Customer Reviews

Dark Pursuit

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

When Brandilyn Collins trademarked her books Seatbelt Suspense, she set a high standard for herself. For those who wear their seatbelts out reading Brandilyn's books, Dark Pursuit, her most recent novel, will not disappoint.

Kaitlan Sering is twenty- years old, has reformed from a life of drug abuse and rebuilt herself. She has her own successful hair salon business, a great boyfriend, her own house, and a dead woman in her bed. Kaitlan must make a difficult decision. She returns to her estranged grandfather's house. He is the grandfather she stole from to support her drug habit, and who is known the world over for his great suspense novels. When Kaitlan discovers evidence that her charming boyfriend is the murderer of the woman in her house and two other women in town, she knows she must trust her angry, memory- challenged grandfather with her life and that of her unborn child.

With finesse and skill Brandilyn Collins lures her readers into a sense of comfort knowing the grandfather will come through with the perfect pan for capturing the killer while keeping Kaitlan safe. Then she completely throws all previously perceived solutions to the wind testing to be sure the readers' seatbelts are securely fastened. From the opening page until the end the reader travels a journey with Kaitlan that will frighten and challenge. Go ahead, buy the book, open the first page . . . but first, be sure your calendar is clear, your lights are on, and your seatbelt is tight.

I recently read a book in which the primary premise was a 35 year old supermodel playing Major League Baseball. No matter how good the book was, I was never going to like it, because the possibility of a 35 year old woman playing in the big leagues stretched even the bounds of fiction. I had a similar feeling reading Dark Pursuit. Collins is a good author and I enjoyed her Kanner Lake Series. But the first few chapters of Dark Pursuit paint a scenario, a set up, a situation, so implausible, so ludicrous, and so unbelievable, it was hard to enjoy the rest of the book even though it was well written and had some good twists and turns. Kaitlan comes home and discovers a dead body. She's shocked and confused. She also finds a pen inscribed with "Craig," her boyfriend's name. There's only one way the pen could have gotten there. Craig had been in her apartment. Could Craig have killed the dead woman now lying on her bed? Craig, a police deputy, calls her and asks her where she is. Kaitlan makes a split second decision to lie and say she wasn't at home. Deep in her heart, she fears Craig may be the killer. She can't go to the police because Craig's father is the chief of police. So, she turns to her estranged grandfather, Darrel Brooke. Her grandfather is known as the King of Suspense, and has been writing bestselling novels for decades. A recent head injury has made it harder to write. Kaitlan hopes Darrel's career in writing supsense novels can help her figure out what to do. Darrel hopes he can save his granddaughter's life and along the way find the inspiration and plot for a new novel. Oh, and Kaitlan is pregnant with Craig's child.

In the Kanner Lake series, Collins created an ensemble cast and as I read, each character became a living breathing person. In Dark Pursuit, there are only 3 main characters, and none of them made sense. We know immediately that police deputy Craig is the killer. There is never any indication why Kaitlan would ever see anything in this man to like. Yet she was with him long enough to get pregnant. Kaitlan also quickly surmises Craig is the killer because she saw his pen in her apartment. She never stopped to think he might have left it there one of the 100 previous times he was there. Then there is the senile, hateful Darrell Brook, who is struggling to break the writer's block and write his 100th novel. He uses Kaitlan's ordeal to get the inspiration needed to write the novel. Nothing in Dark Pursuit is taken seriously. Many reviewers pointed out the silly plot yet gave the book 5 stars. I just couldn't do that. The plot is unbelievable as are the character's motivations and reactions.

This review is primarily for readers that have never read Collins before. I have no doubt that her fans will find plenty to like in this book. For those considiring reading Collins, I strongly you suggest you start with the Kanner Lake series, where each book is heads and shoulders above Dark Pursuit.

Suspense novelist Darell Brooke and his granddaughter Kaitlan Sering have been estranged for several years ever since demon drugs took over her life. He refused to pay for her addiction and displaying tough love kicked her out of his life though that broke his heart.

Two years ago Darell was severely injured in a car accident that has impacted his mental acumen as he struggles with memory and focus. He has not written anything since and has become an acrimonious grumpy hermit. On the other hand, the twentyish Kaitlan has rebounded starting with kicking the habit, obtaining a decent job and has a nice boyfriend Craig Barlow, the son of the police chief Russ Barlow, whom she has been seeing for three months and is carrying his child.

Excited and praying Craig will be too when she tells him she is pregnant, she finds a dead fortyish female in her bed. She wonders if Craig killed the woman, but soon has worse issues as the police deem her the only viable suspect. No longer trusting Craig or his dad, she flees to her grandfather for help, not knowing who else she can turn to if he rejects her. However, the king of suspense no longer has the sharp mind his granddaughter remembers; she fears she is endangering him too, but Darell needs to be there for his Kaitlan.

This is an exciting criminal thriller starring a strong ensemble cast anchored by the heroine in trouble. The story line is fast-paced from the moment Kaitlan sees the corpse in her bed and never slows down as the police and her fiance go after her while she and her befuddled grandfather push back hoping to break Craig. Although one critical spin seems unlikely, fans will relish the aptly named DARK PURSUIT, as family right or wrong is always family.

Harriet Klausner

Up until now, Crimson Eve, book 3 in the Kanner Lake Series, has been my favorite of Brandilyn Collin's books. Dark Pursuit matched Crimson Eve in intensity and often surpassed it. The characterization is deep and multifaceted. This is a book you don't want to put down. So be prepared to get sucked in. Definitely a great read.

This story was lightweight. Figured out the antagonist quickly. Characters did not react realistically to the situations. Stubborn is one thing but acting in conflict with safety for yourself is just too careless. Do not recommend.

Very dissapointing book! No flow to the story...weak plot and drags along. Didn't even finish the book!

Well...I was hoping that this book would be better than the other Collins book "Exposure"...it was, BUT only SLIGHTLY. I'm thinking that some editing could/should have been done. I was disappointed, as the two Collins novels were rated #1 and #2 on Amazon's Kindle list...I'm thinkin' that was ONLY because they were FREE! I will definitely NOT be buying, nor reading any Brandilyn Collins novels...

I thought the first two thirds of the book were great page-turning suspense but then I hit the last third. I find it ironic that the underlying theme of the book was about the many twists and turns of a great suspense novel yet the the last third of the book provided just the opposite. While not giving away any spoilers, let me just say that the bad guy and his actions were totally perdictable (albiet pretty dumb given the earlier character build-up) and the "twist" came out of nowhere with no pre-rational for consideration within the plot. It's like everyone sitting around for hours playing the board game "Clue" trying to fiqure out who did it, where they did it, and with what weapon; only to find out the real answer was the deceased killed by a cosmic ray from an alien spaceship that was never included in the factual possibilities.

This was my first Brandilyn Collins book, and I'll admit I took it only because it was free when I got it. Wow would be an understatement. This was an excellent read, well written, storyline a little improbable, but one that did keep you reading and wondering. I literally could not put this book down, and I'm getting ready to start my second Brandilyn Collins book, Violet Dawn. I'm hoping this one will be as good as the first.

I found her writing to be very good, the characters were well described, so that you had a sense and feel for them. They weren't shallowly written or described. While I admit the storyline might have been a little "out there" once or twice, you couldn't help but scratch your head a couple of times, but it was well woven and it kept you intrigued throughout the book. I can't think of one spot where it dragged or bored me. I didn't find it confusing or vague, and it isn't a book that jumps from character to character or locale to locale leaving you wondering what the heck was going on. I knew at all times what was going on and to whom; I was continually wondering (and almost worrying) about what was going to happen next and to whom!

This is a great read; well written, easy to read, suspenseful, and thought provoking. The only thing I'll say about the ending, and this is not a spoiler, is that I was stunned, surprised, shocked (pick one!), and I think that was the author's intent all along. You truly believe you know the ending, but I'm telling you,it's not what you might think.

I'm glad I read it and will read more from this author. Thank you for taking the time to read my review.

Dark Pursuit brings world famous King of Suspense Darell Brooke's granddaughter back into his life. Darell's estranged granddaughter, Kaitlan, finds a body in her apartment, and she knows it's her boyfriend who killed the woman-and he is a policeman. Kaitlan turns to her grandfather in hopes that he will not turn her away AND offer her the help she needs to prove her boyfriend is guilty. The problem is Darell was in an accident that left his mind and body slow and hasn't written a book in years. Kaitlan doesn't know if Darell is capable of creating a cunning plan to help her or what his motivation would be. This was an excellent book with a fabulous ending.

What I liked: Everything! I definitely recommend reading this if you like suspense!
What I disliked: Nothing!

Thank you Zondervan for providing me a copy to review.