Customer Reviews

Dead Shot

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

 

 

I read this book and right from the beginning, I was thinking: "What the H... is going on here?" In order to capture a killer from her past, Gillian decides to become a world famous photographer. Okay, I guess that's easy enough to do. Who cares if she has any talent or not. She just needs to be a famous photographer so she can draw a killer out by taking and displaying pictures of murders with herself as the victim. Talk about having patience to make a plan work!! Then, people start dying as a serial killer recreates the pictures Gillian puts on display. Thank you, Gillian for goading a serial killer into commiting more murders and then giving suggestions on how to do his work. No wonder people picket her art displays. Gillian is as much responsible for the murders as the killer. Would Jack McCoy on Law and Order have a field day with this scenario or what? So this plan is hatched, knowing that success depends on Gillian's photos becoming well renowned as great art, and then the killer must see the pictures to draw him out into the open. Fortunately the plan included stumbling into a hunk of a rogue ex-cop to assist Gillian in her plan. Really, who has this kind of patience? Would you really want to hatch a plan of revenge that takes like years on the one in a million chance that it might work at all? No, maybe hire a real investigator to do some real investigating. This plot was just stupid. Well, maybe stupid is the wrong word. How about dumb, moronic, idiotic or just plain nuts? Sorry, but I saw nothing in this book to recommend it. Unpleasant characters and a ridiculous plot make this one a big miss for me.

Ok, so our heroine decides to become a famous controversial artist by creating photographs that depict her dead by various methods and in various settings. She does this to draw out the man who murdered her mother years ago - a man she only vaguely remembers in her nightmares. She gets protection from an ex-cop who is still hung up on his ex-wife's family (yes her family).

As you can sort of tell from the very short synopsis above, I wasn't crazy about the characters. I sort of see where Gillian is coming from about wanting to catch her mother's killer and trying to draw him out, but it was never explained why she thought that pictures of her dead would do draw this guy out. Not to mention her behavior is suicidal and crazy. I didn't like her at all. And her grandparents were way odd, and never really explained, I just couldn't decide if I liked them or not. And Ray was just annoying, masochistic and wishy-washy. They both sort of had potential but just floundered around. There was just way too many random things going on - the deal about Gillian's father identity, her mother's murder, Ray's ex-wife's family, Ray's idiotic behavior, etc.

Very definitely the worst books I've read by this author. I would not recommend it at all. The only reason I gave it two stars is because I actually finished it (albeit skimming some towards the end). And for some reason I saw potential in the plot if not the execution. I tried other books by this author and while they are not the best books I've ever read they are acceptable. Try one of those - especially the more recent ones. Skip this one, lots of plot holes, too many loose strings and poor follow through.

The heroine, Gillian, is an obnoxious, self obsessed rich girl who does her best to endanger and infuriate everyone around her, while being lauded and hated for her "art" - faux crime scene photos of a particularly gory kind. Our hero is a mildly likeable ex-cop body guard who can't let go of his ex-wife and her family, but nevertheless masochistically keeps returning to help out Gillian, as she stupidly runs headlong into danger, without any semblance of rational thought. Even scaring her frail grandmother into two near heart attacks doesn't elicit an apology or moment of self-examination from our overprivileged bubble head of a heroine. The only pain, feelings, or goals that matter are her own, even though they show no evidence of depth or intelligence.

The serial killer was a cardboard cut out, given no motivation whatsoever for his acts. He was the most sympathetic character of them all, and by the time I was a third of the way through the book I was rooting for him, but alas, he did not prevail.

THIS BOOK WAS VERY DIFFICULT TO FINISH.THE HEROINE IN THE STORY WAS OBNOXIOUS,THE PLOT WAS RIDICULOUS AND YOU FOUND YOURSELF NOT REALLY LIKING ANY OF THE CHARACTERS. I PURCHASED THIS AFTER READING ALL OF THE AUTHORS PREVIOUS WORK,AND FIGURED IT WOULD BE AS GOOD AS HER OTHERS.

To say that I was impressed by this book is an understatement. You always know, as a reader, that a book is good when at the close the book, you immediately get the yen to go to the bookstore and find more on the author's work. Which is what happened to me and I blogged about that on Sunday. In fact, while I am generally opposed to epilogues, I thought this one could have used one. Or more rightly, I wished I could have read more about the couple. I guess there is something to be said for always wanting to leave your fans wanting more.

While this story is a romance and it is a suspense, it is about something more. It's about facing your demons, even if that demon is you. It's about moving on when your entire life is being controlled by the past. It's about two people, imperfect and incomplete going through life but not really living it, finding understanding in each other.

Gillian Gray is a famous photographer whose work portrays grisly death scenes. She is known as the Death Diva and is hated and reviled as much as she is feted and revered. Gillian's work was inspired by a childhood trauma which involved finding her beautiful mother's dead body, mutilated by a killer. Part of Gillian believes that her work will flush out the never found killer. She wants to bait the murdered into coming after her, for only then will she ever have peace. Gillian returns to Nashville, her hometown, for a showing of her work at a new museum sponsored by her grandparents. While there, someone begins to re-enact Gillian's "Dead Shots." This increases Gillian's guilt and ire exponentially and she begins to do more and more to egg the killer into finding her.

Ray Pearce is a former detective who offers security services to high end clients. He is paid well, but his soul misses the work he did on the force. Like Gillian, Ray can't quite let go of the past. He has no family and his ex-wife's family became his own. He takes care of his ex-father-in-law; misses the comradery of his ex-brother-in-law; longs for the feelings of being married.

Ray is hired to handle the museum detail for Gillian's show. When Gillian is attacked, however, Ray is hired to continue to protect her against both Ray and Gillian's desire. Gillian's desire to foment the murderer conflicts directly against Ray's desire to protect her person. This conflict leads to several heated arguments and one very heated physical confrontation.

The main problem I had with the book is that the attempts to make the reader believe certain people are the killers were, um, weak. There was one scene featuring the killer's POV which I thought was unnecessary and didn't fit the flow of the overall story. However, the last few chapters I read with my heart in my throat. B+

WOW I couldn't believe when I picked up this book how much I would love it.

Annie Solomon is a superb writer weaving a story of mystery murder and my fave topic romance :)

I love the characters of Gillian and Ray but their are secondary characters who also are interesting to read.

I would equate Annie Solomons writing as a mixture of Iris Johansen, Lisa Jackson with some Lisa Gardner thrown in for good measure.

I have already purchased two more of this authors books Blackout and Blind Curve and am looking to purchase 3 more.

People either love or loathe the gruesome self-portraits of photographer Gillian Gray. However, she has only one person that she wants to provoke, the culprit who murdered her mother years ago while she was nearby. She wants this unknown beast to come after her, which is why she has allowed a showing of her work in Nashville at the Gray Visual Arts Center sponsored by her wealthy grandparents.

Carleco Security is assigned to protect Gillian especially from protestors who might turn violent. When an incident occurs during the opening gala, former cop turned personal security specialist Ray Pearce reacts instantly; no one is hurt, but Gillian's grandparents demand he personally keeps her safe. Her message to the killer has reached someone as people are being murdered and posed to emulate Gillian's images. As a confrontation seems in the works shortly, Ray and Gillian fall in love, but first she must complete her quest and he must keep her safe by preventing her from completing her quest.

DEAD SHOT is an exciting romantic suspense thriller starring two individuals who differ on her quest with he worried about her safety while she offers herself as a target. The story line focuses on the relationship between these stubborn lead protagonists. Though using herself to coax out her mother's killer, who may be dead after all this time, seems a stretch, no one will care deeply as Annie Solomon hooks her audience with the first spilled blood and never lets go until the final DEAD SHOT reckoning occurs.

Harriet Klausner

I could not put this book down. It caught me from the first and held my attention to the last page.

Gillian Gray, is a different kind of heroine, she is determined to force the man who killed her mother to come and try to kill her. She is not totally sane, but she is convincingly injured. Her mind has been torn and scarred by the murder. As a child of 8 she finds her mother dead on the kitchen floor and sees the murderer, who growls out a warning to her as he leaves. Now as art she photographs murder scenes, that she stages. They are graphic and horrible for most people to look at. However, she is a very popular artist.

Ray Pearce is a former cop turned bodyguard. He quit the police dept for his wife, she never wanted him to become a cop, and then she leaves him for another man. For the last three years he has been unable to deal with the failure of his marriage and the loss of the family he had more than adopted. His ex-brother-in-law was his partner.

When he is assigned to guard Gillian we have two terribly, hurt people brought togather by circumstances. And Gillian doesn't want a bodyguard, she wants the killer to come after her and maybe even kill her, she wants closure. She has returned to Nashville for a exhibit at the museum, but her art has brought out protesters and now she finds herself forced to accept a bodyguard when she has not desired one. Both she and her secretary are trained to fight off assasins because she has been preparing for this oppertunity for most of her life. She fully expects to be attacked while she is in Nashville.

I found the story different, but enthralling and it kept my attention.These two characters touched my heart. Do not miss this one.

Every aspect of the transaction went well with the exception of the book itself. It was in what I would consider to be poor condition. It was readable that's about it. it was faded, yellowed, and curled.

In her pictures, she's been murdered. Gillian Gray is trying to draw out her mother's killer with her macabre photos. So far, she has only drawn the attention of the police and a security team. Ray Pierce is her bodyguard and very intent on keeping her alive, but Gillian is reckless and doesn't follow the rules, except the ones she has put in place for herself. Soon, bodies are being found...replicating her work. After Gillian tosses Ray aside, again, and the killer makes his move, will their tumultuous pasts keep them apart or will Ray make it back in time to save her?

Annie Solomon's books always draw me in and keep me glued to the pages and Dead Shot is no exception. Gillian is tormented by her past and is fearful of her future. Ray is haunted by his past and his future is uncertain. Together Gillian and Ray make an intense and often times volatile pair. Dead Shot kept me completely absorbed and on the edge of my seat waiting for what would come next.

Nannette reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed