Customer Reviews

Before I Wake

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Dee Henderson books have always excelled in several areas. First, her character dialogue moves well. Second, she's great with the whole: protective male rescues (and rescues, and re-rescues) smart but vulnerable female plot line.

This book is very different.

For one thing, Before I Wake has about ten times the layering, twists, and density of her past stories. Henderson does a great job making us wonder 'whodoneit' with this book, and offers some intriguing glimpses into the lives of coroners, crime-scene clean-up crews, private detectives, and designer drug "cooks".

The book surprises with an unexpected twist toward the end, and it presents real character struggles with God, faith, and life in an un-canned, un-preachy way.

That's the good news.

The bad news is that what first seems like a slow build in the character dynamics department becomes fizzling potential that never ignites.

Henderson's characters--Nathan, Rae, and Bruce--never seem to progress at all in their relationships. Everything's great and platonic, there's no jealousy, Rae likes them both just as well. The men are both perfect Christian gentlemen. No fire. No sparks. No conflict.

I found myself disgusted with Rae (never a good emotion to feel about a heroine). She dates both men, knowing that these men are good friends with each other, and that they're both interested in her. She's never even honest with herself about what she's doing with their emotions. Tacky.

I was equally frustrated when, by the end of the book, very few of the major plot points had been resolved. If this is a series, then I applaud the cliffhanger, but want to know WHY the book was not marketed as a series, either in print or on Henderson's web site.

If this is not a series then I don't know what to think. There is precious little satisfaction or closure by the last page. The bad guy is still at large, the romantic triangle (if you can even call it that) is not resolved, and we've just read through 381 pages with very little payoff.

Other issues include an infestation of speaker attributions--on many pages characters address each other by name every other line--a number of spelling/grammar errors, and, other than the front cover image and a brief description of Rae's eyes, no real idea what any of the major characters look like. Readers will also note that Rae's eyes are a different color in the book than on the book's cover.

Despite all this, Henderson does a great job making the town of Justice come alive through the story. And the characters have potential. Especially the grandfather who barrels through Justice in his fancy sports car, no matter how many tickets he receives. Now that's an interesting character.

So although the book is a mixed bag, I believe Dee Henderson fans will still find a lot to enjoy.

As for me? I'm waiting for a sequel. One that will answer all that's unresolved, and send Nathan and Bruce real women who will wake them up.

Finally a new Dee Henderson! This one definitely lives up to her other novels!

The characters are people you just want to get to know! Plus you even get a few mentions of people from past books, which always makes me happy.

This book is set in small town Illinois. Rae is just moving there to join an old friend, Bruce, in a private investigations business. She is former FBI and retired from there after a really bad last case. Bruce and Rae met when they were both with the Chicago PD. Rae's first case as a private investigator turns into a huge case that involves the apparent natural causes deaths of three women. The local sheriff, Nathan, already has his hands full with a huge factory strike and these cases are closed off because there is no evidence of foul play. Rae is hired by one of the dead woman's parents to find out more. Nathan, Bruce and Rae work mostly together throughout the entire book. The case ends up involving drug labs. It is very involved and definitely gripping.

A warning - this is a cliff hanger and Henderson does not wrap up all the threads at the end of the novel. Hopefully there will soon be a follow up to this book!

While Rae has two possible romantic involvements (both Bruce and Nathan are interested), there really is no movement on that front in this book. It is a book of friendship ties. Hopefully we'll get a little romance in the continuation! (I'm rooting for Bruce, but you have your choice).

Definitely worth the time to read as are all of Henderson's books. Just don't plan on getting much sleep once you get into the book!

Rae Gabriella has come to the small town of Justice, Illinois to escape her past as a former FBI agent. She finds a job with her former boyfriend Bruce as a private investigator. Thinking she can finally settle down, Rae begins to relax and discovers she has a sharing interest with both Bruce and the town's sheriff Nathan. Then a dead body is found in the same hotel Rae is staying at. When more deaths are being discovered and cannot be explained, the three end up working together to find out who and what is behind the murders.

I thought this book gave an interesting look into the drug industry. The reader learns a lot about how drugs are made, marketed and sold unsuspectingly. One has to be careful about the samples they eat. It was interesting that all the clues and suspects were right there, and no one picks up on it. However, I didn't like how the book ended rather abruptly. While we find out who the killer is, there seems to be a bigger story behind that which we find next to nothing about. If there is going to be a sequel, great. I just felt rather unsatisfied with the ending. I also didn't feel Rae having any chemistry with either of the two men. She seems like the type of woman that can take of herself and doesn't need anyone. I'll read the next book, if there is one, but I'd recommend Henderson's O'Malley series to new readers.

I thought the premise of this book-multiple deaths (murders?) in a small town with a possible link to a new drug was really interesting. I thought the execution and ending of the book left a bit to be desired. The book doesn't have the typical emotional draw to the characters as I think Dee Henderson's previous books have had, so that was a little disappointing. I did enjoy the choice the main character, Rae, seemed to need to make between two men. That will hopefully be resolved in a sequel. I wasn't too fond of the cliffhanger ending-we find out how the women in town have been dying, but not who has a hand in it. That is a serious cliffhanger! Hopefully Henderson will wrap up the suspension quickly in a forthcoming novel.

All around interesting book to read, but I think it is not up to the caliber of Henderson's previous novels.

This book is not up to pare to other Dee Henderson books. I was so disappointed that I actually wasted my time reading it - of course, you don't realize it until the end. I had to keep reading the ending over and over to see if I missed something, unfortunately I didn't.

I LOVE Dee Henderson's books. This one, however, was a disappointment. I did enjoy the story line, once it got started (which took forever). I think she could have cut about 100+ pages out of this one and it would've moved a lot quicker. As other reviewers have said, the end left me confused. I kept waiting for a resolution, but didn't really get one. I don't know that I'd even be interested enough to read a sequel!

I am a big fan of Dee Henderson. When I read the O'Malley series, I could not put them down. I was hooked from page one and never lost interest.

Because I was such a big fan, I was excited to go to a Christian bookstore and see her latest work, "Before I Wake." I could not wait to get home and start reading it. What a disappointment. She took 381 pages to say what could have been said in half that. It was extremely wordy. I found myself falling asleep at times and had to re-read sections several times.

I kept reading though, just knowing from past experience that it was going to get better. It never did. When I finished the last page I turned back and re-read the last few pages to see if I missed something, and discovered I didn't. My first thought was that I was missing pages. There was no ending!!! You suffer through 381 pages of boring text to find out that it led to nowhere. Ms Henderson is much better than this!! If you don't believe it, just pick up any one of the O'Malley series. You'll be spellbound!

Also, the editor missed countless spelling and grammatical errors. Should never have gone to press like that.

Sorry Dee! I know you'll do better with the sequal.

Dee Henderson's newest release is another multi-layered suspense novel which keeps you guessing until the end.

Rae Gabriella is seeking refuge in the town of Justice, Illinois, trying to escape the memories from her former career as an FBI undercover agent and a case that went horribly wrong. Turning to her former boyfriend and now close friend, Bruce Chapel she takes up his offer to work alongside him as a private investigator and attempts to put her shattered life back together. When women start being murdered in Justice, Rae is asked to investigate by one of the distraught families and her skills and resolve are tested to the limit by a serial killer who leaves little if any evidence behind. The investigation introduces her to Sheriff Nathan Justice, a man dedicated to his town and intent on catching the killer. Nathan is reluctant to accept Rae's involvement but his protective nature and budding attraction to her hit a higher level when it becomes clear she could be the killer's next target.

The storyline of Before I Wake is much more complex and detailed than Dee's earlier books and this is to be commended. The many twists and subtle clues keep the reader intrigued throughout the story and the perpetrator's motives are hidden until the end which makes for a satisfying read. Once again the dialogue between her characters is detailed and provides much of their background and exposes their personalities in a unique way. The three main characters are interesting and their expressions of faith genuine and relevant. The romance angle of the story which Dee usually writes to perfection falls a little flat with Rae happy to encourage Bruce's attempts to reestablish their relationship while enjoying time with Nathan. It was a little implausible for my liking. Despite this the suspense is superb and I hope a sequel is written which reaches a satisfying conclusion of the storyline between these appealing characters.

Dee's books have always been a "must read" for me and that is yet to change!

While the other three reviewers have given this book glowing reviews, I'm afraid that I have to disagree. Things jumped aroung too much and didn't tie together very well. She also ended the book so abruptly that I thought pages might have been left out of my book. There is nothing at the end to let the reader know whether or not the book will be continued. To me, this does not stack up to the O'Malley series or the Uncommon Heros series by any stretch of the imagination. Buyer beware!

Rae Gabriella moves to Justice, IL to get away from her past as an FBI agent and an investigation that went wrong. She has taken a job in Justice with her former boyfriend Bruce Chapel, now only a friend, in his private investigation firm. No sooner does she blow into town than Sherrif Nathan Justice (the town was named for a distant relative) is taken with her. He begins to court her and realizes that Bruce has more than friendly feelings for her. She seems to be caught between the two Christian men, sort of dating both, all the while trying to be just friends to both. Then women who are visiting the town start mysteriously dying, and the Sheriff becomes concerned that Rae is a newly arrived woman who might become a victim of the killer. The murders seem to be connected to local designer drug trafficing. As Rae becomes involved in the investigation, Nathan and Bruce try to protect her from the killer. I really like Rae. She's an attractive, smart, capable woman. What really disturbed me was that she didn't seem to be aware that she was playing with the emotions of these two men who were both falling in love with her. She was really dating them both, and not being honest with herself as to what she was doing. I found that disturbing in a Christian female character who I really wanted to like, and did like.