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No Escape
work of fiction.
432 pages, Paperback
First published July 27, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 2, 2019
3.5 stars. LA prosecutor Tessa Jacobi discovers a teenaged girl huddled in some bushes. The young girl Kelly tells Tessa she has been raped by a well-known professional football player. As Tessa works to earn the girl's trust, she has to enlist the aid of private investigator Luke Novak who doesn't have to play by the same rules she is bound by. The nightclub Kelly trains at is involved in stripping, prostitution, drug use, credit card fraud, and money laundering.
In this romantic suspense from 2004, my eyes glazed over a bit when the forensic accountant began to explain things about the club. I thought Tessa was tough and passionate with a good backbone but pretty naive for a prosecutor. I wished several of the characters had a much larger role as they seemed interesting -- 1) Tessa's father - former director of the FBI, 2) Tessa's brother - 14 years old, 6 feet 4 inches and a wrestler. Luke Novak was a very strong character and I liked his assistant, Macbeth.
In this romantic suspense from 2004, my eyes glazed over a bit when the forensic accountant began to explain things about the club. I thought Tessa was tough and passionate with a good backbone but pretty naive for a prosecutor. I wished several of the characters had a much larger role as they seemed interesting -- 1) Tessa's father - former director of the FBI, 2) Tessa's brother - 14 years old, 6 feet 4 inches and a wrestler. Luke Novak was a very strong character and I liked his assistant, Macbeth.
June 8, 2009
A great and quick read!!!
August 9, 2023
possibly the most boring book i’ll read this year and definitely the most unlikable main character i’ll read about. not even in a ‘she’s supposed to be bad, she’s a unreliable narrator, it’s a book where you root for the antagonist’ she’s just so goddamn annoying.
December 16, 2020
Great story. Great characters. And of course the good guys win.
November 12, 2025
Intrigue, overcoming fears of the past to be able to move forward. Suspense in seeing some of the inner workings of the darker side of society.
October 18, 2024
Another disappointing read, sadly.
To call this a suspense book is a very big stretch, as most of the book is frankly quite dull. It starts off slow and only has brief moments where any action happens. Our characters are mostly doing research, attending legal meetings, and interviewing people in an incredibly dry way. In fact, this is the 1st book ever that I've skimmed over sections because the mass amount of dialog is so so boring! The part where the forensic accountant rambles on in incredible length and detail about money laundering was far too in-depth and really wasn't necessary. It didn't impact the plot, except to bore our lead characters and us as readers. It and many other parts could have been edited down to "ok, we have to go to this meeting" then skip to "ok, well we learned a lot, now we know what our bad guys are up to". Instead, we get to sit in on these tedious meetings, which aren't in the least bit suspenseful.
Luke was an interesting character but could have had way more exciting chapters had our female lead just let him do things his way. We would have had a much more interesting book. Instead, Tessa insists he does things her way, so we get research and interviews instead of any action.
Tessa is a surprisingly naive lead female, especially considering her father ran the FBI and she's a DA prosecutor. I think she could have been a decent character but she felt a bit underdeveloped and inconsistent. One minute acting tough and trying to play with the big boys, and the next she's a bleeding heart trying to fight for the little guy. She's also a great example of what I hate in female characters: a small petite thing that insists she can take care of herself when danger closes in, and that any man trying to protect her is a sexist neanderthal. I find that attitude to be extremely ignorant and dangerous, especially when she insists on running headlong into dangerous situations instead of sitting back and letting the professionals, in this case x-SWAT guys, do their jobs.
The romance between the 2 leads is s.l.o.w. I think the author was trying to establish that they "get to know" each other, but while the rest of the book drags on with details I could care less about (money laundering lessons anyone?) the days when Luke and Tessa are together sort of gets glazed over until halfway thru the book. Even then it's a slow chapter full of shop talk about the case and more "getting to know you" moments before we get any romance.
I think if this book had been edited down and a few more exciting events added it could have been something I enjoyed. As it is though I was rushing thru it just to finish it. And the ending felt anti-climatic and cheesy.
To call this a suspense book is a very big stretch, as most of the book is frankly quite dull. It starts off slow and only has brief moments where any action happens. Our characters are mostly doing research, attending legal meetings, and interviewing people in an incredibly dry way. In fact, this is the 1st book ever that I've skimmed over sections because the mass amount of dialog is so so boring! The part where the forensic accountant rambles on in incredible length and detail about money laundering was far too in-depth and really wasn't necessary. It didn't impact the plot, except to bore our lead characters and us as readers. It and many other parts could have been edited down to "ok, we have to go to this meeting" then skip to "ok, well we learned a lot, now we know what our bad guys are up to". Instead, we get to sit in on these tedious meetings, which aren't in the least bit suspenseful.
Luke was an interesting character but could have had way more exciting chapters had our female lead just let him do things his way. We would have had a much more interesting book. Instead, Tessa insists he does things her way, so we get research and interviews instead of any action.
Tessa is a surprisingly naive lead female, especially considering her father ran the FBI and she's a DA prosecutor. I think she could have been a decent character but she felt a bit underdeveloped and inconsistent. One minute acting tough and trying to play with the big boys, and the next she's a bleeding heart trying to fight for the little guy. She's also a great example of what I hate in female characters: a small petite thing that insists she can take care of herself when danger closes in, and that any man trying to protect her is a sexist neanderthal. I find that attitude to be extremely ignorant and dangerous, especially when she insists on running headlong into dangerous situations instead of sitting back and letting the professionals, in this case x-SWAT guys, do their jobs.
The romance between the 2 leads is s.l.o.w. I think the author was trying to establish that they "get to know" each other, but while the rest of the book drags on with details I could care less about (money laundering lessons anyone?) the days when Luke and Tessa are together sort of gets glazed over until halfway thru the book. Even then it's a slow chapter full of shop talk about the case and more "getting to know you" moments before we get any romance.
I think if this book had been edited down and a few more exciting events added it could have been something I enjoyed. As it is though I was rushing thru it just to finish it. And the ending felt anti-climatic and cheesy.
April 8, 2010
I definitely liked the plot.
But what I hated in this book is the dialogue.
I hated it whenever Luke Novak called Tessa baby. In fact I found it so cheesy, it was excruciating. I hate endearments. Especially baby!
Anyway, the plot was good, however, the ending was abrupt, as if the author just wanted to finish the book at an instant. She was building the climax thoroughly but ended the book with a sudden.
Anyway the book is good and if your looking for a little thriller and romance, then pick this book up. :)
But what I hated in this book is the dialogue.
I hated it whenever Luke Novak called Tessa baby. In fact I found it so cheesy, it was excruciating. I hate endearments. Especially baby!
Anyway, the plot was good, however, the ending was abrupt, as if the author just wanted to finish the book at an instant. She was building the climax thoroughly but ended the book with a sudden.
Anyway the book is good and if your looking for a little thriller and romance, then pick this book up. :)
May 2, 2011
Only read four pages but got distracted and annoyed by the POV changes. In that short introduction, the reader was shuffled from one character's head to another no less than THREE times. With these changes all happening during the one scene, I felt terribly disorientated and found myself re-reading to work out which character's head I was in now. Not a good book to relax with, but a good one if you want to give your brain a workout!
September 11, 2016
I liked this book. The plot was interesting, the writing moved the book along and the characters were engaging and relatable. Although not a fan of romantic suspense the "romance" parts were not that many and easy to skip and miss nothing relating to the story. Just a fun read.
I was sorry to see this author only wrote two books that I can find. I think she has a definite talent for this genre and reading both her books was enjoyable.
I was sorry to see this author only wrote two books that I can find. I think she has a definite talent for this genre and reading both her books was enjoyable.
August 28, 2016
This book is written well. I got bogged down in some of the minutia regarding the criminal enterprises and money laundering. I was also not crazy about the rape plot line that drives the whole story. However, it is a well written book. There was good action and suspense and likeable characters. I would definitely read more by this author.
February 10, 2015
I enjoyed the story. It's a good read and fairly fast even though its kind of a long book [420 pages]. I liked the characters and the plot. I just hated that the end was very abrupt. All those pages for such a quick ending!
July 15, 2010
Did not finish.
September 30, 2012
It was good. I think Heather a some big shoes to fill.
November 7, 2014
2.5 star read
Read
September 3, 2017Better then I thought this was great hard to put down
Action packed edge of your seat wondering what who and whe.
Great book for sure
Action packed edge of your seat wondering what who and whe.
Great book for sure
Read
January 4, 2018I was put off by the headswapping and pacing and the use of multiple POVs. This was a DNF for me.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews