Customer Reviews

Boomerang

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I first read Christian's "Boomerang" I was fascinated, waiting for the outcome. When I read it a second time I was critiquing the structure, the twists and turns, and reveled in every moment. This is a great somewhat short novel about what may seem like a sexually-charged first adventure for the heroine after an uminamaginable marriage. Is it rebound, is it fear of death, or is it all in her imagination? I could read it a third time and arrive at a differnt set of answers. Well worth the read.

A typical Monday morning in the Wilson household found Samantha reflecting on her wonderful family. Her husband Harold was off to his successful legal office, and her two boys, Matthew and Michael, were off to their classes at summer school. Thus it was with a light heart that Sam answered the phone.
"Hi, Babe."

Those two words shattered Sam's life.

Damien ... But how can that be? He died sixteen years ago. That was his voice; she'd know it anywhere. But people don't just pop up and return from the grave. Yet there it was, the same tone he used when they were dating, and the name he always called her-Babe.

What could he possibly want from her after all these years? Damien was from a past that she thought only she and her psychiatrist knew about. A past that nearly drove her insane-a past from which it took years of intense psychotherapy to save her sanity. Sam wasn't sure she could go through the same thing now. She was emotionally too fragile. And Heaven help her, she did not want to fall into that dark chasm again. Was Damien going to start his reign of terror with the same kind of mental and physical abuse that he had used sixteen years ago? He made that intent quite clear during the call.

To relax Sam liked to go for bicycle rides to clear her head. Because of Damien's calls her nerves were wearing pretty thin so she took off for a calming ride. And it was, for a while until she saw Damien trying to intercept her on a narrow path. Panic caused her to lose control of her bike and plummet down an embankment, onto the hood of a car below, and end up on the parking lot pavement with the handlebars jammed into her stomach.

She awoke in the hospital being treated by her old friend and physician, Paul. While unconscious Sam ranted about Damien. Paul naturally wanted to know what part Damien played in her accident, and he was quite curious as to who Damien was. But Sam wouldn't talk about him.

She was much more concerned for the welfare of her two sons, and her pet swans, Tristan and Isolde. Would Harold take as careful care of the swans as she would? Would he remember their little treats? Those concerns were overridden with hysteria when Damien's phone calls started reaching her at her hospital room. This was more than Sam could handle on top of her surgery. She decided she must tell Paul everything.

With the help of Paul, Sam's close friend Margot, and a friendly cab driver, the treachery, love gone awry, and the mystery of Damien's return are all uncovered.

Ms Christian has treated the reader to a well-plotted mystery with many twists that make the reader wonder how this despot will get the comeuppance that is so well deserved. We would all do good to remember that even the best laid plans can-BOOMERANG.

-Shirley Truax

by DonnaJ

As Sam sits drinking coffee on a beautiful Monday morning after getting her boys off to school and husband off to work, the phone rings and a voice she hasn't heard in over twelve years shatters her peace. He tells her he has good stuff planned for her now that he's back. After she hears the dial tone and hangs up, she starts wondering if she's going crazy like her aunt did. After all, Harold said it ran in families. She decides she needs to get out, so she takes a bike ride around the island and has an accident that lands her in the hospital. Her doctor and friend, Paul, tells her that, because of her injuries, she'll have to be there for a few days.

While she's there she receives more phone calls from Damien, even though she knows he couldn't be calling her because he's dead, or is he? Is she going insane or is someone trying to make it look like she is? Why is Harold still having an affair with Toni after Sam told him this was his last chance? This novel keeps you guessing and interested right until the end about what will happen next.

The author has combined mystery and action seamlessly. Lue Christian describes the beautiful scenery without overdoing it. She keeps the reader interested in the characters and how they interact with each other and makes them believable. This is a story that you'll love to curl up with and not want to be disturbed until the last page has been turned

by DonnaJ

As Sam sits drinking coffee on a beautiful Monday morning after getting her boys off to school and husband off to work, the phone rings and a voice she hasn't heard in over twelve years shatters her peace. He tells her he has good stuff planned for her now that he's back. After she hears the dial tone and hangs up, she starts wondering if she's going crazy like her aunt did. After all, Harold said it ran in families. She decides she needs to get out, so she takes a bike ride around the island and has an accident that lands her in the hospital. Her doctor and friend, Paul, tells her that, because of her injuries, she'll have to be there for a few days.

While she's there she receives more phone calls from Damien, even though she knows he couldn't be calling her because he's dead, or is he? Is she going insane or is someone trying to make it look like she is? Why is Harold still having an affair with Toni after Sam told him this was his last chance? This novel keeps you guessing and interested right until the end about what will happen next.

The author has combined mystery and action seamlessly. Lue Christian describes the beautiful scenery without overdoing it. She keeps the reader interested in the characters and how they interact with each other and makes them believable. This is a story that you'll love to curl up with and not want to be disturbed until the last page has been turned

Samantha Wilson thinks that she has left her past behind as she lives a life of privilege on a small island near Quebec City. Married to Harold, a lawyer who is approximately twenty years older than her, she has two sons' ages ten and twelve as well as a pair of swans on a pond on the property. Despite his past history of infidelity he has sworn to behave and she is trying to make their marriage work. That is until she receives a call from Damien.

Damien is a nightmare from sixteen years ago as she was about to graduate from Berkley. An experienced older man who drew her to him like a moth to flame as a lover at first and then tried to control her through abuse. Eventually she was able to break free of him and worked on herself for several years in therapy before meeting Harold.

As Damien begins to reinsert himself into her life by stalking her, Samantha begins to suffer physical and emotional attacks. Harold makes himself unavailable and soon she finds herself turning to her good friend and doctor Paul Boucher. Boucher's wife died two years ago from cancer and has only recently realized that he has deep feelings for Samantha. He soon begins to far exceed the boundaries of the Doctor/Patient relationship in his attempt to help Samantha break free from both Damien and Harold. As Damien continues to stalk her and Harold ignores her, Paul and Samantha are pushed romantically closer and closer together.

While there is an interesting storyline, this novel suffers from a lack of believability. From basic things such as the fact that a woman forty years old plus with children older than ten is repeatedly referred to as a "young mother" to basic factual problems regarding medical procedures, it is hard to maintain a suspension of disbelief necessary to support the book. Then there is the added problem of a lack of reality in the characters themselves. These characters are complete opposites with not a single character being anywhere in the middle. This romantic mystery features characters that are incredibly evil or incredibly good with not a single character having any combination of the two.

On some levels this novel does work. It is grammatically well written, holds the reader's interest and does tell an interesting story that is resolved well with all plot points and details covered. Unfortunately the pluses do not outweigh the negatives and one is left with an average read.

This book was excellent. It held my interest and I couldn't put it down. There was good character build up and I never got bored.
I could relate to the characters and felt like I got to know them.
I feel Lue Christian is a very good writer and has a good future ahead of her with her next novels.