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The Key
How much would she risk to find the key?
For Callier Lester, the dream was always the same. She would be so close to the warmth of home, just a step away, yet she couldn't have a key to unlock the front door. It didn't help that Callie traveled so much. Her job as an interpreter took her to many different countries, never giving her the chance to put down roots.
Until finally she settled down to continue her education at a small midwestern university. Callie felt closer than ever to the secrets of her past. Would she need to sacrifice her heart to get to the truth--or would the price be even higher?
For Callier Lester, the dream was always the same. She would be so close to the warmth of home, just a step away, yet she couldn't have a key to unlock the front door. It didn't help that Callie traveled so much. Her job as an interpreter took her to many different countries, never giving her the chance to put down roots.
Until finally she settled down to continue her education at a small midwestern university. Callie felt closer than ever to the secrets of her past. Would she need to sacrifice her heart to get to the truth--or would the price be even higher?
- GenresCategory Romance
253 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1984
18 people want to read
About the author
Rebecca Flanders
50 books12 followersaka Donna Ball, Donna Carlisle, Donna Boyd
With Shannon Harper as Leigh Bristol, Taylor Brady
Donna A. Ball born in 1951 in Georgia, USA. Her ancestors were one of the first pioneer families of North Georgia, and her family still lives on the land they purchased from the Cherokee in 1782.
Her first book was published in 1982 as Donna Ball, since them she has written over a dozen works of commercial fiction under her name and under diferent pseudonyms: Rebecca Flanders, Donna Carlisle and Donna Boyd. She also signed novels with Shannon Harper as Leigh Bristol and Taylor Brady. And a novel with Linda Dano as Felicia Gallant. She is known for her work in women’s fiction and suspense, as well as supernatural fantasy and adventure. Her novels have been translated into well over a dozen languages and have been published in virtually every country in the world. She has appeared on Entertainment Tonight and Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, and has been featured in such publications as the Detroit Free Press, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Ladies Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, and even T.V. Guide. She is the holder of the Storytelling World award, 2001, the Georgia Author of the Year Award, 2000, Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Awards for consecutive years 1991-1996, the Georgia Romance Writer’s Maggie Award, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from Romantic Times, among others.
Donna lives in a restored turn-of-the-century barn in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the northeast Georgia with her dogs, they have won numerous awards for agility, obedience, and canine musical freestyle. Her hobbies include oil painting, hiking and dog obedience training.
With Shannon Harper as Leigh Bristol, Taylor Brady
Donna A. Ball born in 1951 in Georgia, USA. Her ancestors were one of the first pioneer families of North Georgia, and her family still lives on the land they purchased from the Cherokee in 1782.
Her first book was published in 1982 as Donna Ball, since them she has written over a dozen works of commercial fiction under her name and under diferent pseudonyms: Rebecca Flanders, Donna Carlisle and Donna Boyd. She also signed novels with Shannon Harper as Leigh Bristol and Taylor Brady. And a novel with Linda Dano as Felicia Gallant. She is known for her work in women’s fiction and suspense, as well as supernatural fantasy and adventure. Her novels have been translated into well over a dozen languages and have been published in virtually every country in the world. She has appeared on Entertainment Tonight and Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, and has been featured in such publications as the Detroit Free Press, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Ladies Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, and even T.V. Guide. She is the holder of the Storytelling World award, 2001, the Georgia Author of the Year Award, 2000, Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Awards for consecutive years 1991-1996, the Georgia Romance Writer’s Maggie Award, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from Romantic Times, among others.
Donna lives in a restored turn-of-the-century barn in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the northeast Georgia with her dogs, they have won numerous awards for agility, obedience, and canine musical freestyle. Her hobbies include oil painting, hiking and dog obedience training.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 31, 2019
This key will unlock the door to pure, unadulterated boredom. Thanks to Open Library, I got to take a gander at this very first entry in the Harlequin Intrigue line, the category I mostly read these days. If this absolute snoozefest is anything to go by, it's something of a miracle that the Intrigue line is still going strong 35 years later!
Callie Lester heads to college as a mature age student (well, 29), after an international career as a translator, wanting to brush up on her Russian and other skills....and also locate the father she has never known, who went to ground many years ago because he was a domestic terrorist. She begins a flirty relationship with the Russian course lecturer, Sage McCormick. She strikes up a friendship with computer hacker Brad Jones. She finds a roommate, Tandy Stevens. She accidentally enrols in the wrong class and zzzzzzzzzzzz....
