Before Sunrise (Mira Hardbacks) [Hardcover]

Diana Palmer (Author)

Book Description

Series: Mira Hardbacks | Publication Date: July 1, 2005

Jeremiah Cortez thought he'd left the past--and Phoebe Keller--behind. Now three years later, they are thrown together to solve a murder related to an archeological dig.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

She is Anglo; he is Comanche. She is an archaeologist. He equates archaeology with grave robbing. Despite their differences, Phoebe Margaret Keller and Jeremiah Cortez know they've found their soul mates. That is, until Jeremiah goes away and gets married. Three years later, a still-bitter Phoebe is a museum curator on the Cherokee reservation in Chenocetah, North Carolina. A person claiming to be a professor claims he has found a Neanderthal in the caves near a new development. When the man is murdered, Jeremiah, now a widower and member of the FBI's Indian Country Crime Unit, is sent to investigate. It's obvious Phoebe and Jeremiah are still in love, but she is no hurry to forgive him. Before long, however, Phoebe becomes a target of the murderer, and there's no way Jeremiah is going to leave her again. Sensual and suspenseful, this romance is also loaded with information about Cherokee culture, and it debunks many Native American stereotypes. The ever-popular and prolific Palmer has penned another sure hit. Shelley Mosley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"A compelling tale . . . [that packs] an emotional wallop." -- Booklist on Renegade

"Diana Palmer does a msterful job of stirring the reader's emotions." -- Lezlie Patterson, Reading Eagle on Lawless

"Diana Palmer is a mesmerizing storyteller who captures the essence of what a romance should be." -- Affaire de Coeur

"Nobody does it better." -- Award-winning author Linda Howard

"Nobody tops Diana Palmer when it comes to delivering pure, undiluted romance." -- New York Times bestselling author Jayne Ann Krentz

"Palmer knows how to make the sparks fly . . . heartwarming." -- Publishers Weekly on Renegade

"Sensual and suspenseful . . ." -- Booklist on Lawless

"The dialogue is charming, the characters likable and the sex sizzling . . ." -- Publishers Weekly on Once in Paris

"This story is a thrill a minute -- one of Ms. Palmer's best." -- Rendevous on Lord of the Desert

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: HQN Books (July 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373770413
• ISBN-13: 978-0373770410
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #231,634 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars strong police procedural contemporary romance, June 28, 2005

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Before Sunrise (Mira Hardbacks) (Hardcover)

In 1997 in Chenocetah, North Carolina, Native American cultural anthropologist Phoebe Keller, curator of the Chenocetah Museum, receives a call from a claimant saying he found a Neanderthal skeleton on the reservation. She is skeptical because a development dispute is brewing but before Phoebe can arrange testing of the alleged prehistoric remains, the person who called her is murdered with his body left inside a cave. FBI Agent Jeremiah Cortez leads the investigation.

As a college senior three years ago Jeremiah felt a deep attraction to Phoebe that she reciprocated. However, he broke her heart as both went on with their respective lives. As they work together on the investigation, they fall in love even while the danger mounts from those who want to hide the entire truth.

This is a terrific romantic suspense using a Native American background to enhance the plot. The lead sleuths make a fine team though both struggle with the ardent simmering desire for the other; their relationship seems like a throwback to a simpler romance novel yet is extremely complex as expected from fully developed protagonists. The who-done-it is cleverly designed to keep the audience alert although a twist late in the tale seems off kilter. Still readers will appreciate Diana Palmer's strong police procedural contemporary romance.

Harriet Klausner

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally a change!!!!!!!!!!!!!, July 6, 2005

By 

K. Woods "book aficionado" (kenner, louisiana United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Before Sunrise (Mira Hardbacks) (Hardcover)

Diana Palmer has written a book unlike anything she has written in while! Even though the heroine is a vigin(would you expect anything else) the storyline is passionate and intense. The words flow smoothly. I was so impressed. I am a die hard Diana Palmer fan,even though recently I have felt that that she was just recyling and changing the title! I think Jacobsville(Long Tall Texans) has been done to death!!!!!!!!!Thank you for a great read!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Could have been a better Sunrise!, March 7, 2007

By 

Deborah Verlen "Deborah" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Before Sunrise (Mira Hardbacks) (Hardcover)

Basically I liked this book--the story and the characters, but felt a little cheated by Ms. Palmer's aversion to in depth research and the character turns. Firstly when we met Phoebe and Cortez in another book, Phoebe was a very strong woman. I hardly think that she would have gone off the deep end the way she was portrayed in this book. Somehow I can't see her cutting her hair, moving to a small town and wearing dowdy clothes. Cortez is a fascinating character and I felt Palmer developed his psyche much better than Phoebe's. I felt the research done on stolen artifacts and how law enforcement works in general was poor. The dialog was stilted whenever she dealt with stolen artifacts and the law enforcement scenes. She called them "loot" several different times. Does anyone use that word anymore? I also, this is a pet peeve with this author, wish she'd talk to someone about fashion. She calls Aigner a pricey french designer. Maybe at one time, but in today's fashion world this is not true. She'd have been better off saying Chanel or Gucci. Ms. Palmer is a well enough known romance writer that she could pick up the phone and call her chief of police, the FBI or even the library to do a better research job. As I said earlier--I actually liked the book, but then I would come upon stilted dialog, words that are rarely used in today's vernacular and the book would hit a jarring note. Please Ms. Palmer--do your research.
I was glad though that Phoebe was a more faceted character than many of her females. I've been on a Palmer reading spree and I've gotten very tired of big, strong, mean man fighting his attraction for mousy secretary type. This was more a meeting of equals.