Customer Reviews

Dark Summer

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(18)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Johansen has a couple types of books out there, and she appears to be adding a third that I think is the weakest of the lot. First, and strongest in my opinion, are her Eve Duncan books, which are basically thrillers. The writing tends to be tight and the plots well-considered. Even when there's a romantic element, it's not the focus of the book. Then there are her romantic suspense novels, which are different, but also good. They move more slowly, but the relationships are well developed.

Unfortunately, I haven't been so pleased with the last couple of books (Dark Summer and Pandora's Daughter), which are romantic suspense in the very paranormal genre. It's almost as if Johansen is juggling too many things at once--romance, suspense, psychic abilities.

Dark Summer returns to a subject (and some characters) Johansen has explored in previous novels, that of search and rescue dogs and their owners. This time, however, the paranormal element (which has appeared in the background in previous books) is paramount. Both the romance/character development and the suspense seem to have been relegated to second fiddle. The plot is loose, even sketchy at times. It moves along quickly enough, but very little actually *happens,* which is frustrating. Characters wander around in the fictional landscape without serving much purpose.

This book also seems to have been written/edited rather quickly--there are grammatical errors and sloppy writing I am not used to from Johansen. HOWEVER, the copy I read was an ARC, not an actual sales copy of the book, and the edits may be made before the book goes to print.

All this sounds as if the book is just ghastly. It's not. Not at all. In fact, even though it's not up to Johansen's usual standards, it's better than much of the paranormal romantic suspense out there. The plot is new and different, most of the dialog is natural (though sometimes it would really benefit from an editing), and it's a quick read.

Fans of Iris Johansen (and yes, I am one) know what to expect from her books. This one is not disappointing.

Devon Brady is a vet who also does search-and-rescue missions with her dog, Gracie. On one mission she is asked to use her medical skills to treat a wounded dog, a black Lab who has been shot. The dog's owner (the obligatory unpleasant-seeming man with the heart of gold and mysterious past) leaves the dog in her care and disappears.

Devon has just been brought into a suspensful situation that combines grasping, evil people, and people who are not all they seem, and people who are MORE than they seem, and four wonderful, talented dogs.

The 'Dogs of Summer', as they are called, have abilities that give them value beyond measure, and of course there is a struggle for control of these dogs by people whose motives vary greatly.

Ms Johansen's books have no deep meaning, no message, no lesson to be learned. They're just flat out fun to read. This one is no different, and I really enjoyed the ride!

The story is fun -- a plucky Veterinarian with an unhappy past has made a good life for herself, an assortment of rescued animals and a couple of rescue humans. Enter our hero, a passionate man with a tragic past and a very special dog of his own, not to mention a secret that could change the world. Hero is, of course, pursued by a sadistic and megalomaniac villain. The plot has all the right elements -- danger, romance, true friendships and betrayal.

While definitely worth reading, one can't help but notice that the book would have been SO much better with well-written dialogue and believable character development. The dialogue, and, indeed, much of the prose, is clumsy and wooden. And the characters are too one-dimensional; a villain with whom you have a little empathy and protagonists with whom you can somewhat identify are so much easier to care about.

I would have loved this book if it had been done with the careful prose of Martha Grimes or James D. Doss. And I know from other books by this author that she is capable of better than this. Perhaps we can look forward to more from these characters, written with more care and consideration?

I have read other of Iris Johansen's books and expected to really like this one. I was in for a big disapointment. Some books have a slow start and then kick into gear and get good. This one was the opposite. I enjoyed the first couple chapters but the farther I got into the book, the less I liked it. By the end, I was just waiting for it to be over.

The book has two aspects, the relationship between Jude Marrok and Devon Brady and the mystery/suspense/action surrounding the "dogs of summer." The relationship part of the plot never worked for me. For a romance to work, the reader has to want the couple to overcome all obstacles and get together. Jude was not a likeable (or even sexy) hero to me. He had major unresolved issues that didn't appear to be worked out during the book. And his idea of wooing Devon was to growl about how they were going to eventually have sex. I wanted Devon to kick Jude where it hurts and tell him to leave her alone.

It took a little longer for me to lose interest in the mystery of the dogs, but that plot line eventually turned into such a jumble of unbelievable circumstances and hocus pocus that I completely gave up caring what happened. And when I finally got to what I thought was the end, the last chapter took the ridiculousness factor up another notch.

Finally, I got sick of Jude and some of the bad characters referring to Jude as a "half breed" because he was half Apache and half Spanish. The bad characters were already written with nasty and violent tendencies, it was overkill to have them be talk that way too. And Jude's self loathing was part of his issues that didn't seem to be resolved during the book.

All in all, I wish I could have the time I spent reading this book back.

I don't think I have ever read a book that was more ridiculous than Dark Summer. The story begins when Jude Marrock's dog is shot during a search and rescue mission in the Caribbean. He rushes the injured dog to a vet and there is all this mystery surrounding the dog. You won't find out why the stupid dog is so important until the middle of the book. Yet, you are supposed to be on the edge of your seat because the "bad guys" are trying to hunt down Jude's dog throughout the entire book.

The readers are also treated to a lame romance between Jude and Devon. Why on earth would a woman who just got out of an abusive relationship want to get involved with a man who is practically a ticking bomb? Jude Marrock comes across as a perv and a psycho. When he suddenly decides that he finds Devon attractive, he repeatedly tells her slimey things like "I'll make it good for you". The so called romance just was just creepy.

Last, but not least, if I hadn't seen a picture of the author in the back of the book I would gave guessed that a teeanger wrote this book. The writing was just HORRIBLE. The readers are treated to dialogue like "give it to me" and "I'll make it good for you". I will admit that the idea behind the book was interesting, but the author butchered her brilliant idea with her sloppy writing.

The ONLY reason I read this book is because my husband gave it to me as a gift, and I didn't want to hurt his feelings by tossing it in the nearest trash can. After reading his selection, he has been banned from buying me any more books.

Veterinarian Devon Brady has taken her rescue greyhound to help find earthquake victims on a Caribbean island. She meets enigmatic Jude Marrok and his black Lab Ned there when Ned takes a sniper's bullet and she treats his injury. Little does Devon know that this act of kindness will disrupt her life to its core. Jude and Ned live their lives on the run, and because Jude leaves Ned with Devon while he tracks down the man who shot him, Devon is pulled into the fray. When Jude returns to retrieve Ned once Devon is back home near Denver, he brings danger with him in the form of a man named Danner who will do anything he can to get his hands on Ned and three other dogs Jude has in his care called the dogs of summer.

These dogs were all part of an experiment by Jude's mentor, an Apache shaman who gave them an elixir that made them impervious to disease and allowed them to heal incredibly quickly. Ned is over 30 years old and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. Danner wants to get his hands on Ned and the other three dogs of summer so that he can kill them, autopsy their bodies, and hopefully get his hands on a panacea that will make him rich and powerful beyond his wildest dreams. Jude will do anything in his power, and kill anyone necessary, to stop him. Devon winds up joining forces with them once Jude finally gets around to telling her what's going on, and they're all in danger not only from Danner, but from the MI6 agent who has been helping Jude hide the dogs, as well as Devon's crazy ex-husband.

This might be a great novel for anyone who eats meat but won't wear leather. Anyone else might find it as ridiculously dumb as I did. I might have been able to forgive the Disneyesque premise had this novel been written with any sort of skill, but the author trotted out every obvious, overused romance device in existence to tell the story. Jude is misunderstood and wounded. He's also half-Apache, apparently so that some of the characters can show us their unpleasant side by referring to him as a half-breed, and so that he'll have an excuse to viciously kill without compunction. I guess that isn't at all racist. Devon is a softie with a heart of gold who can't stop thinking about a German shepherd she once had, but doesn't waste much time on her current dog. She starts falling for Jude immediately because he's so enigmatic, and because there's some sexual tension between them that's described as skillfully as a car wreck. Jude offs a number of bad guys along the way, but I guess it's okay to kill people if they deserve it for possibly planning to harm an animal. Don't get me wrong; I love animals and own a wonderful German shepherd. (Note to the author: German shepherds do not enjoy fetching for hours, as they consider it a pointless act that detracts from their main job of guarding the perimeter. Retrievers love to fetch.) It's just that I'm a realist who thinks that human life is valuable, and I don't consider murder for the sake of helping a dog justifiable. That is not my only bone of contention, however. Devon's psychotic ex-husband and his role are just plain stupid, and Devon's retarded actions where he's concerned made me want to throw the book out the window. I guess the author didn't want to deviate from following the Romance Novel 101 formula that should have been retired in the 80's. This novel was so filled with tired, cumbersome plot devices that had me rolling my eyes, I could barely keep them on the page.

Since I see her name all over bookstores these days, I wanted to give Iris Johansen a shot. From now on, I'll pass. I enjoy romantic suspense, but this book was a ridiculous, predictable, utter waste of time.

Although it's not my nature to give up on a book less than half way through, I simply could not get into the plot or identify with the characters....except for Ned, the dog....

Characters were killed.....for no fault of their own....and after about 10 minutes of grieving or even thinking about them, those friends were forgotten.

I was anxious to begin since I've read other books by Johansen and really enjoyed them.

I don't like to give a negative report but I believe 3 stars is actually more than it deserves.

Seeing a lot of Iris Johanson's books in bookstores, I decided to try this book when it was offered on Amazon Vine. The book started out well enough...a mysterious man named Jude Marrok working with his incredible dog to help rescue earthquake victims. When his dog gets shot, Marrok finds veterinarian Devon Brady and enlists her help in healing the dog. He also leaves the dog in her care, and creates an end to the stability of her current life. After being saved by Marrok, she soon finds that she has no life to return to, and must help him protect the secrets that others are willing to destroy to acquire.

Normally, I don't have a lot of problems keeping characters names straight while reading a book. Maybe the book didn't grab my attention enough, but the use of names throughout the book (Marrok, Danner, Ned, Devon, etc) just added to my frustration and irritation. While the story itself had an interesting premise, it never really fully developed for me. The story unfolded choppily, and by the time I knew what was going on, I didn't give a hoot about the human characters. Devon's ex-husband was a ridiculous and meaningless addition. Why was it that the women in this book had been in abusive relationships in the past? Was that part really necessary? I found it distracting, and not at all needed to tell this story. The only redeeming quality was the animals...and even their roles were diminished toward the conclusion.

If you enjoy other books by this author, you may want to give this book a try. It just was not my cup of tea.

Her editor needs to reign her in. Her last two books have had at least one of her characters exclaiming "dammit" in almost every conversation! Didn't waste my time counting, but it was a ridiculous amount - I was saying a lot more than that every time I came across another one. Perhaps she thinks it's cute; it's not, it's "damn" annoying. I will not waste my time on another one of her books. Too many authors, too little time.

Iris Johansen is a well known mystery writer, and having read other books of hers (most recently "Stalemate"), I was surprised at how disengaged I was reading this latest book. While the plot had all the signature elements to make this a good novel, somehow it all just felt flat, and I suppose this must be attributed to the characters who populate this book. They just didn't stand up to the strength of the material. As I read along, I kept thinking the characters would become more interesting or their motivations would be more completely revealed. Unfortunately, it just never held together, like a sauce where the ingredients separate.

The story begins with two people working with their dogs on a search-and-rescue mission. Jude Marrok's dog Ned is shot while searching for survivors, and Devon Brady is the attending vet at the makeshift hospital on site. Jude Marrok starts off as a demanding bully and never really allows his humanity to seep through. When he uses Devon Brady to get his dog off the island and into her care back in the States, their relationship is cemented. However, all Marrok can bring to Brady is trouble.

Brady already has her own share of trouble in the form of a stalker ex-husband, who also happens to be a cop. Marrok is being chased by any number of villains, but two in particular (one from British intelligence and one that is never really explained satisfactorily). Marrok is also Native American, and there is a subplot about his childhood and training under a shaman, whose work with potions is linked to the dogs in Jude`s care.

Even with all this potentially interesting information, the characters never really take hold on the reader's emotions. It's like watching scene after scene, yet never really caring what the outcome will be. Moreover, the romantic relationship between the two main characters seems flawed from the outset; is Brady's new partner (Marrok) so much better than her ex-husband? Clearly the author intends readers to think so, but didn't buy it. It just seemed an extension of her troubles.

The central plot line and source of trouble throughout the book focuses on the special properties of the dogs in Marrok's care (the only creatures he truly seems to care for). All the villains have their own intended use for the dogs, but only Marrok and Brady really seem able to protect them, but this is just not enough to make their romance believable or sustainable for readers. For those who stick with the book, there is an interesting twist at the end, but I suspect that few will think it`s been worth the journey to get there.