Praying for Time

by Carlene Thompson

MP3 CD Format She thought her prayers had been answered. Now she's praying for time. Vanessa Everly is a successful actress in Los Angeles, but she's still traumatized by the night that ripped her world apart. Eight years ago, Vanessa and her younger sister Roxanne were attacked on the beach in their hometown in Oregon--and Roxanne was kidnapped. Devastated, Vanessa ended her relationship with handsome medical student Christian Montgomery, whose troubled brother Brody was the police's prime suspect. Now, Vanessa receives the news she never thought she'd Roxanne is alive. Arriving back in Everly Cliffs, Vanessa is reunited with her sister--and with Christian. Roxanne can't remember what happened that night, but someone else can Who's making threatening phone calls to Vanessa, and why has Brody suddenly gone missing? Vanessa's torment should be over, but it's about to get much darker

Genres: Mystery, Audiobook, Thriller

Audible Audio

First published May 1, 2020

About the author

Carlene Thompson is an author of suspense thriller novels.

Her first book, Black for Remembrance, was published in 1990 by Little, Brown and was well received. Her books are suspense novels, often with romantic elements and many take place in Thompson's home state of West Virginia. Her books often feature animals, which she bases on animals she knows in real life.

Reviews

[Linda Strong]

Vanessa Everly is a woman who still has nightmares about the night 8 years ago when she and her 15 year old sister were attacked .... Roxanne was kidnapped.

The only suspect at that time was Brody Montgomery, the brother of Christian.. the man Vanessa was going to marry. Their relationship did not survive.

It's been years with no sightings, no communication, no ransom notes, no nothing. Most people believe Roxanne was killed ..some don't. Imagine the surprise when Vanessa gets a call saying her sister has returned home. Where has she been all these years? Who took her?

Back in her hometown and reunited with her sister ... and Christian... has stirred up a lot of questions .. questions that Roxanne can't answer because she can't remember what happened to her the night she disappeared.

But someone knows ... and that someone is threatening letters to Vanessa. And why has Brody suddenly disappeared?

This author has penned a compelling thriller with a well written plot. The characters are deftly defined ... warts and all. Suspects are many and varied ... leading to a surprising and unexpected conclusion.

Many thanks to the author / Severn House Publishing / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

[Brandi Pierce]

Poorly written

The storyline was okay but I felt like I was reading a book written by a teenager. The artistry just wasn't there. The dialogue didn't feel realistic and some of the descriptions felt unnecessary and were so random they were obvious foreshadowing and gave away what would come next. For example, there was this random christmas candle story while he was walking through his house. Hmm, I bet the candle will be lit. Spoiler alert, it was lit.

[Lavins]

This book has a really good start. And it keeps going strong for the first third of the book. Things are happening, there is a good, alert pace. When things seem to settle down, there's another thing happening.

But then the action is petering out and nothing happens for some time...and you start to suspect how things are going to end and you hope that you are wrong...but you aren't. The ending is predictable from a mile and it's even worse and more unrealistic than you can would have anticipated.

[Kerryn Steenson]

I want to know who gave it so many stars. This book is in the wrong genre, it should be in comedy. I literally laughed all the way through. How old was the author?? 14?? Dialogue was so corny and unbelievable it made it amusing. The plot was quite good, but that was all. Won't be reading anything from this author in a hurry. Glad I didn't pay much for it.

[Lynn]

A great book

And actually unputdownable! Lots of twists and turns, good and evil characters all in one beautiful house. A great book to read when TV is all sports!

[Vince Mannino]

Not worth the read

Took way to long to get into it, very long and drawn out story, very dragged out and long. Did not like it.

[Christine Mathieu]

Somehow, I can't get compelled by Carlene Thompson's thrillers anymore.
I miss the atmospheric scenes, the description of places that were so compelling in her first 10 or 12 books.
Her last 3 crime novels have become way too dialog-overloaded since "Nowhere To Hide". That was an older short review from me.

8/16/26: I gave this novel a 2nd chance and this time read until page 80, but it consists 90% of dialogues and conversations which are often not related to the plot (like all the remarks about the TV series where the protagonist plays the leading role).
As I've mentioned before, the first 10 to 12 thrillers by Carleen Thompson were innovative and contained lots of suspense. I liked her descriptions of the towns in Virginia where the stories took place. But lately it's too much dialogue, too little atmosphere and zero suspense. I didn't get a feel for the Oregon landscape where this story takes place.
If Carleen Thompson would check out Patricia Highsmith's early thrillers or Mary Higgins Clark's first 5 or 10 crime novels, maybe it would help her to create more atmosphere and less dialogues, because it's the many dialogues which kill the suspense.
I think I won't try another novel by her.

[Trena Stooksberry]

So bad, don't waste your time

Oh dear, this was such a bad book. I've never read anything that had the characters all explaining the book at the end! I thought that's what reading the book was for!

[Barbara Williams]

What can I say?

Never have I ever skimmed a book as much as I did this one. So many words, that said nothing. It certainly wasn't a "Totally gripping thriller". It was a convoluted love story mixed with fantasies of mid evil times. Sorry but this is strictly my opinion.

[W.]

Not very well presented

No character build up. Distracting chapters of rhetoric details.
All action in the very middle of the last chapter.
So quick to end.

[Sarah]

Um... No

First of all, the dialog in this book is odd. Everyone talks as if they're in a 1950s TV show, or the rich matriarch in a 1980's soap opera. The children are all overly polite, to the point of creepy. No one really talks like this. By the 3rd chapter, it was difficult to listen to all the perfectly grammatical conversations, and overly polite inner dialog.
As for the story, it was very thin, and not at all plausible. It's as if the author did zero research. If she knew anything about schizophrenia, she would know that they are usually the last to plan and escape detection from elaborate kidnappings and murders. You would think the schizophrenic main suspect's brother, who's a doctor, would also know this. And, since that doctor's brother is the main suspect, there's no way he would be allowed to treatment the victim. And where's the FBI? I highly doubt that kidnapping and murders would be left to the "Gomer Pyle" sheriff of a town with a population of 8,000. (Though, it does explain why all the oh-so-pleasant, polite characters are allowed to traipse all over crime scenes.) These are just a few of the many mistakes and implausible holes in the story. Then again, this is a soap opera. I suppose anything goes in a soap opera? So are we all supposed to just suspend belief for the sake of this ridiculous story?
Honestly, this book absolutely reeks of "self-published". Don't waste your precious time.

[Avid]

There were a few things I was annoyed with, but the overall read was exciting. The author thought this through completely making a complex series of twisting events difficult to determine who the murderer was, along with an excellently & extensive suspect list laid out. I enjoyed most every moment of the book and found myself alone tossing my hands up, laughing, and saying, "Well, I'm changing my mind again. I think (_____) is innocent because he/she (______). However, I think my original thought of (_____) being guilty was correct."

I definitely recommend this book. It is an easy read yet thoroughly enjoyable. 👍

📚📚📚📚📚
👀

[Linda]

This story was more than I expected, even with the description. Lots of moving parts and characters. Heck of a twist ending too. I liked all of the characters, especially Vanessa and her dog. Imagine thinking your sister was probably missing and dead, only to have her show up 8 years later. I didn't really like Roxanne's character. Lots of secrets, murders, lies, jealousy, and more. A good story to listen to or read.

[Yvette]

This was the 3rd CT novel I've read and the one I liked the most except for the lack of character development.
The book does have an old fashioned, suave feel about it, very reminiscent of Mary Higgins Clark though the authors differ almost 25 years in age.
The story is a bit flimsy but entertaining nonetheless.

[Barbara]

This did not read like a Carlene Thompson book. her early books were amazing, but this one felt like it was written by a someone who had no experience in writing.
A kidnap victim returns after 10 years and there's no fbi? No trauma treatment? They just give home like nothing happened. It started the whole book with disbelief and went downhill from there.
I'm not convinced she even wrote it.

[Mary]

Sisters reunited then the truth comes out!

Loved the book stayed up most of the night to finish it. A lot of twists that have you wondering if you picked the right villain. The end will shock you beware!

[Sherilee Phillips]

riveting

This was a real page-turner. I didn’t want to carry out my mundane daily activities. I just wanted to read, read, read! The conclusion was a huge surprise.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys psychological mysteries.

[Megan K]

All of the books by this author follow the same exact plot. People die, mysterious phone calls, a song that was personal to the main character, and a love interest. Every book is literally the same just different character names living in different places with different occupations.

[Krista Traill Middleton]

Teen sisters are at the beach when they are attacked snd one goes missing. Eight years later she returns. She says she was beaten, raped, and finally got away. Multiple people start dying/being murdered. -KM

[Wpayne]

Praying for Time

Kind of like a Hallmark movie but with a really good back story. I liked it a lot. Kept me reading most of the night.

[Linda Jennings]

This author really knows how to write a mystery thriller book. I could not figure out the ending and was shocked. I highly recommend

[elizabeth comstock]

Half and half

Ok light read. Too much about her acting Job
sounded odd. An ok read if you want something to pass time

[Lisa M Foster]

Masterfully suspenseful

A stellar thriller this one will keep .you guessing until the thrill filled twisty turn laden ending a must read for any fan of psychological thriller novels

[Jill Grubb-travoss]

Cliffhanger

The twists and turns were great fun! I love happy endings though. Will read more by this author for sure!

[Kirsten Marie Peterson]

Enjoyed the first 80% of the book but found the ending to be over the top and not in line with the rest of the book

[Rebecca]

More like 3 1/2 ⭐️ just ok for me.

[kat]

Twisty.

[Keri]

Slow. Very slow. Felt it was written by a teenager. Decent storyline but I did not reach its potential.

[Winter]

Book was too slow for me and suffers from editing issues and spelling errors. The most significant is calling Zane, "Zack".

[Missy]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 Stars (Excellent)