There was no suspense, because it's not clear, for pretty much the entire book, if Callie is even in any danger. Love interest Sage McCormick is all dark and mysterious and sexy, of course, but the book commits the fatal flaw in romantic suspense category fiction by having him be a suspect. Is he a the same sort of domestic terrorist her father was? By the very nature of this genre, we know he's not going to be a bad guy, and the book's insistence on maintaining this possibility only serves to make it absurd that Callie would be falling in love with him.
Obviously, being published in 1984, this is hopelessly outdated in regards to computers and information technology, but I can easily forgive that. What I can't forgive is the fact that Flanders (a pseudonym for Donna Ball), holds all the cards close to her chest for pretty much the entirety of the book so that we don't have a clue what the threat to Callie might be, or much less if there even is a threat! Instead, it's just Callie withering and dithering about sulkily over her father or whether Sage is a good guy or not and zzzzzzzzzz.
There are a couple of plot twists in about the last 10 pages which puts everything in context (although the identity of Callie's father was a completely predictable no-brainer), and I appreciate how the story was put together, but that didn't make the previous 240 pages any less mind-numbingly dull. The suspense was utterly non-existent and the romance was a creepy Is-He-The-Killer-Or-Is-He-My-Lovah insta-love cringefest.
Callie Lester heads to college as a mature age student (well, 29), after an international career as a translator, wanting to brush up on her Russian and other skills....and also locate the father she has never known, who went to ground many years ago because he was a domestic terrorist. She begins a flirty relationship with the Russian course lecturer, Sage McCormick. She strikes up a friendship with computer hacker Brad Jones. She finds a roommate, Tandy Stevens. She accidentally enrols in the wrong class and zzzzzzzzzzzz....
There was no suspense, because it's not clear, for pretty much the entire book, if Callie is even in any danger. Love interest Sage McCormick is all dark and mysterious and sexy, of course, but the book commits the fatal flaw in romantic suspense category fiction by having him be a suspect. Is he a the same sort of domestic terrorist her father was? By the very nature of this genre, we know he's not going to be a bad guy, and the book's insistence on maintaining this possibility only serves to make it absurd that Callie would be falling in love with him.
Obviously, being published in 1984, this is hopelessly outdated in regards to computers and information technology, but I can easily forgive that. What I can't forgive is the fact that Flanders (a pseudonym for Donna Ball), holds all the cards close to her chest for pretty much the entirety of the book so that we don't have a clue what the threat to Callie might be, or much less if there even is a threat! Instead, it's just Callie withering and dithering about sulkily over her father or whether Sage is a good guy or not and zzzzzzzzzz.
There are a couple of plot twists in about the last 10 pages which puts everything in context (although the identity of Callie's father was a completely predictable no-brainer), and I appreciate how the story was put together, but that didn't make the previous 240 pages any less mind-numbingly dull. The suspense was utterly non-existent and the romance was a creepy Is-He-The-Killer-Or-Is-He-My-Lovah insta-love cringefest.
September 13, 2021
Not bad! I wish there was a little more intrigue and a little more danger!
April 28, 2017
Callie meets Sage McCormick when she enrolls in his Russian class. As an older student with some experience in speaking Russian, she captures Sage's interest.
The suspense resulted in very little danger: it centered on an outdated plot based on Cold War fears. There is also a suggestion of supernatural that doesn't amount to anything more than vague dreams and a sense of being "the chosen one."
Callie and Sage stood out as more memorable than a lot of romance characters. Callie's views as a college student that was older than the customary 18-22 range provided an interesting perspective. It's too bad that the author did not delve more into the college life aspect: Callie's social interactions seem limited mainly to Sage and her roommate Tandy.
On a whole, the story is not nearly as fleshed out as a traditional mystery novel would have been.
The suspense resulted in very little danger: it centered on an outdated plot based on Cold War fears. There is also a suggestion of supernatural that doesn't amount to anything more than vague dreams and a sense of being "the chosen one."
Callie and Sage stood out as more memorable than a lot of romance characters. Callie's views as a college student that was older than the customary 18-22 range provided an interesting perspective. It's too bad that the author did not delve more into the college life aspect: Callie's social interactions seem limited mainly to Sage and her roommate Tandy.
On a whole, the story is not nearly as fleshed out as a traditional mystery novel would have been.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews