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Rarities Unlimited #2
Running Scared
The sensational New York Times bestselling author of Moving Target and Eden Burning returns with another breathtaking novel of romantic suspense Elizabeth Lowell won the hearts of fans worldwide with her wonderful bestselling novels, including her wildly popular Donavan series. Now she brings us a brand new novel of romantic suspense, the second in her Rarities series following Moving Target. Set amid the shimmering neon and wild desert beauty of Las Vegas, Running Scared is a spellbinding tale of intrigue, passion, and danger centered around Rarities Unlimited, an exclusive appraisal house. Filled with the wonderful elements that are her hallmark―true-to-life characters, tingling suspense, and thrilling sensuality―this latest bestseller is Elizabeth Lowell at her stunning best.
464 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
285 people are currently reading
823 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Lowell
207 books1,920 followersIndividually and with co-author/husband Evan, Ann Maxwell has written over 60 novels and one work of non-fiction. There are 30 million copies of these books in print, as well as reprints in 30 foreign languages. Her novels range from science fiction to historical fiction, from romance to mystery. After working in contemporary and historical romance, she became an innovator in the genre of romantic suspense.
In 1982, Ann began publishing as Elizabeth Lowell. Under that name she has received numerous professional awards in the romance field, including a Lifetime Achievement award from the Romance Writers of America (1994).
Since July of 1992, she has had over 30 novels on the New York Times bestseller list. In 1998 she began writing suspense with a passionate twist, capturing a new audience and generation of readers. Her new romance novel Perfect Touch will be available in July of 2015.
To get a full list of titles as well as read excerpts from her novels, visit www.elizabethlowell.com.
In 1982, Ann began publishing as Elizabeth Lowell. Under that name she has received numerous professional awards in the romance field, including a Lifetime Achievement award from the Romance Writers of America (1994).
Since July of 1992, she has had over 30 novels on the New York Times bestseller list. In 1998 she began writing suspense with a passionate twist, capturing a new audience and generation of readers. Her new romance novel Perfect Touch will be available in July of 2015.
To get a full list of titles as well as read excerpts from her novels, visit www.elizabethlowell.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 95 reviews
June 16, 2016
Author: Elizabeth Lowell
First published: 2002
Length: 5153 kindle locations, 552 pages
Setting: Contemporary, Mostly around Las Vegas.
Sex: Reasonably frequent and explicit.
Hero: Casino Owner.
Heroine: Curator.
Paranormal: MCs have a supernatural link through the gold pieces to a Druidic/Celtic past.
Links: to Lowell’s Donovan series (April Joy plays a major role).
Author’s Extra: Essay from Lowell Popular Fiction: Why We Read It, Why We Write It.
Lessons on Druidic/Celtic gold.
Another very lengthy book with just 8 days of story told over 552 pages. Some incidental storylines could easily be cut (e.g. Dana and Niall having sex in the office) and some were important but unsatisfactorily told (Red Pheonix). Story required some suspension of disbelief and a rapid conclusion (“hit the max word count, better stop now”). Character development is minimal but there are an awful lot of them. Paranormal aspects exist but not really sure why.
Overall: enjoyable and readable but would have been better at half the size. 2.5 stars rounded up.
Rarities Unlimited:
Book 1 Moving Target - Serena Charters and Erik North
Book 2 Running Scared - Risa Sheridan and Shane Tannahill
Book 3 Die in Plain Sight - Lacey Quinn and Ian Lapstrake
Book 4 The Color of Death - Kate Chandler and Sam Groves
References:
Author’s website: http://www.elizabethlowell.com/runnin...
(ISBN 9780061798405)
-CR-
First published: 2002
Length: 5153 kindle locations, 552 pages
Setting: Contemporary, Mostly around Las Vegas.
Sex: Reasonably frequent and explicit.
Hero: Casino Owner.
Heroine: Curator.
Paranormal: MCs have a supernatural link through the gold pieces to a Druidic/Celtic past.
Links: to Lowell’s Donovan series (April Joy plays a major role).
Author’s Extra: Essay from Lowell Popular Fiction: Why We Read It, Why We Write It.
Lessons on Druidic/Celtic gold.
Another very lengthy book with just 8 days of story told over 552 pages. Some incidental storylines could easily be cut (e.g. Dana and Niall having sex in the office) and some were important but unsatisfactorily told (Red Pheonix). Story required some suspension of disbelief and a rapid conclusion (“hit the max word count, better stop now”). Character development is minimal but there are an awful lot of them. Paranormal aspects exist but not really sure why.
Overall: enjoyable and readable but would have been better at half the size. 2.5 stars rounded up.
Rarities Unlimited:
Book 1 Moving Target - Serena Charters and Erik North
Book 2 Running Scared - Risa Sheridan and Shane Tannahill
Book 3 Die in Plain Sight - Lacey Quinn and Ian Lapstrake
Book 4 The Color of Death - Kate Chandler and Sam Groves
References:
Author’s website: http://www.elizabethlowell.com/runnin...
(ISBN 9780061798405)
-CR-
June 11, 2017
Unbelievable. That's two Elizabeth Lowell books in a row that have just bombed for me. I almost did not even finish this one.
SPOILERS BELOW
How am I supposed to get through plot lines such as ...
- 2 main characters touch ancient Druid gold and it literally burns their skin (okay, I can make it through that) yet instead of talking about it to each other exactly after it happens, they simply don't. They go through their day, they get it on in an elevator after a year of not touching each other out of respect for the job, etc.
- the creepy sex that Niall and Dana are having WHILE SPEAKING ON THE PHONE ABOUT THE GREATEST FIND THEY'LL EVER HAVE AND their employees in deep danger. What?!? It was literally gross to me. And I love sex scenes. Even raunchy ones.
- Let's see, this whole 'Lil Mama' or whatever pet names Risa and Cherelle had for each other. These two MAY HAVE shared a history but there is so much water under the bridge that it defies all logic that they even speak to each other at all. Let alone one basically giving up her career and life for the other. And this, disappointingly, even carries through to the last pages of the book. Come on, Risa, she didn't care about you in the least whether you live or die and now you are still whining over her? So utterly unbelievable.
- Cherelle kills this dude. No one ever explains WHY she has the feeling when she touches the Druid gold.
- Cherelle's boyfriend simply disappears after he apparently dies in the hospital. In fact, everyone dies ... Cherelle, the old man, her boyfriend Tim, the bad dude Socks... It's MUCH easier to NOT have to take the effort and write about a character. Much easier to just kill them off. And then NOT TALK ABOUT THEM? What about Tim's mom? What about her connection to the super connected maybe mobster? It gives me a headache thinking about all this book DID NOT DO. It seems lazy and a real disservice to people like me who spend their extra money buying books.
This book, for me, took any strong character - Shane, Risa, even Ian - and did everything possible to make them weak and whiny and unlikeable. They made such bad decisions, there is no possible way that they could run multi-million dollar companies or protect themselves. Let alone others.
I am happy that this and the last Lowell book I read, Beautiful Sacrifice, were not the first of hers. Or I never would have had the please of reading the other 10+ books that I loved. Did someone else write these last two I read? Even characters that appear in books I read, i.e., April Joy, are included in this. And I don't mind April Joy in the others, but in this book, I wanted to just call B.S.
In fact, I wanted to call B.S. so often, it took everything I had to just make it through the last chapters. I did. It was over. And I feel as if my time has been wasted. Yuck, yuck, yuck.
I know this is just my opinion...I believe this book got almost 4 stars from probably thousands of people, so maybe this one just rubbed me the wrong way. I've got This Time Love and Beautiful Dreamer on my shelf and I'm crossing my fingers that things improve.
SPOILERS BELOW
How am I supposed to get through plot lines such as ...
- 2 main characters touch ancient Druid gold and it literally burns their skin (okay, I can make it through that) yet instead of talking about it to each other exactly after it happens, they simply don't. They go through their day, they get it on in an elevator after a year of not touching each other out of respect for the job, etc.
- the creepy sex that Niall and Dana are having WHILE SPEAKING ON THE PHONE ABOUT THE GREATEST FIND THEY'LL EVER HAVE AND their employees in deep danger. What?!? It was literally gross to me. And I love sex scenes. Even raunchy ones.
- Let's see, this whole 'Lil Mama' or whatever pet names Risa and Cherelle had for each other. These two MAY HAVE shared a history but there is so much water under the bridge that it defies all logic that they even speak to each other at all. Let alone one basically giving up her career and life for the other. And this, disappointingly, even carries through to the last pages of the book. Come on, Risa, she didn't care about you in the least whether you live or die and now you are still whining over her? So utterly unbelievable.
- Cherelle kills this dude. No one ever explains WHY she has the feeling when she touches the Druid gold.
- Cherelle's boyfriend simply disappears after he apparently dies in the hospital. In fact, everyone dies ... Cherelle, the old man, her boyfriend Tim, the bad dude Socks... It's MUCH easier to NOT have to take the effort and write about a character. Much easier to just kill them off. And then NOT TALK ABOUT THEM? What about Tim's mom? What about her connection to the super connected maybe mobster? It gives me a headache thinking about all this book DID NOT DO. It seems lazy and a real disservice to people like me who spend their extra money buying books.
This book, for me, took any strong character - Shane, Risa, even Ian - and did everything possible to make them weak and whiny and unlikeable. They made such bad decisions, there is no possible way that they could run multi-million dollar companies or protect themselves. Let alone others.
I am happy that this and the last Lowell book I read, Beautiful Sacrifice, were not the first of hers. Or I never would have had the please of reading the other 10+ books that I loved. Did someone else write these last two I read? Even characters that appear in books I read, i.e., April Joy, are included in this. And I don't mind April Joy in the others, but in this book, I wanted to just call B.S.
In fact, I wanted to call B.S. so often, it took everything I had to just make it through the last chapters. I did. It was over. And I feel as if my time has been wasted. Yuck, yuck, yuck.
I know this is just my opinion...I believe this book got almost 4 stars from probably thousands of people, so maybe this one just rubbed me the wrong way. I've got This Time Love and Beautiful Dreamer on my shelf and I'm crossing my fingers that things improve.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 20, 2012
Decent story and kept me reading, but there were some missing scenes between the main characters that I would have really liked to see. I also thought it ended kind of abruptly, and never really resolved a few things about where they are going to go from that point on. But it was a pretty good read, just not as good as most of the other Elizabeth Lowell books I've read.
June 6, 2016
2.5 Stars
So Shane Tannahill and Risa Sheridan were introduced in enough detail from the first book in this series, Moving Target, for us to get a pretty good idea about what type of characters they’ll be. Not that I don’t appreciate subtle introductions from one book to another within a series, but there were just some things in the first book that I thought were unnecessary to the book’s plot.
Fortunately for Running Scared we don’t have much unnecessary tangential characters taking up space (although Ian Lapstrake has a strong enough presence for me to wonder about him for the next book, he was significant enough to the plot that it didn’t bother me). Unfortunately for this second book, there was a lot of meandering from plot point to plot point, and character to character, that it took some effort to keep all the plot points and character lines connected properly.
Risa Sheridan is an expert on gold artifacts, working for Shane Tannahill as his personal curator. Shane is the “Golden Boy”, a man who owns a steadily profitable casino and has a soft spot for rare and extraordinary gold pieces, specifically those with great historical value. And, of course, like all romances, the two of them are lusting after each other like crazy (but that’s both an understatement and an obvious plot point that didn’t need to be pointed out). And we also get the obligatory “tragic personal histories” to make life more interesting.
The cast of characters in this story was so plentiful that I stopped caring on multiple occasions about what was going on within this book. My mind played a zig-zag game of “Ooh, this is getting interesting!” to “Hmmm… I don’t really care about you.” I might have been only slightly bemused.
Cherelle Faulkner is Risa’s childhood friend who runs a channeling scam with her boy toy, Tim Seton. The two of them come upon a load of priceless Druidic gold worth over millions and so move on to figure out how to turn their wealth around (at least Cherelle tries to turn her life around with this jackpot while Timmy tags along). A man named Socks joins their little duet because he’s a friend of Tim’s during their prison days. And so off the three of them go to Vegas to find out how best to make the most out of their treasure. All the while Cherelle is stuck in a perpetual envious mindset against her childhood friend, as well as hanging onto that “I saved her life whens he was fifteen so I’m going to squeeze this IOU out for all it’s worth and then some even if it gets her killed” with Risa.
With friends like that, who needs enemies?
Gail Silverado (like the truck, I guess?) and several other casino Big Dogs in Vegas (lots of names, running out of care) band together to take down the Golden Boy because, unlike them, Shane Tannahill doesn’t play dirty with his casino business, erego, making the rest of the crew look bad. And what grates at their egos the most is that Tannahill Inc. seems to be making plenty more monies than everyone else in town without having to resort to laundering dirty stuff through mobs, gangs, black markets… the like.
And then by the end we’ve got the inclusion of Uncle Sam’s “Alphabet Soup” agencies as well as some international politics going on to squeeze out the rest of the story.
Of course, in the middle of all of this chaos are Risa, Shane, and select few Rarities Unlimited staff members.
Somehow, all of this manages to come together as the story meanders around from one character to another and to another, while also managing to include random side tangents featuring one of the male Donavan twins (from the previous series, Donavans), neither of whom made it into their own books, so now must occupy random space in this series. Again, I’m delighted about the references to the previous series, as I feel I like it more so than this one, but really… is it necessary?
Another random side tangent has to do with good ol’ Timmy Seton and some sort of birth secret that sort of played a significant part of the story’s conclusion in Running Scared... but sort of didn’t. I’m still scratching my head on that one, because I guessed it, but can’t decide if I cared enough to care.
Moving along.
Basically this story was all over the place. It was still enjoyable, but with multiple reserves.
And I’m going to be frank. At this point, even if I’m not completely satisfied with any of the six books I’ve read from Elizabeth Lowell so far, for some reason I am utterly drawn to her work. It’s got to be the writing, the witty dialogue, or the characters… or all three. Maybe its even the historical data and interesting information she presents with precious gems, priceless artworks, and things of the like. I’m certainly enjoying the history lessons as well as random facts about the base precious items of each book.
It’s definitely not really the storytelling or the entire stories on their own merits. While some parts have ample amounts of suspense and thrill and other parts have enough intrigue and to hook my interest, the main storylines aren’t exactly outlined in the best way. Some of the books have been great from beginning to end with a few hitches… some just didn’t do too well in the story progression. The premises are great since they’re what’s attracting my attention in the first place. But I can’t help but wish there was a bit more oomph to the actual story versus the plot ideas.
So no matter how badly the stories are turning out (monotonous, meandering, haphazard, good, fine, put together, suspenseful, fun, or select few of these traits or all of the above), I’m still finding these books all enjoyable and interesting.
Fortunately for Running Scared, the characters are well developed and interesting and I liked them a lot. Shane and Risa are definitely an interesting pair, which I’m relieved about since the Erik/Serena couple from Moving Target gave me pause.
It’s hit or miss with these characters in an Elizabeth Lowell book; I either really like them a lot, or I think they’re too flat and require more personality or something, or that their personalities aren’t presented with the most impact despite how great they sound on paper.
Oh, also as a postscript aside:
There were paranormal aspects in this book. There is no explanation as to why there are paranormal aspects or why only certain people are influenced by this paranormal aspect. It just kind of shows up at random through this book, such as in Cherelle’s channeling abilities that are shown at the beginning of the book and then just disappears, mentioned in passing once or twice as if it were just another personal trait of hers, part of a background check.
For all the significance these paranormal elements are lending the storyline, I’m drawing a big ol’ question mark as to why they’re even present in the first place aside from propelling certain plot points as a faux de machina or something like that.
So Shane Tannahill and Risa Sheridan were introduced in enough detail from the first book in this series, Moving Target, for us to get a pretty good idea about what type of characters they’ll be. Not that I don’t appreciate subtle introductions from one book to another within a series, but there were just some things in the first book that I thought were unnecessary to the book’s plot.
Fortunately for Running Scared we don’t have much unnecessary tangential characters taking up space (although Ian Lapstrake has a strong enough presence for me to wonder about him for the next book, he was significant enough to the plot that it didn’t bother me). Unfortunately for this second book, there was a lot of meandering from plot point to plot point, and character to character, that it took some effort to keep all the plot points and character lines connected properly.
Risa Sheridan is an expert on gold artifacts, working for Shane Tannahill as his personal curator. Shane is the “Golden Boy”, a man who owns a steadily profitable casino and has a soft spot for rare and extraordinary gold pieces, specifically those with great historical value. And, of course, like all romances, the two of them are lusting after each other like crazy (but that’s both an understatement and an obvious plot point that didn’t need to be pointed out). And we also get the obligatory “tragic personal histories” to make life more interesting.
The cast of characters in this story was so plentiful that I stopped caring on multiple occasions about what was going on within this book. My mind played a zig-zag game of “Ooh, this is getting interesting!” to “Hmmm… I don’t really care about you.” I might have been only slightly bemused.
Cherelle Faulkner is Risa’s childhood friend who runs a channeling scam with her boy toy, Tim Seton. The two of them come upon a load of priceless Druidic gold worth over millions and so move on to figure out how to turn their wealth around (at least Cherelle tries to turn her life around with this jackpot while Timmy tags along). A man named Socks joins their little duet because he’s a friend of Tim’s during their prison days. And so off the three of them go to Vegas to find out how best to make the most out of their treasure. All the while Cherelle is stuck in a perpetual envious mindset against her childhood friend, as well as hanging onto that “I saved her life whens he was fifteen so I’m going to squeeze this IOU out for all it’s worth and then some even if it gets her killed” with Risa.
With friends like that, who needs enemies?
Gail Silverado (like the truck, I guess?) and several other casino Big Dogs in Vegas (lots of names, running out of care) band together to take down the Golden Boy because, unlike them, Shane Tannahill doesn’t play dirty with his casino business, erego, making the rest of the crew look bad. And what grates at their egos the most is that Tannahill Inc. seems to be making plenty more monies than everyone else in town without having to resort to laundering dirty stuff through mobs, gangs, black markets… the like.
And then by the end we’ve got the inclusion of Uncle Sam’s “Alphabet Soup” agencies as well as some international politics going on to squeeze out the rest of the story.
Of course, in the middle of all of this chaos are Risa, Shane, and select few Rarities Unlimited staff members.
Somehow, all of this manages to come together as the story meanders around from one character to another and to another, while also managing to include random side tangents featuring one of the male Donavan twins (from the previous series, Donavans), neither of whom made it into their own books, so now must occupy random space in this series. Again, I’m delighted about the references to the previous series, as I feel I like it more so than this one, but really… is it necessary?
Another random side tangent has to do with good ol’ Timmy Seton and some sort of birth secret that sort of played a significant part of the story’s conclusion in Running Scared... but sort of didn’t. I’m still scratching my head on that one, because I guessed it, but can’t decide if I cared enough to care.
Moving along.
Basically this story was all over the place. It was still enjoyable, but with multiple reserves.
And I’m going to be frank. At this point, even if I’m not completely satisfied with any of the six books I’ve read from Elizabeth Lowell so far, for some reason I am utterly drawn to her work. It’s got to be the writing, the witty dialogue, or the characters… or all three. Maybe its even the historical data and interesting information she presents with precious gems, priceless artworks, and things of the like. I’m certainly enjoying the history lessons as well as random facts about the base precious items of each book.
It’s definitely not really the storytelling or the entire stories on their own merits. While some parts have ample amounts of suspense and thrill and other parts have enough intrigue and to hook my interest, the main storylines aren’t exactly outlined in the best way. Some of the books have been great from beginning to end with a few hitches… some just didn’t do too well in the story progression. The premises are great since they’re what’s attracting my attention in the first place. But I can’t help but wish there was a bit more oomph to the actual story versus the plot ideas.
So no matter how badly the stories are turning out (monotonous, meandering, haphazard, good, fine, put together, suspenseful, fun, or select few of these traits or all of the above), I’m still finding these books all enjoyable and interesting.
Fortunately for Running Scared, the characters are well developed and interesting and I liked them a lot. Shane and Risa are definitely an interesting pair, which I’m relieved about since the Erik/Serena couple from Moving Target gave me pause.
It’s hit or miss with these characters in an Elizabeth Lowell book; I either really like them a lot, or I think they’re too flat and require more personality or something, or that their personalities aren’t presented with the most impact despite how great they sound on paper.
Oh, also as a postscript aside:
There were paranormal aspects in this book. There is no explanation as to why there are paranormal aspects or why only certain people are influenced by this paranormal aspect. It just kind of shows up at random through this book, such as in Cherelle’s channeling abilities that are shown at the beginning of the book and then just disappears, mentioned in passing once or twice as if it were just another personal trait of hers, part of a background check.
For all the significance these paranormal elements are lending the storyline, I’m drawing a big ol’ question mark as to why they’re even present in the first place aside from propelling certain plot points as a faux de machina or something like that.
June 22, 2012
More of a two and a half. Engaging enough to keep reading but very formulaic with little depth to the characters. The story was about ancient celtic/druid gold but we learn little about it. Only that it's powerful, to the point of ruining the life of the man who found it. But almost no details. No backstory. No flashbacks. Nothing. The character who is "running scared" is secondary and we don't learn much there either. In fact, the main "will they get busted" suspense turns out to be a farce. The end turns more into a romance novel and then the main characters don't even discover the various mysteries hinted at throughout the book. Ultimately disappointing and I have zero interest in reading anything else by this very prolific author and I wonder why she's so popular. Maybe her first few were good and now she churns them out for the publisher? I admit this is all I've read from Elizabeth Lowell.
September 20, 2007
Runing Scared - G+
Elizabeth Lowell
Risa Sheridan knows everything there is to know about gold - its history, its secrets, its allure, its perils. Her boss, Shane Tannahill, is addicted to the stuff, having already made the precious metal the theme of his ultrasuccessful Las Vegas gambling establishment, the Golden Fleece. Now an ancient Celtic piece is being offered to Shane for his collection, and the casino owner is hooked. But though she shares Shane's enthusiasm, Risa is wary - because something about this particular artifact is troubling; something about it says "stay away."
It is a voice that should be heeded but is not. And the artifact is placing them at the center of an insidious plot in the mad whirl and blinding glitter of Las Vegas.
Elizabeth Lowell
Risa Sheridan knows everything there is to know about gold - its history, its secrets, its allure, its perils. Her boss, Shane Tannahill, is addicted to the stuff, having already made the precious metal the theme of his ultrasuccessful Las Vegas gambling establishment, the Golden Fleece. Now an ancient Celtic piece is being offered to Shane for his collection, and the casino owner is hooked. But though she shares Shane's enthusiasm, Risa is wary - because something about this particular artifact is troubling; something about it says "stay away."
It is a voice that should be heeded but is not. And the artifact is placing them at the center of an insidious plot in the mad whirl and blinding glitter of Las Vegas.
March 1, 2010
I am finding Elizabeth Lowell consistently good. Little suspension and plenty of romance, which I'm a sucker for.
I particularly enjoy these because they have some information that seems like it could be real about the jewelery business or about jems or metals. So, I feel like I might be gaining some new information from this contemporary fiction, which rarely happens. (Of course, I do understand that this is fiction and there's a good likelihood that the details were added to make a good story, so I don't pretend to have gained a lot of information. Still makes me feel like my time was a little more usefully spent than just stress-relief.)
I highly recommend the entire jem/metal series, and Elizabeth Lowell in general.
I particularly enjoy these because they have some information that seems like it could be real about the jewelery business or about jems or metals. So, I feel like I might be gaining some new information from this contemporary fiction, which rarely happens. (Of course, I do understand that this is fiction and there's a good likelihood that the details were added to make a good story, so I don't pretend to have gained a lot of information. Still makes me feel like my time was a little more usefully spent than just stress-relief.)
I highly recommend the entire jem/metal series, and Elizabeth Lowell in general.
October 26, 2010
Book 2 in the Rarities Unlimited series is almost as good as book 1, but not quite. It didn’t engage me as much, although the storyline and characters were not unengaging. Perhaps I was just too aware that all of the “good” characters are gorgeous, superintelligent and well-off or wealthy. And that all of the “bad” characters are unattractive, stupid or drug-addicted and broke. A little too black-and-white, with very little grey, which is not at all like real life. Still, the premise is interesting, with its “supernatural” antiquities and art objects, so I will read the last two books in the series.
February 3, 2010
Parts of this book were more interesting than others--the description of the Celtic gold vs. the sexual tensions and gropings of curator Risa Sheridan and her boss, Shane Tannahill, who possesses wealth, power and extreme knowledge. Risa grew up with one of the baddies, Cherelle, who has joined up with two ex-cons, Timmy and Socks. The trio are fortunate enough to obtain a Celtic hoard of gold. There are plenty of people interested in it, whereas Cherelle, Timmy and Socks prefer cocaine. Most of the action takes place in Las Vegas.
August 3, 2015
This is possibly one of my absolute favorite books from Lowell, I would highly recommend it to anyone that likes a fast-paced, easy, interesting read. I love the way Lowell shows us part of the story through the POV of the 'bad guy' & I love how she writes. And I have to admit, I'm in love with the characters. I love that they're so protective over each other, how well they know each other & I love the reoccurring appearance of Niall & Dana. If you want a great read with great characters then read Running Scared.
August 29, 2019
Risa Sheridan started in a trailer park foster care situation and now has a Ph.D. and is a recognized gold antiquities expert. She's currently working for collector and casino owner, Shane Tannahill. Risa's childhood friend Cherelle has gone a totally different direction, but gold brings the two back together amidst murder, death, the FBI, and money laundering. Risa and Shane finally get their HEA. Rarities Unlimited and characters from previous books make an appearance, but don't distract significantly.
Kept me up late reading.
Kept me up late reading.
October 10, 2012
Moving Target and Running Scared are must reads in my book!! All that Celtic history and "things that go bump in the night" mixed with the drama, suspense, intrigue and of course romance. I have read both of these books 3 times now! This is an author that I have read a lot of and have added her books to my 'keeper' book shelf. Most I have read at least twice and some even more than that. Always in depth characters that anyone can identify with on some level.
October 13, 2017
This book did nothing for me. It was far too long to make it exciting. So much could have been left out to make the plot more interesting. The lust for gold and the amounts of money the hero raked in with his casino was of putting. I didn't care for the characters and the ending felt like no one really paid for the crimes except the ones that were killed.
March 22, 2020
Backdrop is Druid gold and a woman who is sensitive to the history of old gold she touches, working for Rarities Unlimited and working for a casino owner who is equally sensitive to old gold. Cool. Plus some steamy sex scenes, a childhood friend who's in over her head and in possession of stolen Druid gold make this one a lovely read.
June 1, 2012
not as good as the first due to less character development, but still enjoyable. another review pointed out that every "good" character is gorgeous. every "evil" character is ugly, which is a little simplistic.
September 9, 2016
I had forgotten that I had already read this one. Definitely not my favourite Lowell. Spends too much time with other characters, and the bad-guys (all 8,000 of them), and not enough on the actual relationship.
January 15, 2018
This book was non-stop action from the very first page all the way to the last! I loved it so much I lent it to a co-worker as soon as I finished it!! Great characters and written wonderfully. Highly recommend.
March 25, 2019
I Rate this 2.5
This is my rating that is more detailed...
5.0 - Amazing
4.5 - I loved it
4.0 - I liked it a lot
3.5 - I Liked it
3.0 - It was OK
2.5 - Just
2.0 - I wouldn't bother
1.5 - I didn't like it much
1.0 - I disliked it
This is my rating that is more detailed...
5.0 - Amazing
4.5 - I loved it
4.0 - I liked it a lot
3.5 - I Liked it
3.0 - It was OK
2.5 - Just
2.0 - I wouldn't bother
1.5 - I didn't like it much
1.0 - I disliked it
June 27, 2012
Entertaining but raunchier than I'd hoped (language, sex); the back cover made it sound a lot more classy and intriguing than it actually was.
May 5, 2016
Found this extremely hard to get though. Definately not one of her best.
December 18, 2022
A whole lot of heat and gold.
I had never read anything by Elizabeth Lowell before this book and I’m glad this was recommended to me. This was a fantastic book. I’m not really into romantic suspense, but this one was a big hit. Lowell writes a spellbinding story and kept me riveted to my seat throughout the story.
Risa is a smart woman, but she’s had hard knocks in life. She knows what she needs to do–she’s the person you turn to when you want a rare piece of jewelry handled. Is it real, is it fake? How old is it? She’s your girl. Shane Tannahill is her boss and is obsessed with having the best gold collection at his hotel in Vegas. It doesn’t hurt that he’s handsome, too.
I liked that there are a lot of threads running through this story. There’s the sort of romance between Risa and Shane, the gold that shows up, the show Shane wants to put on and Risa’s past. Keeping the threads separate and straightened out could be confusing at times, but it definitely enhanced my enjoyment of the story.
If you’re looking for a story that’s a bit breathless, a lot mysterious and even a little romantic, then this might be the one for you. I’m on the lookout for more by this author.
I had never read anything by Elizabeth Lowell before this book and I’m glad this was recommended to me. This was a fantastic book. I’m not really into romantic suspense, but this one was a big hit. Lowell writes a spellbinding story and kept me riveted to my seat throughout the story.
Risa is a smart woman, but she’s had hard knocks in life. She knows what she needs to do–she’s the person you turn to when you want a rare piece of jewelry handled. Is it real, is it fake? How old is it? She’s your girl. Shane Tannahill is her boss and is obsessed with having the best gold collection at his hotel in Vegas. It doesn’t hurt that he’s handsome, too.
I liked that there are a lot of threads running through this story. There’s the sort of romance between Risa and Shane, the gold that shows up, the show Shane wants to put on and Risa’s past. Keeping the threads separate and straightened out could be confusing at times, but it definitely enhanced my enjoyment of the story.
If you’re looking for a story that’s a bit breathless, a lot mysterious and even a little romantic, then this might be the one for you. I’m on the lookout for more by this author.
May 1, 2019
As a whole, this book is not Ms. Lowell's best. In fact, I think there are quite a few missed opportunities on its pages. The extended attention paid to the B characters, who are unsavory to say the least, borders on a waste of words which could have been better spent on the main characters, Risa Sheridan and Shane Tannahill. More back story on Dana and Niall would also be a tremendous improvement (in fact, I'm still crossing my fingers their origin story will hit the presses at some point). But the time that was spent on the main characters created two tremendously sympathetic and engaging couples. Throw in the Celtic gold angle and my Scottish roots are happy campers. I have read this book multiple times (even purchased an autographed copy for my book shelf) for the simple fact that I absolutely love Risa and Shane and Dana and Naill. The rest is more of an "eh."
May 10, 2024
Já perdi a conta de quantas vezes li esse livro. O mais engraçado é que eu o tinha em paperback, decidi que já tinha relido o suficiente, e de repente, como sempre acontece quando estou estressada, quero reler alguma coisa light. E como sempre tive minhas autoras de romances/suspense ou histórias de detetives preferidas, me lembrei desse, e fui compelida a comprá-lo de novo. Foi um prazer relê-lo. Da série, é o melhor. Talvez seja fascinante porque a história gira em torno de artefatos e mitos celtas. Mesmo sendo uma história padrão, com homem super rico e poderoso atraído por mulher forte e inteligente (como não gostar dessa fantasia), e uma caça desesperada a peças históricas raras, mais os vilões e tramas mirabolantes, ainda assim valeu a pena recomprar o livro.
October 14, 2024
The book is about 250 pages too long. I read 200 pages then skipped to the last 50. I obviously did not miss anything as everything was tied up nicely.
At each chapter change the book skipped to another character. Therefore there was a lot of back and forth. There were just too many characters and too much going on.
The book was boring. I have the last 2 in the series but wonder if I am even going to try reading them. I listened to the last in the series 20 years ago on cd while driving to the beach. I did enjoy it. So maybe I will try the last 2. They have to better than the first 2.
At each chapter change the book skipped to another character. Therefore there was a lot of back and forth. There were just too many characters and too much going on.
The book was boring. I have the last 2 in the series but wonder if I am even going to try reading them. I listened to the last in the series 20 years ago on cd while driving to the beach. I did enjoy it. So maybe I will try the last 2. They have to better than the first 2.
March 29, 2020
I enjoy Elizabeth Lowell books so was surprised that I had a hard time with this one. I got the feeling that it had just been written to continue two characters from Moving Target which I really enjoyed. Maybe it is the wrong time in my life to read this one right now. Risa and Shane are very strong characters and the author just barely skimmed over their lives with little feeling so it was hard to get connected to them. On to the next one.
September 24, 2017
This book was trying to be too much with too little, which caused it to have many thin story lines and no real meat. The romance was rushed and formulaic and the part about their mutual intuitions/psychic connection was an unnecessary and somewhat forced addition to the plot. The ending was lazy with the protagonists neatly avoiding charges in a very unbelievable manner.
August 31, 2018
3.5 stars. The overall message downgrades the occasional flashes of brilliance for me.
Wonderful writer. Interesting casino info.
New age-y, paranormal bits blanket book.
Best scene: Ian’s interrogation of Miranda Seton’s neighbor.
New best word I learned: anomie (with lots of derivatives).
Kinda gross: Niall & Dana’s sex play while N is on the phone (yucky!)
Good title.
Wonderful writer. Interesting casino info.
New age-y, paranormal bits blanket book.
Best scene: Ian’s interrogation of Miranda Seton’s neighbor.
New best word I learned: anomie (with lots of derivatives).
Kinda gross: Niall & Dana’s sex play while N is on the phone (yucky!)
Good title.
February 15, 2019
Elizabeth Lowell books are obviously fairly formulaic but I still find them to be an enjoyable quick read. I think her books are at their best when they are part of a series so she has a chance to develop the characters and story a bit more. I especially like her series that deal with rare artifacts. This series is one of hers that I think works the best.
January 26, 2021
I have so many questions. Why did Cherelle know the gold was special? Who picked up Tim’s mom In the limo? Not even mentioning Risa and apparently also Shane’s rare but identical secret gift to sense Druid gold....
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 23, 2025
Fantastic!
I’ve owned this book in hard copy, paperback…and read it many times in each format before electronic was even a thought. It never gets old. It just gets better. Thrilling, hot, action packed!
Kudos, Elizabeth Lowell, kudos for writing fiction that lasts decades.
I’ve owned this book in hard copy, paperback…and read it many times in each format before electronic was even a thought. It never gets old. It just gets better. Thrilling, hot, action packed!
Kudos, Elizabeth Lowell, kudos for writing fiction that lasts decades.
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