
His crimes include:
▪️Defiling Claire’s grave
▪️Breaking into and vandalizing Lyssa’s house, splashing blood everywhere
▪️Burning down her house and plant nursery
Alex and Lyssa go to stay with his aunt in Leaning Tree, a small town in upstate N.Y. where his pack lives. There the Book 1 MCs—Alex’s sister Brenna and her husband—are happily married and expecting.
🔸Lyssa may be pregnant.
🔸Sexual desires lead to a brief sex scene.
The Bone Man calls to say he’s kidnapped Lyssa’s BFF, Marilee. He wants Lyssa to meet him.
🤨 Lyssa was afraid of Alex when he revealed he was a shifter, but then she turns foolishly brave and wants to pursue the killer. After ONE shooting lesson, Alex gives her a gun.
🤨 She only shows emotion when she believes her BFF is dead, not for her sister or when her home and business are destroyed.
Alex visits the FBI office, where the agents seem like bungling idiots. Because they didn't listen to Alex, Claire’s decoy and many agents are killed.
Alex and Lyssa visit the agent at the hospital, who was nearly killed by the killer’s 'pet wolf'. Lyssa faints again after learning she's pregnant.
🙄 Lyssa, in a TSTL move, decides to leave the hospital and walk in the forest. Predictably, she's kidnapped in order to have the climatic conclusion.
The Exciting Conclusion:
Lyssa is taken to the killer’s lair, where she finds Marilee is alive. Alex tracks her by her ringtone, fights the Bone Man and injures him. Lyssa shoots him dead.
Alex will resign from the DEA. He asks Lyssa to marry him, this time for real. HEA.
The Bone Man was a wolf-shifter obsessed with an old legend about an immortal queen created from a human rib. He’s been killing blonde women—Claire was his first victim—searching for his “woman of light.” (I was bummed to learn he's a complete stranger.)
🇪🇷🇷🇴🇷🇸∶
🕳️ Biggest Plot Hole:
🔻 We're told often that shifters can only be killed with fire or silver bullets. The MCs think the Bone Man is dead—even though he was shot with regular bullets. (Shortly after, Lyssa is kidnapped.)
🔻 When Alex turns into a wolf to show Lyssa what he is, a very bright light appears (unlike book one).
Prickles of light stabbed the air, so bright she shaded her eyes.
If this happened every time, humans would've discovered shifters long ago.
🔻 After Alex shifts back to human, his senses are supposed to be sharper. He tries to talk to a terrified Lyssa, but can't hear her with the windows up. He tells her to roll it down a crack.
So much for his heightened senses! 🙄
🔻Aunt Elaine says that Lyssa is pregnant.
Alex thinks: Pregnant. Not once had the possibility even remotely occurred to him. Nor, judging from Lyssa’s frantic reaction, had it occurred to her.
A few pages earlier, Lyssa said:
"I did a home pregnancy test. Three of them actually, all different brands. They all were negative. I'm not pregnant. It's stress!"
Obviously, it HAD occurred to her!
February 21, 2020
Awesome book.
This book keeps you intrigued, I couldn't put it down. The suspense it great. It keeps you on the edge of your seat.
This book keeps you intrigued, I couldn't put it down. The suspense it great. It keeps you on the edge of your seat.
August 4, 2013
Entertaining shape shifter romance - and I'm not a huge fan of werewolf stories (not much for vampires either).
Hero is a DEA agent. Three years previous, he married the heroine as part of an undercover operation. They had a physical relationship but he didn't hope for more since he's a shifter and she's a human who doesn't believe in the paranormal and doesn't know he's a shifter.
I genuinely liked the fact that the heroine was a cat person and a vegetarian - married to a red meat eating werewolf. Funny. The cat doesn't like him. Little conflicts like that make fantasy feel more real.
The heroine is being stalked by a rabid serial killer. Hero reenters her life to protect her.
What I hate with so many of these romance novels is the bickering, the heroine insists on helping, won't take no for an answer when we all know the hero will give in. So why waste eight pages of the inane dialogue?
However, she doesn't always get her way. The hero does manage to stop her from participating in the more dangerous operations and he is the voice of logic and reason when the heroine fails to see both.
Hero is a DEA agent. Three years previous, he married the heroine as part of an undercover operation. They had a physical relationship but he didn't hope for more since he's a shifter and she's a human who doesn't believe in the paranormal and doesn't know he's a shifter.
I genuinely liked the fact that the heroine was a cat person and a vegetarian - married to a red meat eating werewolf. Funny. The cat doesn't like him. Little conflicts like that make fantasy feel more real.
The heroine is being stalked by a rabid serial killer. Hero reenters her life to protect her.
What I hate with so many of these romance novels is the bickering, the heroine insists on helping, won't take no for an answer when we all know the hero will give in. So why waste eight pages of the inane dialogue?
However, she doesn't always get her way. The hero does manage to stop her from participating in the more dangerous operations and he is the voice of logic and reason when the heroine fails to see both.
September 10, 2009
This is the second story in the series which can be all stand alones and I enjoyed this one far more than the first. Lots more action mixed in with the talking, thoughts and emotions. I will say I’d been curious about the hero from the quick meeting we have of him in the first book, so that started me off on a good foot. The way they think and act, especially in the beginning did not go in a predictable manner which was interesting. I liked it. There were several things as far as the way things were handled on the official cop end of things which kind of red flagged in my head, but over all I was able to ignore whether they were handled correctly or not and just enjoy.
June 18, 2010
I really liked wolf shifter Alex Lupe. Even though Lyssa Reinholt and Alex have been married for three years, due to his undercover work for the DEA, they haven't been together for a long time. Lyssa is under the impression that Alex doesn't want her in his life. She is very much mistaken and Alex must prove that to her while trying to keep her safe from a serial killer who has so far been unsuccessful in trying to kill her. Action packed from start to finish. Light on the sex scenes but clearly a romantic suspense novel. Everything Alex does, shows his love even if he won't actually admit it. This is an enjoyable addition to The Pack series.
September 10, 2013
I love Karen Whiddon shifter books but this one was really difficult to get into. It started off really slow & the end was predictable. Mostly, the thing that turned me off most was the fact that I found Lyssa to be annoying as hell!
Read
August 16, 2008The Pack: One Eye Closed (Book 2) (Silhouette Intimate Moments No. 1365) by Karen Whiddon (2005)
May 15, 2010
I loved this book! It was exciting and fast paced, romantic and thrilling! You'll love it!
April 18, 2012
November 2008
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews