Customer Reviews

Death Waits for You

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

 

 

I stumbled across Donna Anders by accident and am thrilled to have found such a wonderful writer. The chapters were short and suspenseful pulling me into the story line with every word written. Never, did I feel that the author was embarking with needless chitchat or useless information.

I almost stopped reading this novel with all the hints at vampires and supernatural creatures, but I am so glad that I pushed that aside and read on. Unlike some serial killer novels, the author did not focus on the killings themselves, but the stalking and mystery of uncovering a deep, dark secret in the Hawthorne family history. Lock your doors and windows if you're reading this one late into the night, because you never know when you'll get a little spooked just reading this fantastic book written by Donna Anders.
Summary:

Savannah Blum is excited to write a book about the wealthy Hawthorne family of New York. That is until she begins to uncover disturbing facts concerning the family history that may be connected to a thirty year old serial murder case. Someone is hunting her, warning Savannah to stop researching into the Hawthorne's past. Realizing that it may already be too late for that, Savannah quickly becomes the killers next victim in line to pay the price.
The Hawthorne's extremely handsome and sexy grandson, Simon is paying extra attention to Savannah and her inquiry into the family, but can he be trusted? Does he know more about the past than he admits? Is he really attracted to Savannah, or is Simon using the sexual attraction between them to get answers? It is up to Savannah to find the truth. Even if that means putting her own life in danger.

Is it worth buying?

Absolutely.
Some readers may not be captivated by the plot at first, but Donna Anders does a superb job of writing an excellent mystery that will keep the reader quickly turning pages. Can't wait to read more by this author.

Savannah Blum left Kansas City to move into her grandmother's apartment in Jersey City so she will be closer to the New York publishing industry. She wants to write a book; to do that full time she needs to have a job that will allow her the time to get her book finished. Her grandmother, who believes in her, introduces her to the wealthy Hawthorne family who lived the American dream, going from rags to riches when they immigrated to America.

They are willing to pay her thirty thousand dollars to write their history. She will have access to all the documents they have and will be able to interview the entire family. They are an eccentric lot with one person being a recluse, one a religious fanatic who doesn't want to have anything to do with her, a so called psychic who tells her she is in danger, and a sexy host who makes her forget about her boyfriend Tom. Someone fears she is getting too close to a family secret and they try to scare off by stalking her wearing a black cape, sending threatening letters and making malicious phone calls. A series of women are being tortured, mutilated and killed in the same manner as the slayings that occurred in 1979 with a Hawthorne victim being the last person the perp killed. Now many believe he is back and his target is Savannah who is getting too close to uncovering a dark truth.

Anyone who loves fantastic psychological suspense in the vein of Joy Fielding, Mary Higgins Clarke and P.J. Tracy will thoroughly enjoy DEATH WAITS FOR YOU. Even the most brilliant amateur sleuth won't know who the killer is or how the latest series of homicides relate to the ones over three decades ago. Donna Anders is one author who deserves an award nomination and should be on all the best seller lists.

Harriet Klausner

While Ms. Anders has a flair for mystery stories, she lacks a lot in her writing to keep the readers interest. I liked her stories ( I've read her last two books)but the writing seems juvenile to me. She goes into too much detail about the thoughts of her characters, I was pretty bored with both books and won't purchase any more unless she grows into an adult with more to offer than platitudes.

Another tragic case of a promising idea, badly executed.

The story concept is an interesting one, interesting enough that I forced myself to go into speed-read mode so I could finish it. Savannah Blum is an aspiring writer trying to make her way in New York, and to make ends meet and give her a little financial breathing room she jumps at the opportunity to write a history of a prominent New York family who happen to be friendly with Savannah's grandmother (with whom she's temporarily staying). Savannah finds that the job is more than she bargained for, however, when a terrifying, vampire-like creature begins stalking her and seems to be connected to a series of murders from both the present day and the past, and moreover, appear to have something to do with the Hawthornes themselves.

Sadly, it's written much like a fifth-grade primer. Even young adult fiction is not so dumbed-down! Right from the beginning the author feels the need to repeat the same information again and again. As an example, she tells us early on that `Tom' is Savannah's boyfriend, yet a chapter later feels compelled to write "Tom, her boyfriend" as if we didn't already grasp who he was. Beyond that, it was just very simplistic, the predictable love interest a yawn, and the characters very dull and cardboard. This seems to be par for the course with these `romantic suspense' books some of these publishing imprints are cranking out now, so I have a feeling I won't be dipping into any more of these for awhile, at least not until they raise the quality requirement.

This was the first book by Ms.Anders that I have read, and it will probably be the last. The story was very poorly written, the characters were either crazy or just plain boring, and the prose ~ forget it. I felt like I was reading something that a child wrote ~ hopefully at least a teen-aged child since for some reason Ms.Anders felt it necessary to add in profanity where is was not needed. Even the "romance" and scene where Simon and Savannah did the horizontal bop was boring and lacking in the sensuality dept. Aunt Mitzi (nice name) was portrayed as a kook, and Savannah's grandmother was just another dud in this story. I find it very hard to believe that an author such as Ann Rule recommends this author. This story was very juvenile and not scary in the least. Forget this poor excuse for a novel and you will not have to waste your time as I did.