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Bad Karma
Small-town cop Daniel Sinclair cannot help but be suspicious of Cleo, a psychic hired to locate the town's missing master key, but Cleo's unexplainable powers allow her to feel a mysterious chill in the air that frightens her terribly. Original.
339 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
8 people are currently reading
75 people want to read
About the author
Theresa Weir
32 books314 followersTheresa Weir (a.k.a. Anne Frasier) is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of novels and numerous short stories that have spanned the genres of suspense, mystery, thriller, romantic suspense, paranormal, fantasy, and memoir. During her award-winning career, she's written for Penguin Putnam, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins Publishers, Bantam Books/Random House, Silhouette Books, Grand Central Publishing/Hachette, and Amazon's Thomas & Mercer. Her titles have been printed in both hardcover and paperback and translated into twenty languages.
Her first memoir, THE ORCHARD, was a 2011 Oprah Magazine Fall Pick, Number Two on the Indie Next list, a featured B+ review in Entertainment Weekly, and a Librarians’ Best Books of 2011. Her second memoir, THE MAN WHO LEFT, was a New York Times Bestseller. Going back to 1988, Weir’s debut title was the cult phenomenon AMAZON LILY, initially published by Pocket Books and later reissued by Bantam Books. Writing as Theresa Weir, she won a RITA for romantic suspense (COOL SHADE), and a year later the Daphne du Maurier for paranormal romance (BAD KARMA). In her more recent Anne Frasier career, her thriller and suspense titles hit the USA Today list (HUSH, SLEEP TIGHT, PLAY DEAD) and were featured in Mystery Guild, Literary Guild, and Book of the Month Club. HUSH was both a RITA and Daphne du Maurier finalist.
THE ORCHARD
An Oprah Magazine Fall Pick
Featured B+ Review in Entertainment Weekly
Number Two on October Indie Next List
BJ's Book Club Spotlight
LIbrarians' Best Books of 2011
Maclean's Top Books of 2011
On Point (NPR) Best Books of 2011
Abrams Best of 2011
Publishers Lunch (Publishers Weekly) Favorite Books of 2011
Eighth Annual One Book, One Community 2012, Excelsior, Minnesota
Target Book Club Pick, September 2012
www.theresaweir.com
Title List
Writing as ANNE FRASIER
Hush, USA Today bestseller, RITA finalist, Daphne du Maurier finalist (2002)
Sleep Tight, USA Today bestseller (2003)
Play Dead, USA Today bestseller (2004)
Before I Wake (2005)
Pale Immortal (2006)
Garden of Darkness, RITA finalist (2007)
Once Upon a Crime anthology, Santa’s Little Helper (2009)
The Lineup, Poems on Crime, Home (2010)
Discount Noir anthology, Crack House (2010)
Deadly Treats Halloween anthology, editor and contributor, The Replacement (September 2011)
Once Upon a Crime anthology, Red Cadillac (April 2012)
Woman in a Black Veil (July 2012)
Dark: Volume 1 (short stories, July 2012)
Dark: Volume 2 (short stories, July 2012)
Black Tupelo (short-story collection July 2012)
Girls from the North Country (short story, August 2012)
Made of Stars (short story, August 2012)
Stars (short story collection, August 2012)
Zero Plus Seven (anthology, 2013)
Stay Dead (April 2014)
Writing as THERESA WEIR
The Forever Man (1988)
Amazon Lily, RITA finalist, Best New Adventure Writer award, Romantic Times (1988)
Loving Jenny (1989)
Pictures of Emily (1990)
Iguana Bay (1990)
Forever (1991)
Last Summer (1992)
One Fine Day (1994)
Long Night Moon, Reviewer’s Choice Award, Romantic Times (1995)
American Dreamer (1997)
Some Kind of Magic (1998)
Cool Shade RITA winner, romantic suspense (1998)
Bad Karma, Daphne du Maurier award, paranormal (1999)
Max Under the Stars, short story (2010)
The Orchard, a memoir (September 2011)
The Man Who Left , a memoir and New York Times bestseller (April 2012)
The Girl with the Cat Tattoo (June 2012)
Made of Stars (August 2012)
Come As You Are (October 2013)
The Geek with the Cat Tattoo (December 2013)
Her first memoir, THE ORCHARD, was a 2011 Oprah Magazine Fall Pick, Number Two on the Indie Next list, a featured B+ review in Entertainment Weekly, and a Librarians’ Best Books of 2011. Her second memoir, THE MAN WHO LEFT, was a New York Times Bestseller. Going back to 1988, Weir’s debut title was the cult phenomenon AMAZON LILY, initially published by Pocket Books and later reissued by Bantam Books. Writing as Theresa Weir, she won a RITA for romantic suspense (COOL SHADE), and a year later the Daphne du Maurier for paranormal romance (BAD KARMA). In her more recent Anne Frasier career, her thriller and suspense titles hit the USA Today list (HUSH, SLEEP TIGHT, PLAY DEAD) and were featured in Mystery Guild, Literary Guild, and Book of the Month Club. HUSH was both a RITA and Daphne du Maurier finalist.
THE ORCHARD
An Oprah Magazine Fall Pick
Featured B+ Review in Entertainment Weekly
Number Two on October Indie Next List
BJ's Book Club Spotlight
LIbrarians' Best Books of 2011
Maclean's Top Books of 2011
On Point (NPR) Best Books of 2011
Abrams Best of 2011
Publishers Lunch (Publishers Weekly) Favorite Books of 2011
Eighth Annual One Book, One Community 2012, Excelsior, Minnesota
Target Book Club Pick, September 2012
www.theresaweir.com
Title List
Writing as ANNE FRASIER
Hush, USA Today bestseller, RITA finalist, Daphne du Maurier finalist (2002)
Sleep Tight, USA Today bestseller (2003)
Play Dead, USA Today bestseller (2004)
Before I Wake (2005)
Pale Immortal (2006)
Garden of Darkness, RITA finalist (2007)
Once Upon a Crime anthology, Santa’s Little Helper (2009)
The Lineup, Poems on Crime, Home (2010)
Discount Noir anthology, Crack House (2010)
Deadly Treats Halloween anthology, editor and contributor, The Replacement (September 2011)
Once Upon a Crime anthology, Red Cadillac (April 2012)
Woman in a Black Veil (July 2012)
Dark: Volume 1 (short stories, July 2012)
Dark: Volume 2 (short stories, July 2012)
Black Tupelo (short-story collection July 2012)
Girls from the North Country (short story, August 2012)
Made of Stars (short story, August 2012)
Stars (short story collection, August 2012)
Zero Plus Seven (anthology, 2013)
Stay Dead (April 2014)
Writing as THERESA WEIR
The Forever Man (1988)
Amazon Lily, RITA finalist, Best New Adventure Writer award, Romantic Times (1988)
Loving Jenny (1989)
Pictures of Emily (1990)
Iguana Bay (1990)
Forever (1991)
Last Summer (1992)
One Fine Day (1994)
Long Night Moon, Reviewer’s Choice Award, Romantic Times (1995)
American Dreamer (1997)
Some Kind of Magic (1998)
Cool Shade RITA winner, romantic suspense (1998)
Bad Karma, Daphne du Maurier award, paranormal (1999)
Max Under the Stars, short story (2010)
The Orchard, a memoir (September 2011)
The Man Who Left , a memoir and New York Times bestseller (April 2012)
The Girl with the Cat Tattoo (June 2012)
Made of Stars (August 2012)
Come As You Are (October 2013)
The Geek with the Cat Tattoo (December 2013)
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 20, 2011
Bad Karma wasn't a easy read. It had characters that were tortured especially the heroine Cleo and they didn't always do the right thing. At the end of the book I wasn't really convinced all of Cleo's problems were solved.
Cleo calls herself a psychic fraud, she says all people need hope so she gives that to them. But you see she isn't really a fraud but she works hard to make herself seem like one. So when is she is called to a small town to find a key, she agrees, she'll take the money and do some mumbo-jumbo. But her start isn't good, Beau and Daniel(he's a cop) come to pick her up.
Daniel is a skeptic and makes no bones about not liking her and Cleo agrees with him. Daniel always had wander-lust so he left, roamed around and when one of his hostage negotiation went wrong and his mother died came home to look after his brother Beau, who is a bit slow. Daniel is not without issues and it is fairly evident as the book moves along that Beau is fairly independent and doesn't need Daniel.
Cleo grew up with a mother who was all about appearances which she realized when she feel in love with Jordan in college and moved in with him. Her father was always not really present. In an accident Jordan died and Cleo lost her baby. Thereby began her slide, she moved home but her mother's talk about destiny made her move out. She went back to her old apartment, not eating and becoming obsessed with contacting Jordan. Her brother came to see her, she was barely present and put her into therapy. But it's been a long road and she's still not over what happened and still has problems with food.
Cleo doesn't like the cheap motel she is staying in, it takes her back to painful times, her dog is her kid but Beau can't let go off him, so she runs when she gets her money but Daniel follows her and they end up together in a motel and almost intimate when Cleo as usual as her defense mechanism makes a crack.
The book was painful to read atimes and I am still not sure how I really feel about it. Their first time together was bad, where Daniel tried to recover his manhood, he rightly feels sorry for it. Cleo almost sleep-walks in the book and it is painful to see and read about her suffering.
The ratings are all for the writing and how the book pulled me in. I could connect with the characters and their suffering.
Cleo calls herself a psychic fraud, she says all people need hope so she gives that to them. But you see she isn't really a fraud but she works hard to make herself seem like one. So when is she is called to a small town to find a key, she agrees, she'll take the money and do some mumbo-jumbo. But her start isn't good, Beau and Daniel(he's a cop) come to pick her up.
Daniel is a skeptic and makes no bones about not liking her and Cleo agrees with him. Daniel always had wander-lust so he left, roamed around and when one of his hostage negotiation went wrong and his mother died came home to look after his brother Beau, who is a bit slow. Daniel is not without issues and it is fairly evident as the book moves along that Beau is fairly independent and doesn't need Daniel.
Cleo grew up with a mother who was all about appearances which she realized when she feel in love with Jordan in college and moved in with him. Her father was always not really present. In an accident Jordan died and Cleo lost her baby. Thereby began her slide, she moved home but her mother's talk about destiny made her move out. She went back to her old apartment, not eating and becoming obsessed with contacting Jordan. Her brother came to see her, she was barely present and put her into therapy. But it's been a long road and she's still not over what happened and still has problems with food.
Cleo doesn't like the cheap motel she is staying in, it takes her back to painful times, her dog is her kid but Beau can't let go off him, so she runs when she gets her money but Daniel follows her and they end up together in a motel and almost intimate when Cleo as usual as her defense mechanism makes a crack.
The book was painful to read atimes and I am still not sure how I really feel about it. Their first time together was bad, where Daniel tried to recover his manhood, he rightly feels sorry for it. Cleo almost sleep-walks in the book and it is painful to see and read about her suffering.
The ratings are all for the writing and how the book pulled me in. I could connect with the characters and their suffering.
July 14, 2014
Cleo Tyler is a fraud. Hired by the Chief of Police in a small Missouri town to use her psychic abilities to find a missing key, Cleo hopes to give them some vague directions, grab her paycheck and head out of town. She's not a psychic and can't explain how her dreams helped solve the case of a missing child in California.
Officer Daniel Sinclair believes Cleo is a scam artist. He wants to keep an eye on her so she doesn't embarrass the Chief who believes in her abilities. That includes tracking her down when she tries to flea town with some money.
This contemporary romance has some very unique characters. Cleo is a tormented heroine who suffers from anxiety due to the death of her fiance and unborn child. She dreams of smashed pumpkins, hates the color orange, and also has an eating disorder. Daniel always wanted to travel, but he had to come back home to take care of his developmentally impaired brother and feels stuck in the small town. He is grateful that the Chief gave him a job, and wants to make sure Cleo doesn't take advantage of her kindness.
The story is fast moving and interesting. I liked that Theresa Weir's books never falls into the cookie-cutter mold of romance stories. My rating: 4 Stars.
Officer Daniel Sinclair believes Cleo is a scam artist. He wants to keep an eye on her so she doesn't embarrass the Chief who believes in her abilities. That includes tracking her down when she tries to flea town with some money.
This contemporary romance has some very unique characters. Cleo is a tormented heroine who suffers from anxiety due to the death of her fiance and unborn child. She dreams of smashed pumpkins, hates the color orange, and also has an eating disorder. Daniel always wanted to travel, but he had to come back home to take care of his developmentally impaired brother and feels stuck in the small town. He is grateful that the Chief gave him a job, and wants to make sure Cleo doesn't take advantage of her kindness.
The story is fast moving and interesting. I liked that Theresa Weir's books never falls into the cookie-cutter mold of romance stories. My rating: 4 Stars.
September 6, 2018
Kohati välja pigistatud jutt.
Kui Cleo sõidab uude kohta töö ülesannet täitma ning otsima üles linna üld võtme.
Kohalik politseini Daniel ei usalda Cleod üldse ning peale esimest hüpnoosi teatab mees,et Cleo on petis.
Kuid see mida Cleo tegelikult nägi,muudab kellegi ärevaks.
Mida Cleo avastas.
Kuidagi kohati jäi palju asju puudu. Lugu tundus liiga puudlik.
Kui Cleo sõidab uude kohta töö ülesannet täitma ning otsima üles linna üld võtme.
Kohalik politseini Daniel ei usalda Cleod üldse ning peale esimest hüpnoosi teatab mees,et Cleo on petis.
Kuid see mida Cleo tegelikult nägi,muudab kellegi ärevaks.
Mida Cleo avastas.
Kuidagi kohati jäi palju asju puudu. Lugu tundus liiga puudlik.
June 25, 2017
couldn't finish
December 11, 2022
Great story. I love psychic stories. Very angsty characters, but still a good time!
Read
February 22, 2012I suspect that what the author aimed for with Bad Karma was something along the lines of Twin Peaks – there is the small American village whose quaintness might just be facade for its sinister aspects, and which is populated with likeable, quirky characters who just might be serial murders in their spare time. The novel has humour, it has supernatural elements, it has suspense, it has a few moments of bizarre surrealism and it has main characters who hide a heavily damaged psyche behind the smooth surface they present to the world.
Unfortunately, the different elements do not cohere all that well: Instead of a single narrative braid that would show off the variety of multi-coloured strands it was woven from, it comes across as an embroidery with various bits and parts sticking out but which do not form into a picture or pattern but only make up a confusing jumble of colours. But while the novel was a bit disappointing in that it did not manage to transcend the sum of its parts, it has to be said that those parts taken for themselves are actually rather good, and I definitely never grew bored while reading Bad Karma.
One thing does stand out in particular, though, and that is Theresa Weir’s portrait of the novel’s heroine, or more precisely, of her mental illness. As is gradually revealed over the course of the novel, she is suffering from a severe trauma after a car accident she thinks she caused, and while there are very many traumatized protagonists in Romance fiction, I do not think I have ever before seen it done this well. with Cleo is fully aware of her problems and is suffering under that awareness, trying to appear normal to others even as her symptoms keep slipping through, beyond her control – the novel’s description is spot-on without glamourizing or glossing over. Also, her problems do not magically disappear in the end, even after she has found her Happily Ever After, but the author leaves no doubt that she will have to continue to struggle with them, but will now be able to to cope, thanks to her newly-discovered strength and with the help of the male protagonist (who also has a dark past but which, by contrast, gets disappointingly short shrift).
Unfortunately, the different elements do not cohere all that well: Instead of a single narrative braid that would show off the variety of multi-coloured strands it was woven from, it comes across as an embroidery with various bits and parts sticking out but which do not form into a picture or pattern but only make up a confusing jumble of colours. But while the novel was a bit disappointing in that it did not manage to transcend the sum of its parts, it has to be said that those parts taken for themselves are actually rather good, and I definitely never grew bored while reading Bad Karma.
One thing does stand out in particular, though, and that is Theresa Weir’s portrait of the novel’s heroine, or more precisely, of her mental illness. As is gradually revealed over the course of the novel, she is suffering from a severe trauma after a car accident she thinks she caused, and while there are very many traumatized protagonists in Romance fiction, I do not think I have ever before seen it done this well. with Cleo is fully aware of her problems and is suffering under that awareness, trying to appear normal to others even as her symptoms keep slipping through, beyond her control – the novel’s description is spot-on without glamourizing or glossing over. Also, her problems do not magically disappear in the end, even after she has found her Happily Ever After, but the author leaves no doubt that she will have to continue to struggle with them, but will now be able to to cope, thanks to her newly-discovered strength and with the help of the male protagonist (who also has a dark past but which, by contrast, gets disappointingly short shrift).
September 7, 2010
Samhain Publishing’s reissue of Bad Karma is a chiaroscuro of romantic suspense with a nice contrast between Cleo’s and Daniel’s dark, even tragic pasts and the lighter goofiness Daniel’s brother Beau and Police Chief Jo bring to the story.
Weir has great pacing — there’s never a good place to put the story down! — but I also adore her talent for description that doesn’t feel like description. I feel myself in the scenes, experiencing the textures, the smells, and the emotions of the characters.
“He stared at her with spoon-bending concentration.” Ha! isn’t that a great phrase?
I classified this as magical realism as well as romantic suspense. There is a fantastical element to Cleo’s experience. Does she or doesn’t she time-shift? (I think she does.)
This is definitely a romance, but not out of a cookie cutter. I couldn’t figure out how Cleo and Daniel would resolve their relationship, another quality that kept me going to the last page.
This book was first published 1999 and won the Daphne du Maurier for paranormal romance and the All About Romance Desert Isle Keeper. It is a page turner — I am a slow reader, and I finished it in two sittings.
Theresa Weir’s dedication for Bad Karma is For the readers who didn’t forget. Samhain Publishing’s new — and improved — reissue will delight those readers and add many more to the Anne Frasier/Theresa Weir fan club.
Weir has great pacing — there’s never a good place to put the story down! — but I also adore her talent for description that doesn’t feel like description. I feel myself in the scenes, experiencing the textures, the smells, and the emotions of the characters.
“He stared at her with spoon-bending concentration.” Ha! isn’t that a great phrase?
I classified this as magical realism as well as romantic suspense. There is a fantastical element to Cleo’s experience. Does she or doesn’t she time-shift? (I think she does.)
This is definitely a romance, but not out of a cookie cutter. I couldn’t figure out how Cleo and Daniel would resolve their relationship, another quality that kept me going to the last page.
This book was first published 1999 and won the Daphne du Maurier for paranormal romance and the All About Romance Desert Isle Keeper. It is a page turner — I am a slow reader, and I finished it in two sittings.
Theresa Weir’s dedication for Bad Karma is For the readers who didn’t forget. Samhain Publishing’s new — and improved — reissue will delight those readers and add many more to the Anne Frasier/Theresa Weir fan club.
June 25, 2012
If it weren't for some issues I had with the premise/set up and the suspense portion of this book, I would have rated it a 5 Star instead of a 4 star.
The heroine Cleo is terrific. She's flawed and damaged and floundering in her life. Totally relatable. The hero Daniel is equally complex although I felt like I got inside his head less. The suspense plot is not very believable and the villain is pretty cartoonish but if you can overlook that, Cleo and Daniel's chemistry and attraction shine through.
This book has one of my most favorite endings regarding how the hero/heroine reveal their love and get their HEA. I'm tempted to bump this up to 5 Stars just based on the last few pages alone.
The heroine Cleo is terrific. She's flawed and damaged and floundering in her life. Totally relatable. The hero Daniel is equally complex although I felt like I got inside his head less. The suspense plot is not very believable and the villain is pretty cartoonish but if you can overlook that, Cleo and Daniel's chemistry and attraction shine through.
This book has one of my most favorite endings regarding how the hero/heroine reveal their love and get their HEA. I'm tempted to bump this up to 5 Stars just based on the last few pages alone.
November 9, 2011
Let's see. Cleo, a supposed psychic gets a job in small rural town. There she has to work through lots of issues, hers, a detective's, and the police chief's. Toward the end she has a weird run in with a serial killer. I wish the author had done a little more with Cleo. Cleo could have been very interesting and very cool to watch, but I felt like an editor cut out fifty pages. I would reccommend as a read for when you've got nothing better to read. And it's been on sale on kindle, which it has. However, I would like to try some of the author's other works because she's apparently written a lot.
January 15, 2012
Really cute story with scam artist heroine and mistrustful cop hero. We definitely learn more about Cleo, the psychic scam artist, and I could have done with more insight into Daniel, the cop who suspects she's not what she seems (she's not, but not the way he thinks). I read this because I'd heard the h had an eating disorder and I was curious to see how Weir handled it. However, it's not a huge part of the story. The last third takes a suspenseful turn I didn't really expect and it was sort of out of left field. The author manages to convey a lot in fairly spare prose.
September 19, 2011
It was quiet a dark book but a good read but I was left quiet dissatisfied,i was not convinced that Cleo and her issues were solved,she had yet to go a long way,liked Beau a lot.Overall the book was good
December 21, 2014
I have to say I really enjoyed this book. I loved the suspense and romance this had.
August 5, 2013
Not a bad book, but I've come to expect more from Theresa Weir.
July 1, 2015
One of my absolute favorite romances. Beautifully written. High angst. I love her older romances like Cool Shade and American Dreamer (another favorite) but this one is fantastic.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews