Customer Reviews

Close Encounters

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Close Encounters is an arduous interracial romance tale sagaciously laced with excitement and suspense. Without omitting societal prejudices and stereotypical presupposes, Sandra blends a poignant love story that embraces more than the common obstacles that many interracial couples endure. Close Encounters over flows with vivid situations that will leave you anxious and intrigued.

Carol Tagart and Lee Grafton are thrust together one night during a heinous situation that changes both of their lives forever. Against all odds, they fight unrelenting adversaries that threaten their relationship, their character, and their existence.

What I like most about this novel is the engrossing and passionate story line that deals with a myriad of delicate subjects, and the graceful and pivoting way that the story is told. The added subplots of suspense were thrilling and riveting. Make sure that you block off plenty of time to read this book because once you start, you won't be able to stop reading until the very last page.

I first discovered Sandra Kitt when I read "The Color of Love" and was absolutely blown away by it. With "Close Encounters" Ms. Kitt continues to see and write about the world as it really is. She understands that while the world is Black and White there is no color boundary when it comes to love. As usual her characters are real. They could be the people next door.The herione Carol Taggert gets caught in police crossfire in more ways than one. As a Black women in NYC gunned downed by a stray police bullet, her first thoughts would be to sue the City wouldn't it? Carol's family background and the lessons taught to her by her father and mother keeps her from doing that, but it doesn't stop her from having misgivings about how she feels about the White police officer who may have been the person who shot her. For me, "Close Encounters" was more than a interracial love story, and I don't think that it was meant to be just that. This book is about understanding who you are, how you feel about yourself and how you fit into the scheme of someone else's life and how they fit, whether you like it or not, into yours. And how 10 seconds can change your life forever. After the shooting, Carol starts to think about her past, how she treated her loving adoptive parents and about the husband she had chosen for all the wrong reasons. Police Officer Grafton realizes that outside of his fellow police officers, the only other people he has any real contact with are women that he sees for one reason only and the "scum" of the City. His total tunnel vision focus on "policing" had a negative effect on his broken marriage and is now having the same effect on his daughter. Both characters go through a lot pain and suffering as they reasses their lives and try to fight what they both know is a losing battle. They are bound together by more than the accidental shooting. He realizes it first and together they fight the odds against them. This is the kind of novel that I will read again and again.This is a wonderful book.

Close Encounters is a wonderfully well written story. Sandra Kitt does a great job of pulling the reader into the story. I was positively mesmerized by the story. I read Close Encounters from cover to cover. I could not put this book down.

Carol Taggert happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and is shot during a police undercover operation. Carol is a single African American woman who is struggling with family issues and still sleeping with her ex-husband.

Lee Grafton is the cop who thinks he shot Carol during a drug bust by accident. He may or may not be the shooter but he visits Carol several times and realizes that they have a connection.

Carol's ordeal is explosive because the cop who shot her is white and the NYPD has a horrible reputation in the black community. Carol realizes that the shooting has given her a second chance at life. Lee also struggles with his career choice. Can he continue to be a police officer?

Close Encounters moves at a very fast pace. The supporting characters are involved up to their necks in action and the story proceeds full speed ahead. I can't wait to get my hands on another Sandra Kitt book.

This is my second Sandra Kitt title, the first was The Color of Love. The story is current and interesting. The police involved in an accidental shooting and how this can be used or misused. I really enjoyed the fact that two sides: the police and the black victims were shown without bias. I also enjoyed that the romance developed slowly and in a logical manner. A great deal went on in this book but it was fast paced and kept my interest. If you are looking for a nice summer read this is the book for you.

* Spoiler Alert* Carol Taggart is a Black Art teacher with a very unique background: She was abandoned at the age of 2 and then adopted and raised by two White activist parents. Lt. Lee Grafton is a police officer from the Special Operations and the Anti-Crime Unit. Carol is shot one night during a failed drug bust by an officer--Lee knows that it could only have been his partner or himself who shot her. They are returning fire in the line of duty. Though the shooting is by the book, this doesn't change the fact that Carol, who is entirely blameless, nearly lost her life in the process. Carol and Lee manage to start a relationship from the basis of their problematic connection. The question is will Carol and Lee be able to sustain the considerable outside pressures that make their possibility of success in a relationship against the odds?

Though CLOSE ENCOUNTERS relies more on character development, the idea of the shooting and the bad cop angle rather than upon a developed plot--we don't know what the main characters want, what keeps them from getting it, (Well, maybe Lee wants to be a good father and his job is in the way, but this seems secondary), what they do to try to achieve it, etc.--it's a very interesting read that draws you in from the start.

What doesn't make any sense is Carol's change-of-heart. The decision is made abruptly and then never logically rationalized. Personally, I don't see how Carol could claim to love Lee and sue the city--given that it will likely ruin a career that is the only one that he has ever seen himself doing, the career that gave him self-respect and taught him how to be a leader. And I don't see how he could claim to love Carol and not feel betrayed.

Throughout the book, Carol is talking about not wanting to be a victim and how filing a suit against the city would make her feel like she had taken that role; she talks about how her life is more important than money; she says that she thinks that she was shot for a reason--that it was a blessing in disguise. Carol can't imagine any other way that Lee might have entered her life:

"She'd almost been killed. She had survived, but everything had changed. Forever.... Her father had suggested that God had other plans for her. But during the past few days Carol had begun thinking that maybe she had been given a second chance to make some plans of her own." (69 CLOSE ENCOUNTERS).

Carol says to Lee of the incident: "...I think what I went through might have been a blessing in disguise." (123 CLOSE ENCOUNTERS).

Sandra Kitt writes: "Though [Carol] appreciated that her brother was acting in her best interests, she felt a great reluctance to do anything that might betray Lee's personal confession to her. She had no doubt that he had acted entirely on his own in telling her his role [that would be accidentally shooting her]. She had no intention of using it against him, and she didn't want anyone else to do so either...." (134 CLOSE ENCOUNTERS).

When her ex-husband points out that a law suit could make the city take accountability, saying: "You could always make them tell the truth....You know what they say about the truth. It can set you free.... []The fact that it was a black woman who was shot adds fuel to the fire," Carol wants nothing to do with an "all-out protest". (159, 160 CLOSE ENCOUNTERS).

And later when her brother tries yet again to convince her to sue, she refuses: "...I'm alive.... [H]e apologized.... []The way I see it, I got a huge second chance that morning. Doesn't he deserve one too? []I'm telling you this because I want you to understand why I don't want to sue." (178 CLOSE ENCOUNTERS).

And as Carol and Lee take the ultimate plunge into a sexual relationship, Kitt writes: "The time to be frightened or to set boundaries had been the morning they'd met. The time to be angry was in the distant past. Blame and recrimination were beside the point. What really mattered was this moment. Right now might be all they'd ever have." (235 CLOSE ENCOUNTERS). So, my question is: what reason is left to sue and potentially destroy her lover's career?

Don't get me wrong, as a victim of violent crime myself, I think these kinds of decisions are very personal and should be respected. But the character of Carol has been written so inconsistently. Dogmatically, she refused to sue and rebelled against any encouragement to do so. And then there is a quick flip-flop (right after Lee's ex-lover walks in on Carol and Lee and spews her petty venom) with next to no explanation for Carol's abrupt change in prerogative. It just didn't ring true. Neither did Lee's reaction. Nor did Carol's continued professions of love. The least amount of damage I could believe that would have been done with Carol making this decision--she did not even warn Lee that she intended to sue--would have been awkwardness and distance. The most amount of damage I could envision is the destruction of their fledgling relationship and either coldness or angry resentment being all that was left between them. The cozy, sweet climax Kitt set out didn't ring true at all. I give it 3 ¼ stars.

It Was Almost Pretty Good, But It Turned Out Only Pretty Okay.

Sandra Kitt just keeps getting better. It's rare to find an author not afraid to write intelligent and moving romances that feature black/white couples. Keep em' coming, Sandra. If you haven't read her other books, you're missing out.

This was my second book by Sandra Kitt (The Color of Love being the first) and it was just as good as the first, if not better. The characters were realistic (meaning flawed and human -- not perfect)and the story well researched as well. I look forward to more books by this author. Bravo, Ms. Kitt!

This is my 5th novel by Kitt and she scores again with me. When a white male cop shoots, and almost kills, an innocent bystander black female, in a crossfire with drug suspects, an unusual bond is forged between the two people. They form a relationship they both feel impelled towards, although neither the police department nor her lawyer want the two to see one another at all. A lawsuit will have to flow from this event, which will make the cops in New York city look racist. I thought this was a very unusual story idea and Kitt managed to make it convincing and believable. Meanwhile, the criminal forces unleashed during the crossfire continue to menace the lead characters. Kitt also does kids well and the cop's daughter is a very good character trying to work out her adolesence after her parents' divorce. Signet also gives Kitt great graphic covers for her novels, depicting the characters. These are very reader-friendly for drawing a mixed-race audience. The cover subtly conveys the mixed races which photographs, used on her earlier books, did not. Kitt also wrote the equally terrific "The Color Of Love" and "Between Friends." You can't go wrong with this author.

I'm a big Sandra Kitt fan, and anxiously await each of her releases. Having followed her from her time with Harlequin to the present, I can honestly say that this is her best novel ever. I couldn't put it down until it was finished and then I reread several parts. The main characters, Lee a divorced, White homicide detective and Carol, a divorced, Black art teacher, meet under the most unusual circumstances. Their connection starts out as one thing, but is nourished and quickly grows into the committed love relationship that most people wish for. Ms. Kitt's portrayal of these two figures as emotionally mature and honest, lets the reader feel their anguish and their "finest moments." The several minor characters play into the entire story, but vividly into suspenseful conclusion. A must read for lovers of suspense mixed with romance.

Sandra Kitt's newest novel exceeded my expectations. When I initially viewed it at a local bookstore, it struck me as intriguing and thought provoking. After reading this enjoyable, and yes thought provoking novel, I came away with a very good feeling. I believe that this author's writing has moved to a higher level, with this novel. The reader really gets a sense as to what it would be like to live in Lee and Carol's world and face their dilemmas. This is definitely recommended for anyone interested in exploring fiction that represents our world today, issues such as interracial relationships and ethical dilemmas. Readers that enjoyed Eric Dickey's "Milk in my Coffee," (as I definitely did!), will likely enjoy this novel. I found myself prolonging my reading, as I did not want to reach the end. I also appreciated the intricacies of the plot that Ms. Kitt developed. I highly recommend this novel to all fiction readers! Sincerely, Eamiga