Bad Moon Rising [Hardcover]

Katherine Sutcliffe (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 340 pages
• Publisher: Jove Books (2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0739435531
• ISBN-13: 978-0739435533
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,579,451 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too..., June 12, 2003

By 

Passionate (Miramar, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bad Moon Rising (Paperback)

Too creepy, too rushed, too pat. Not enough romance, not enough development of the hero's relationship with others, and not enough exploration of the process of picking up the pieces of one's life after great loss and moving on. I am a big Katherine Sutcliffe fan (except for a couple of her books), and after Darkling I Listen, I was expecting great things from this one. Maybe I expected too much.

J.D. Damascus lost his wife and their two children several years ago, when they were brutally murdered. Although it's been a long time, he just can't seem to get himself past the devastation, and has gone from a prominent, on-the-rise attorney to bouts of depression, representing prostitutes and giving up on life in general.

Holly Jones is convinced something bad has happened to her best friend Melissa. Trouble is, no one will believe her, or bother too much over a missing streetwalker. But recent events in the seedier areas of the Quarter seem a little too familiar to J.D. Damascus, who agrees to help her look for her friend... and possibly trap a killer.

What worked in this book:
1) the use of New Orleans was very well done as a backdrop. It wasn't too "every day is Mardi Gras and everyone says chere in every sentence" overdone, and yet the personality of the city did color the work. It wasn't completely ignored after the first paragraph, as some authors are wont to do (I hate that).

2) Holly's past was very original in a romance novel, and I enjoyed the issues it raised as far as the dynamics of her relationship with J.D.

3) A rich cast of characters, so that the villain was not readily apparent (not to me, anyway).

Here are my problems with the story--The villain's crimes were just a little too graphic; I'm not squeamish, but there are certain mental images I DON'T want to have when I'm reading a romance novel. Also, J.D. has a sister-in-law who's clearly in love with him, and he acknowledges that he knows this, without ever putting his foot down and setting some boundaries--why??? His brother and he have a highly antagonistic relationship, and we were never really told why. Their father, who seemed to be the original impetus for some of their behavior, was completely absent as a character in the book. Also, although Holly and JD are great people separately, after reading Bad Moon Rising I still don't know why they're together--I don't think they know, either. Beyond the de rigueur sexual attraction, I think Holly was just happy not be alone, and JD was glad to have someone clean up his apartment, or something like that... Never mind that for the last several years he's been so overwrought with grief that he's barely able to function, he meets Holly and all of a sudden the loss is bearable!!!

Bottom line, there was too much focus on mystery, and too little on actual romance, a new trend in the genre that is beginning to worry me.

Before I buy a book, I usually check out what others have had to say about it. This time I feel that all the positive reviews are apt to lead potential readers a little astray, so I thought I'd add my two cents. If you want to read some of the best Katherine Sutcliffe has to offer, be sure to read My Only Love, Dream Fever and Devotion.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mostly suspense - little romance - but still tender story, June 25, 2003

By 

"readinganddreaming" (Green Country, Oklahoma) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bad Moon Rising (Paperback)

This is a very serious story of recovery from life's greatest tragedies and making new starts. It is a story of murder and
prostitution, drugs and a mentally deranged killer. It is a very well written book but make no mistake, it is a dark book. Hope shines in the end but not before. This is my second Katherine Sutcliffe book. I had read Darkling, I Listen prior to Bad Moon Rising and consider Darkling a better book although it was a dark book as well. Both of these novels tend to have a certain amount of grotesqueness and extreme evil. I found the graphic description of killings in Bad Moon Rising too much for comfort but it is still within the framework of a tender story.

J.D. Damascus at one time was an infamous Assistant District Attorney in New Orleans with a great reputation as a prosecutor and roots of a powerful political family. His father had been governor of Louisiana and his family is still immersed in politics. J.D., however, is no longer an active part of that family. He no longer is the powerful prosecutor and he has lost his own personal family. A few years previously his wife and two children were violently murdered and J.D. has since lived in a cloud of alcohol, guilt, and regret. He believes the wrong man was executed for his family's murders and still searches hopelessly for the real killer. J.D. now barely makes ends meet with a law practice representing the less desirable clients of New Orleans.

Holly Jones is a reformed New Orleans prostitute now living a normal life in Branson, Missouri and has no desire to ever return to New Orleans. She is one of the lucky ones and has been able to escape the horrors of her previous life. Holly had left the city after a number of prostitutes were murdered. She seems to know something that no one else knows and suspects the real killer was never apprehended although a man was executed for the murders. When Holly receives a frantic call from one of her close friends still living the life of a prostitute in New Orleans, Holly worries that the real murderer has returned and fears for her friend's life and returns to find her.

J.D. meets Holly when he receives a call to represent her for shooting New Orleans's chief of police. Holly had shot the chief in self-defense and J.D., knowing the chief's carnal weaknesses, threatens to expose him unless he drops the charges against Holly. Once Holly is out of jail, she discovers her car is stolen which contains all of her possessions. With no money and no place to go, J.D. invites her to his apartment for a temporary housing. He rationalizes that he is helping her out but realizes that he is strongly attracted to her.

Clearly Holly is beautiful and irresistible enough for J.D. to consider her former life unimportant. Or it could be that he honestly does not have a judgmental personality. J.D. is truly attractive as the hero both in body and personality as long as he isn't drinking. Holly is attracted to him as well but will not be seduced by him and will not entertain any thoughts that there could ever be anything real between the two of them. As the reader, I had to agree with her thoughts. Somehow, this romance does not ever seem real. It is a thing of fairy tales and doesn't ring true. We see very little of the leads together and certainly even a smaller percentage with them happy together and alone. Those times are mostly just during the sensual scenes. Those scenes rate about a 3.5 out of 5.0 (see More About Me for rating guidelines). They are infrequent and since he is drunk a good part of the time and she is an ex-hooker, it is hard to envision this side of their relationship as meaningful. Perhaps if the leads had been given more pages in the book to grow their relationship, it may have seemed real.

As Holly and J.D.'s circumstances grow worse daily, we are drawn deeper and deeper into their lives. There are some surprises along the way. This is not predictable writing. It is a fine suspense story and although the leads' romance seems too good to be true, it is a story of tenderness and healing. It was not, however, a book that compelled me to keep reading to find out what happened next. In my opinion, it was not an exceptional book - rather an average book. But I do think it is worth your time to read Bad Moon Rising if you can accept the fact that the romance is actually secondary to several other aspects of the book. I have previously written a review on Darkling I Listen should you desire a comparison of the two books.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Could have been a 5 star book,, August 26, 2003

By 

Dara Rourke - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bad Moon Rising (Paperback)

Had, Bad Moon Rising, by Katherine Sutcliffe, been a little more "romantic" and a little less "street," I would have rated this book 5 stars! This is a terrific story and I know most people will think the same after reading it.