Customer Reviews

All Night Long (Krentz, Jayne Ann)

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Whether writing as Amanda Quick, Jayne Castle or Jayne Ann Krentz, this author knows how to mix a sure-to-please readers' cocktail: Take 2 parts suspense, blend in 1 part sex, add a dash of surprises, and garnish with a satisfying conclusion. It's irresistible - after one sip you down it. Or, in the case of All Night Long read it from cover to cover.

Set in Dunsley, a small northern California town bordering a lake, Krentz's latest romantic suspense novel loses no time in painting a chilling scene. The Prologue is related in flashback as Irene Stenson remembers a summer some 17 years ago. She had been out with her best friend, wealthy and privileged Pamela Webb. Things didn't seem right when she arrived home. The porch light was off - her parents never left the house dark when she was out. Hoping to avoid recrimination for her tardiness she went around to the back door, thinking she could sneak into her bedroom. However, she couldn't open the door, something heavy seemed to be blocking it from inside. She pushed. Her screams were "high, desperate, frantic cries of grief, horror and denial" when she saw the bloody scene on the kitchen floor.

The deaths of her parents was determined to be a murder-suicide, and teenaged Irene left Dunsley forever. In the intervening years she has been haunted by the dark, unable to sleep unless the room is well lit, terrified of night places.

Now, some 17 years later she has received an email from her friend, Pamela, pleading with her to come back. What could possibly be so important that Pamela has to see her after all this time? It seems that question will remain unanswered as Pamela is found dead, pills and booze by her side. Her body is found in the home of her father, Ryland Webb, a U.S. Senator who has a new young wife and a sure shot for the presidency. Pamela's death is declared a suicide.

Irene doesn't believe that any more than she believes that her parents' deaths were a murder/suicide. Where can she turn? The townspeople are determined to consider her "not right" after the shock of finding her parents - she could surely use a friend and she finds him in an unlikely place.

Luke Danner, a former Marine, now owns Sunrise on the Lake Lodge, the string of cabins where Irene is staying. He's gruff, used to barking orders, yet very attractive. He's everything a Krentz hero is - honorable, brave, strong. Yet, he has some problems of his own. Of course, there's chemistry between the two that develops intriguingly.

While Irene had intended to put Dunsley in her rear view mirror as quickly as possible, she knows that she must find the truth that has been hidden for so many years and why keeping it secret is so vital to the present.

One more exciting read from the indefatigable Jayne Ann Krentz.

- Gail Cooke

At the tender age of fifteen, Irene Stenson's world changed over night. Irene's summer night had been spent with her friend, Pamela Webb, who is U.S. Senator Ryland Webb's wild daughter. Pamela dropped Irene off on that fateful night. Irene entered her dark house to find her parents' bodies in the kitchen. It was labeled a murder-suicide and the case was quickly closed. Irene left the town of Dunsley with a relative, hoping never to return. She could never bring herself to believe that her father, Dunsley's Chief of Police, would murder his wife and then turn the gun upon himself.

It is a little over fifteen years later that Irene is contacted by Pamela via email. Irene is now a reporter for the Glaston Cove Beacon, a small town newspaper. The email message is coded and sounds desperate. Pamela insists that they meet in Dunsley and that the night Irene's parents died is involved. Like it or not, Irene must face the house of blood and darkness that has haunted her dreams for years.

Luke Danner may be out of the Corps, but his mind set is still that of a Marine. Luke saw too much during the last two years of duty and his family fears for Luke's sanity. To get away from everyone and think in solitude, Luke purchased the lodge cabins near the lake in Dunsley and rents them out. There is not much business during this time of year, but he has one tenant, Irene Stenson. To Luke, information and clues are like dots; and he enjoys connecting dots. One thing is for sure, the lady in cabin number five has a lot of dots around her. Being the Marine that he is, Luke barrels his way into her problems and begins connecting some seriously dangerous dots. Luke is with her when Irene finds Pamela's body. It looks like she overdosed on booze and pills, but those dots just do not connect. They connect even less so when Pamela's house is torched shortly afterward. No one in town in talking either. Irene may be from an old town family, but everyone in town is too scared of Senator Webb. Irene and Luke are on their own!

**** There is not enough focus on the two main characters. Even though the author supposedly still writes Contemporary Suspense, she seems to be leaving it for regular fictional stories, much to her fans' disappointments. This story is very good. The plot is sound. However, I did not REALLY come to care for Luke or Irene until a humorous family intervention breakfast, well past the half way point of the novel. From there on, the two main characters clicked beautifully! There are two other ex-Marines in the story. One is in town, the other is a corporate investigator. I have high hopes that Ken Tanaka, the investigator, will get his own story told in a future novel. All-in-all, this is not as good as her older tales, but it is a very good story that will please Krentz's fans. Recommended. ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Irene Stenson was only fifteen when fate changed her life forever. It was that night that she discovered her parents dead in the family kitchen. Ever since that night Irene has been plagued with fear of the dark having to sleep with lights on. Seventeen years later Irene is forced to face the past all over again when her childhood friend, Pamela, contacts her. Pamela is desperate to talk with Irene, but insists that it has to be in Dunsley, the town she used to live in as a child. Pamela tells her she has to talk to her about the night her parents died. Irene is apprehensive about going back, but knows she has to find out what Pamela knows.

When Irene arrives in Dunsley, she rents a cabin from Luke Danner. Luke may have left the marines, but it is true what they say about once a marine always a marine. He immediately can tell that Irene is troubled after he witnesses her fear of the dark, and appoints himself her protector. As determined Luke is to keep her out of trouble, he is with Irene when they discover Pamela's body. It is apparently a suicide, but neither believe that story especially when her house is burned to the ground shortly after. When they start to dig, it is revealed that Irene's parents may have been murdered like she has suspected for years. Irene and Luke must solve these questionable deaths, or they may not survive to have a future together.

I liked both characters Irene and Luke. They play well off each other, and I was rooting for them to solve this mystery.

What can I say? The story's a bit contrived - how many people do you really know whose parents died in what was an appearant murder suicide. And then comes the e-mail from Pamela telling her to come home. And of course there's the altogether predictable romance developing with the host at the hotel where's she's staying. In summary, a great book. The only real problem is that you're likely to stay up 'All Night Long' getting through it.

Ms. Krentz has written some 42 books under various pen names (Amanda Quick, Jayne Castle). The surprising is that even with that many books her novels do not turn out to be formulaic. To be sure there are the standard themes that he likes: romantic relationship, family, the classic heroic virtues like honor, determination and love.

Is this a classic book that like Shakespeare will be around in three hundred years, NO. Is it a good addition to this year's reading, YES.

I read this book in one sitting and it's wonderful. The two main characters are classic Krentz. Luke is an ex-Marine (oops, FORMER Marine), who's convinced that everything will be fine if everyone just does things his way. Irene, the heroine, isn't at all interested in following Luke's rules. They drive each other nuts, of course, all the while dealing with a murder, a 20 year-old mystery, and their sexual tension.

Lots of laughs, lots of romance and some very, very intense suspense. LOVED it.

In the small Northern California town of Dunsley, Irene Stenson missed curfew because her best friend Pamela Webb deliberately kept her out late. When she finally arrives home she sees the murdered bodies of her parents on the kitchen floor. Their deaths were deemed murder-suicide and Irene left town and never returned or spoke to Pamela.

Seventeen years later, Pamela e-mails Irene asking her to come back to Dunsley because she has something important to tell her. She checks in at the Sunrise on the Lake Lodge and is immediately attracted to the owner Luke Danner who finds himself very interested in his boarder. When Irene arrives at Pamela's house, she finds her former friend dead, a bottle of empty pills and liquor near the body. The sheriff rules it a suicide but from the urgency of Pamela's message Irene thinks she was murdered. As a reporter she starts her own investigation because she believes there is a link between her parents' deaths and Pamela's demise. Luke helps her and saves her life quite a few times because it is obvious someone is willing to kill to keep Pamela's secret hidden.

A Jayne Ann Krentz novel is always a joy too read and ALL NIGHT LONG is no exception. The protagonists are drawn true to life and are not as quirky as Ms. Krentz's characters usually are but that is because they are dealing with dark, troubling and dangerous situations and emotions. The mystery is very complex and filled with red herrings and unusual twists and turns. There is a secondary character, one of Luke's brothers, who deserves his own story.

Harriet Klausner

I bought this book last night and finished it this morning. It was different from some of the JAK books because there is no paranormal element, but rather the two main characters more or less were dealing with post traumatic stress syndrome, one from being a marine in wartime and the other from finding her parents murdered. The book was JAK at her best, funny and touching. Her banter and repartee are at their finest.

One thing that hits me as I'm writing the review is how I wasn't bothered by some of the subject matter that the book dealt with as I am with other romance writers. Perhaps that's due to the fact that it wasn't revealed until the end or just that JAK handles it more sublimely than other authors. She's not all gore and prurience for the sake of gore and prurience. Thanks for that, JAK!

Irene Stenson's parents died 17 years ago. It was always believed to be a murder-suicide. Irene gets called back to Dunsley by her one-time best friend Pamela Webb. Irene is anxious to hear what Pamela has to say and get out of town. Instead she discovers Pamela's body. Local residents say she had problems but Irene suspects more. Pamela's father Ryland Webb wants to put the tragedy behind him and continue his run for the White House. Irene pursues the case all the way back to her parents' old house, with the help of former marine Luke Danner. Luke and Irene both have their buried troubles however their attraction to one another is great. The dialogue weakens a tiny bit every time his brother says "Boy, Howdy" as his constant refrain. However, it is a good mystery with a convincing romance and an intriguing twist in the end.

The best thing about this book is Luke Danner. He's ex-Marine, politely refused employment in the family's winery and instead runs a `lodge' in Dunsley, California. He doesn't really like the paying guests (some of the scenarios are hilarious), and has a list of rules as long as your arm. Basil Fawlty, move over! His family's annoyingly persistent shrink thinks he's got PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), EDD (erectile dysfunction disorder), plus a few other disorders tossed in for good measure! His concerned father and stepmother's attempts to get him into therapy are unsettling yet humorous, to say the least. Luke is actually working on a secret project that'll eventually settle all questions about his future.
Anyway, reporter Irene Stenston returns to Dunsley - and Luke's lodge - when childhood friend Pamela, a Senator's daughter, sends her an urgent, cryptic email about the past. Irene's parents supposedly died in a murder-suicide, but Pamela hints at knowing more about what Irene considers her parents' unsolved murders. Unfortunately Irene and Luke (who curiously and coolly invites himself along for the ride - typical JAK hero!) find Pamela dead of an apparent OD. Not believing Pamela would kill herself, any more than her police chief father would shoot her mother and then himself, Irene sets out on a dangerous trail of clues leading to a seething, nasty underbelly of crime! Luke refuses to leave Irene alone, and so lends her some very nice muscle and brains as the scenario spirals dangerously out of control. He also proves beyond any doubt he does not have EDD, to Irene's bone-melting satisfaction. JAK is the mistress of dead bodies, dark mystery and deep romance. You'll cheer for Irene as she champions Luke to his family - and do watch for the scene where she disclaims the EDD in public, to Luke's horror! Very funny. You'll hold your breath as they tackle what must surely be one of the most twisted villains ever. And, what's even better, Luke has two very interesting brothers... Sequels, we dare hope?
`You were asking about room service, for Pete's sake.' He opened the door and surveyed the brightly lit main room of the little cabin. `We don't go in for that sort of thing. But we do have the morning coffee and doughnuts. Assuming we've got guests, that is. Which, thanks to you, we happen to have at the moment.'
`Sorry to be such an imposition.'
`Yeah, well, guests happen in this business,' he observed somewhat dourly.

Finally, a good old fashion romantic suspense. Lots of action, a smart and funny hero/heroine. No stupid relatives or overly technical paranormal language. I absolutly loved this book. I may not be unbiased since I own everything (under every name) she's ever written. I want a book about the youngest brother!!