Dusk Before Dawn [Paperback]

Mickee Madden (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1996

A recluse after the deaths of his wife and child, Roan Ingliss finds his seclusion at his Scottish mansion interrupted by the arrival of a beautiful American tourist stranded by a snowstorm and by the interference of Lachlan and Beth, a pair of mischievous ghosts. Original.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Pinnacle (March 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786002409
• ISBN-13: 978-0786002405
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 3.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,257,985 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It was haunting,unforgettable,and at the end,heart-breaking, October 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Dusk Before Dawn (Paperback)

While Dusk Before Dawn was not as instantaneously engrossing as its predeccesor, Everlasting,it did become more compelling in the second half.The mystical denoument was tragic and memorable, although I did feel a bit cheated since the terminal sentence of Everlasting promised that Beth and Lachlan would be around for a "very long time." Ironically,I found Laura more intriguing when she was possessed by her demonic alter-ego Tessa. The deep friendship between Roan and Lachlan was touching and very moving.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A ghost mystery that holds the reader captive., December 26, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (Downingtown, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dusk Before Dawn (Paperback)

I had read Everlastin' and expected the same story style in Dusk to Dawn. I was a bit disappointed that the romance was only touched upon, whereas the ghost and "hocus-pocus" was more prevalent. I was actually frightened at times and also slightly uncomfortable with how the story dealt so freely with fire and it's threat to the characters more than once. My only concern I have for Madden's writing style is that many things get left to hang and are never explained, such as the many fires that occur at this castle. It was confusing sometimes too when Madden had us dislike the main female, Laura and then have us love her. I never did relate to her or feel much for her. It was not like Beth in Everlastin' where her kindness made the reader care for her so quickly. Laura didn't have the depth or warmth that I felt Roan needed in a woman. I liked the way that the author had Roan's life almost mirror Laughlan's in that they were both betrayed by their first wives in some way. It made these strong men quite vulnerable. Lastly, I would have liked to have seen more romance and more of sexy Laughlan and Beth. Laura didn't" cut it". Although, the mysterious ghost apsect was beguiling and exciting to read, Madden only gave the reader a slight taste of reincarnation. I hope the next book has more on this subject and explains how a ghost can do that. Could this lead us to believe that now that Laughlan and Beth have gone on, they could come back as a part of the living??????

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Maybe it's just me..., December 15, 2007

By 

Gemma "bookworm" (Alberta, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dusk Before Dawn (Paperback)

From the back cover:

The man is haunted...

The sudden death of his wife and child sends Roan Ingliss into seclusion at his magnificent Scottish mansion. But he isn't alone at Baird House. He's sharing his solitude with a pair of mischievous ghosts named Lachlan and Beth. Too bad Roan's in no mood for companionship...living or dead. Or so he thinks...

The woman is haunting...

A snowstorm lands beautiful American tourist Laura Bennett on Roan's doorstep. She calls it a stroke of bad luck. Yet from the moment they meet--sparking a passion that's all too real--Roan calls in a good omen. But two matchmaking ghosts have another name for it: destiny.

And my review:

Okay, maybe it's just me, but I found this book very hard to read. There was no easy flow to the words. Instead, the writing style was extremely choppy. I ended up having to read pages over and over again and still couldn't make sense of what was happening. I have no problem reading difficult novels (I devoured the classics when I was 14), but this book was impossible to follow. Prose kept interrupting dialogue, dialogue interruping prose, prose interrupting itself...it was ridiculous. I couldn't get drawn into the story because I kept getting jerked out of it by the awkward writing.

And what I could make sense of I didn't like. The kids (the heroine's nephews) are horrible little brats. And the heroine does absolutely nothing to keep them in line. This is a big pet peeve of mine--I cannot stand adults who let kids walk all over them. One of them screams, "you idiot!" at her, and what does she do? Nothing. Just winces. Uh..excuse me? When I was a kid, I would never have dared to say such a thing, and if I had, I'd have been sitting on a sore bottom for a week. But no, just a wince. Grr. I cannot stand bratty kids who are allowed to get away with being holy terrors, even in fiction.

And then when the heroine meets the hero, she throws up all over him. Gross! I am so sick of this kind of thing in romance. I read romance for a pleasant escape. Reading about vomit does not make for a pleasant escape.

Also, if you're a reader who can't stand accents being written out phonetically, you will hate that aspect of this book. Sometimes when the hero was talking, I ended up having to whisper the words out loud to understand what he was saying. For example: "Whan yer're through cleanin' oop, gae left in the hall an' doon the stairs." This won't bother all readers, but it's a little too much for me. Some accent is okay, but I don't like it when it's so thick that getting through it is like trying to wade through glue.

The author introduced so much information and so many characters at once that I was left feeling lost--as if I'd turned on a movie that was already half finished. I was left wondering if this is a sequel book, because I constantly felt like I must have missed something.

Not recommended by this reader.