Customer Reviews

Cry No More

5 star:		(120)
4 star:		(45)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Milla Boone's 6 week old baby boy was snatched out of her arms on a bright sunny day while she was shopping in an open air market in Mexico. The aftermath of the kidnapping had a profound impact on her life. She founded an organization to help people look for missing children and she continued to look for her own son.

Ten years pass and Milla is no closer to finding her son, despite the fact that her son's kidnapping made news headlines. Her single minded drive to recover her son has alienated her family, cost her her husband and sent her into very dangerous situations.

Then Milla meets Diaz, a mysterious figure who also specializes in finding people. With Diaz's help, Milla manages to find out more about her missing child in a few weeks than she had in 10 years. And the closer Milla and Diaz get to finding out the truth, the closer they are to danger. And Milla discovers that part of the reason she never found out about her son was due to treachery and betrayal.

I was kinda disappointed in Linda Howard's last few offerings. They seemed really subpar to what I know this author it capable of. This book is more like the Howard I know. This book is a curious amalgm of "Son of the Morning" and "MacKenzie's Mountain" both very good books (Mackenzie's Mountain is simply excellent).

Milla is like Grace St. John of "Son of the Morning." She is a very feminine girly-girl who would have been content to be a Doctor's wife and schoolteacher and raise her own children. But because of one moment of violence she is forced to become a tough survivor (still very girly-girl) who doesn't hesitate to kill if she must.

Diaz, on the other hand, is very much life Wolf Mackenzie. A tough, loner who immediately wants to protect "his woman." Howard does a great job of making Diaz one of the scariest good guys you'd ever meet on paper.

There are some nice little plot twists and the resolution of Milla's baby search is pretty much a tearjerker. I only gave the book four stars because there were some points that I would have liked to have seen resolved or at least revisited in an epilogue such as Milla's relationship with her family and the aftermath of Rip and Susanna's relationship. I was also very disappointed that the plot with the smuggling ring was ended "off-stage" as it were. I would have loved to know what the bad guys' reactions were to getting caught after all this time. But overall a good story. I recommend.

When Linda Howard wrote "Dream Man" and especially "Son of the Morning," she wrote not only a hot romance but also a story which included elements not usually found in the romantic suspense genre. When she wrote "After the Night," "All the Queen's Men," and all her Mackenzie categories, she may not have been breaking ground with her story content, but the steam came right off the page. Then came books like "Now You See Her" and "Dying to Please," and I began to question my decision to buy Howard in hardback. Oh, they weren't bad books, just conventional without that added kick I'd come to expect. I would have still bought them, but I could easily have waited for the paperback.

"Cry No More," I'm delighted to say, combines the heat of her best books with the innovation of "Son of the Morning." This story is much greater than the excellent suspense story embedded in it. It is about terrible loss and terrible grief and how we do or don't heal. A quarter of the book takes place *after* the mystery has been solved, but I can guarantee you'll keep on reading.

And, oh yes, there are *two* alpha males interested in our heroine. See if you recognize her mate as soon as he appears on the scene. I wasn't sure, but I had hopes, right from his first appearance. njs

Milla Edge has a wonderful life; a happy marriage to a doctor and a beautiful, healthy baby boy until the moment everything is taken from her...while on her way to the supermarket Milla is attacked and her son is stolen.

Ten years later, Milla, still hoping for a miracle to find her son, has dedicated herself to helping others find their missing children and in the process uncovers a baby smuggling ring of epic proportions.

With little to go on, Milla enlists the help of Diaz, known to many as the Tracker, a dangerous man with his own agenda, and together they must find the one-eyed man who holds the key to bringing down the smuggling ring.

Milla and Diaz are running for their lives as they race the clock to stop a powerful organization that will stop at nothing to silence them.

`Cry No More' is a powerful page-turner, one that is filled with nerve rattling suspense and non-stop action. Heartbreak and obsession are two key elements that drive this novel, but it's the intense plot and interesting characters that will have readers up-all-night. Linda Howard has written her best thriller yet...a novel that will fly up the bestseller lists and surely satisfy her huge legion of fans.

Nick Gonnella

I love this book! I have already read it over 4 times now, and I still come back again and again to re-read it. I love Milla, and how strong she is after her son is stolen, her dedication to finding him. And I think Diaz complments her character so well. This is a gripping book that is impossible to put down once you've started it, and I mean that even when I've already read it once or twice. I STILL can't put it down! Linda Howard grabs your heartsrings at the very beginning and pulls them along throughout the whole book, and at the end you're bawling. Trust me, I've cried buckets over this book. Here's my advice, go buy this book and keep it close to you...you'll want to read it again. ENJOY!!

Imagine one fine day walking around a local Mexican market, browsing around, holding your precious six-week-old baby. You think you're the luckiest woman alive having been blessed with a healthy baby and a gorgeous and intelligent husband who adores you. Then out of the blue, two men try to snatch your baby from your arms. You keep on fighting until one of them stabs you and they leave you for dead...

Ten years ago, that horrific day happened to Milla Edge. When she was brought into the hospital, her chance of survival was nearly zero. Yet through sheer will and determination, she lived. That was how she got through - by simply refusing to give in. While her ex-husband moved on with his life, while others, even her own family, have advised her to do the same, Milla never gave up her search for Justin. Founder and director of Finders, she continues to search for him, along with hundreds of other children who share that same fate as him. And finally, it looks like she is close to uncovering the truth. But in order for her to do so, she has no choice but to join forces with the mysterious Diaz - a man with secrets, a man with his own agenda.

Diaz has always lived and worked alone. Yet for reason he cannot explain, he finds himself doing things he's never done before since meeting Milla. Always careful about divulging details about his life, Milla softens him; so much, that he will risk anything to be with her.

CRY NO MORE is a heart wrenching story of a woman's perilous journey to find her son. Linda Howard has created an intense and fast-paced tale with complex characters and emotional story that will thug at your heart. I couldn't help but feel and share Milla's pain - the anguish, torment and yearning. I desperately wanted for her to find happiness. Diaz is an enigma. He is perfectly portrayed as the hard-hearted and sinister hero who wants to help the heroine overcome the sadness that has been her life for the past ten years. After that heartbreaking meeting towards the end, I cried and I felt sad for both Milla and Diaz.

I can go on and on about this story, but let me just say that this is one of Linda Howard's best. The heroine is one of the most courageous characters you'll ever read. A definite must read!

I have read every book published by Linda Howard. I got this one as soon as it was released and read it in one afternoon/evening. Since other reviewers have recapped the story I won't do that again but I wanted to share how this book touched me.

If you like a book that makes you literally 'feel' the emotions of the heroine right to your core you will love this book. As another reviewer mentioned, I also cried my way through the last section of the book. Linda Howard with her amazing writing skill made me feel like I had suffered the loss right along with Milla. I could not put the book down even though I had trouble reading it through the tears. This book needs 10 stars in my opinions... Buy a large box of tissues when you get this book, you will need them!

Having been a huge fan of Ms Howards work over the years I greatly look forward to and anticipate each release.

In Cry No More Ms Howard has written a powerfully moving account of one woman's driven, almost obsessive search to track down and find the son who was snatched from her arms ten years before. In doing so she loses her husband, some of her family and as the tale progresses, almost her life.

This was no cosy tale of romance - the genre that I and other fans buy her for and if you buy this novel expecting that, then you will be disappointed. It does'nt make the tale less, but there was a dark edge that permeated the whole book and in some places made it heavy going. It was certainly a different style than all her previous works and was more mainstream women's fiction for that.

Howard did touch on a relationship between Milla and another of the characters, but it was certainly secondary to the main story and at times I felt that a more even balance could have been achieved, to satisfy both her "core" fans and her new ones.

Another thing - the main storyline so overwhelmed the other plot elements of the book, that they were'nt wrapped up at the end and subsequently it left you feeling vaguely dissatisfied.

However, overall, it's an evocative, emotionally heartrending tale of strength and courage against adversity ,but it is'nt a Howard romance.

I read to amuse myself, to escape everyday's miseries and dramas. When I watch a movie, or read a book I want to be entertained, amused and happy. I can't imagine anything more stupid than actually spending money in order to get scared (which is why I refuse to watch horror movies) or to get sad (which is why I stay away from dramas).

So this book came as a curve ball to me. I cried... I actually cried. I embarrassed myself in front of people because there I was, with a book - incidentally called CRY NO MORE - CRYING. You do NOT understand, I DO NOT CRY reading books!

So that is why, dear fellow amazon shopper, I just HAD to knock a star off this review, because I am extremely upset that I had to shed tears for a made up story about a kidnapped child and the consequences that his mother must face. I am not even a mother, yet I actually felt miserable, depressed, angry beyond words, raging at the injustice of it all. Because deep down I know... I know that even though this is a work of fiction we live in such a hard and ugly world that I KNOW stuff like that DOES happen. That is precisely why I refuse to spend money to get scared or depressed by made up stories, there is enough happening to scare you or depress you in REAL LIFE.

I started this book because I was looking for a romance. I wanted to lose myself in the fantasy of another perfect romance. I got that. I got a wonderful hero in Diaz. He is this brooding, aggressive, powerful yet adorable man. He falls head over heels with Milla... and honestly, so did I. She makes any other romance novel "damsel in distress" pale in comparison. Talk about distress: she lost her baby. HER CHILD. She was knifed down in a market and her beautiful baby boy stolen.

Milla dedicates her life towards finding her son and incidentally ends up fighting for everyone else's lost someone. Ten years go by, nothing to go on her lost baby; dead ends everywhere, nobody knows anything, and it seems everyone else has given up on her baby, and worse, on her.
Then Diaz walks into her office one morning and he's just... I don't even know how to describe him, he's more than Milla's hero, he's her angel... no.. he's her ANSWER.

Finally Milla has a track to follow to her lost son Justin, and the best man alive to help her along it. Adventure follows, danger, and some of the best sex on paper out there.

Anything else I may tell you qualifies as spoilers so I can't go on, but trust me, as angry as I was for the crying part I still gave this book 4 stars because it was perfect.

Is it a happy ending? I don't know, I guess it's as happy as can possibly be expected given the first 30 pages... But happy? No. I'm not happy. I doubt any of the readers are happy.

I'm not unhappy because of the book, the book is good, it is life that sucks.

I've read a few of Linda Howard's books, and this is one is the best so far! The characters were wonderfully developed and had great interaction. I was getting tired of the romantic suspense formula and this book is a great break! It still is RS, but the story goes to a deeper level and truly becomes a work of art. Please don't hesitate to get this book, and a box of tissues while your at it!

Once again Ms. Howard transcends the romantic/suspense genre with her newest and IMO one of her best novels. This is an untouched and mostly avoided subject in this genre. The fact that the heroine suffers a great blow when her infant is abducted in Mexico and sold into a baby-ring.
I have not read any other romance author breach this unspeakable crime that is such a problem! What I loved about this story was the fact that Milla, the heroine, did not come away 'unscathed' and did not whine and become weak for it. She became fierce and determined and so inspiring.
I wouldn't label this particular story 'romantic/suspense' in the fact that it didn't have too much suspense, it was more of an intense drama with a little romance thrown in. Not that that is a bad thing, lol, its great. But for those looking for something along the lines of her previous novels labeled the same, such as 'Now you See Her,' 'Mr. Perfect' and 'Dream Man,' this is a little more like 'All the Queen's Men' in its drama aspect.

Milla Edge never imagined her life could so completely fall apart so fast as it did one hot and nightmarish morning in a tiny town in Mexico when her infant son was snatched from her arms and she was attached so viscously she thought she'd die.
With only her doctor husband to save her she took months to recover and by then, it was too late to find her son.
Gone. Into thin air.
Milla could not live with herself knowing he was out there somewhere, so with her newfound soul strength and determination, she let everything in her life become nothing, including her husband and began a relentless search for the truth and uncovers a baby-smuggling ring far beyond what she imagines. She starts a small volunteer group called 'Finders' which she needs donations to fund and helps others find their own lost ones and in the meantime still searches for her son.
Ten years later she gets a lead....
Danger and corruption are everywhere and one name whispers to her in the chaos. James Diaz. Is he the one eyed man she needs to find to find her baby?
Diaz is no more than a terrified whisper among the criminals in and around El Paso and the border towns. Determined to find him, Milla risks her life to find the 'Tracker' as he is known as.
Soon she teams up with Diaz, doing anything to find her son and never questions what he really does for a living but suspects it isn't legal, but he is her only hope. Unraveling a twisted ring Milla finds this goes beyond just small criminals, it reaches above the highest groups.
With only Diaz for help she infiltrates this seedy establishment and is about to crack it wide open, but not before a lethal assassin has her in his crosshairs...

Calling all you Linda Howard fans, this is another winner!!! The heroine is very real and very determined. It is rare that I admire a heroine as much as this one. She is so selfless I was impressed.
Diaz is so compelling and myterious you will find yourself trying to figure him out. Very worthy hero to our heroine. Kudos to you Ms. Howard!

Tracy Talley~@