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34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Terror in the Deep, April 22, 2000
This review is from: After I Dream (Mass Market Paperback)
There's something about being at sea that heightens the suspense of any story - one is isolated and at the mercy of the elements and whatever evil lurks, with little chance of timely rescue. However, there's nothing like a deep sea diving setting to REALLY bring out the terror in a suspense story, which is what makes Rachel Lee's tale such a page turner. Chase Mattingly is a beached SEAL and former deep sea diver who had a psychotic episode at almost 200 feet under the surface. Unable to live with the shell he has become, he withdraws from society in order to sort out whether he'll ever be able to be whole again, or whether he ought to just end it all instead. Despite his deeply ambivalent feelings about the sea, he ends up living on the water in south Florida, across an inlet from Callie and Jeff Carlson. Callie is an obsessive-compulsive psychologist trying to take a vacation; in contrast, Jeff seems to be the eternal Peter Pan younger brother whom Callie appears doomed to have to rescue throughout his life. When Jeff is accused of murder on the high seas, Callie and Chase are thrown together in a search for answers to the questions of who, why, and how, two charter fisherman were murdered out in the open ocean. There are too many coincidences between what happened to Chase, and what Jeff may have stumbled upon at sea, for both to have been random events... As they try to sort out what happened, a romance develops between them: Chase, a hero with mental and physical disabilities, and Callie, a heroine who doesn't realize she's a bundle of neuroses until almost halfway through the story. An interesting match, indeed. Rachel Lee's language in this novel is something to behold. Aside from imparting some very interesting information about deep sea diving, she creates a beautiful and terrible metaphor of the sea as a living and breathing creature. The reader can feel the press of deep water as it slowly tries to crush the diver, and hear the whispers of seductive promise and death in the waves. The scents and sounds of Key West make the land setting come alive in counterpoint. This book kept me up on edge until almost 2 AM, even though I had my suspicions about whodunnit fairly early on - it didn't matter, I knew there was a scary climax coming, and I was right. This is a good story for lovers of romantic suspense, and a keeper for me. I definitely look forward to her next story later this year!
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33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another entertaining read from Rachel Lee, March 26, 2000
This review is from: After I Dream (Mass Market Paperback)
I was so pleased to find this latest release. Romantic suspense has become a favotite of mine lately, and Ms. Lee's latest book was wonderful to read. Hopefully , without giving too much away, the hero Case, a former SEAL, is recuperating next door to Cally after a salvage dive gone wrong. Suffering from nightmares, a debilitating fear of the dark and halucinations as a result , he somehow finds himself offering his aid when her brother and his friend are arrested for murder and grand theft after salvaging a sinking boat during a fishing cruise. Oddly enough, the sinking vessel was located very close to the site of his near fatal dive. A coincidence? Cally feels the sea will take away everyone she loves and this latest incident just seems to prove her right. While I had a pretty good idea who the villian was pretty early on, this was still a great story. Both of our main characters had serious fears to overcome on the way to saving Jeff and his friend which made them very real to read. I'll be sure to pick up her next work.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not impressed., January 20, 2004
This review is from: After I Dream (Mass Market Paperback)
Maybe I missed something that the other reviewers caught but I didn't care for this book at all. Callie was one of the most unlikeable characters I've ever seen. She was selfish and childish. Granted she had practically raised her brother Jeff. But he's 20 years old now and she tries to control everything he does and acts like he's a child. She doesn't want him to follow any of his own dreams or desires. She expects everyone, including Chase, to do what she wants so she won't have to be afraid or worry about them. And when they don't she makes nasty comments and pouts and decides they don't care about her because they want to live their own lives. She seems to think she should live their lives for them. At one point she asks herself why it is that men feel entitled to do what they want and ignore her wishes? Even though Chase is an experienced diver and an ex-Seal, she thinks she has the right to tell him he shouldn't dive despite the fact that it's what he desperately needs to make him heal. In one scene Chase caught her arm to keep her from going into danger and she tells him he's "man-handling" her. Then she starts hitting him and he grabs her and kisses her desperately. She "feels an awakening hunger, her body leaps in response, dizzying heat running along her veins" which panics her and she makes him let go. Then she decides he's an abuser because of it. This is a 28 year old woman who is supposed to be a pychologist and she behaves like she's 14! I'd hate to have her as my therapist! Callie is the one who needs to grow up. If I were Jeff and Chase I think I'd toss her in the ocean she dislikes so much!
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