Customer Reviews

Eye of the Beholder

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

I really hate to say this since I LOVE Jayne Ann Krentz's books, but I didn't care for this book very much. Lately her books, while still somewhat enjoyable, have been rather flat and predictable, sort of "if you've read one, you've read them all." Now, I love the New Age influences and the quirky characters in her books, but I'd like a fresh twist on the old theme. And I definitely think that twist is missing here.

My recommendations to those contemplating the purchase of this book are:

If you haven't read her other novels, buy one of those instead. They really are better books and well-worth your time.

If you have read all her other novels, buy this one too but wait for the paperback. Better yet, check it out at your local library. And, if you have other books in a pile waiting to be read, don't bother with this one.

Sorry, Ms. Krentz. I am looking forward to your next effort, though.

I just finished "Eye of the Beholder" and found it to be one of the author's better books of late. I hate to admit it but I wasn't in any hurry to pick up this book since I'd read several of JAK's books recently and they had all started sounding alike. But I really liked this one and read it in 2 days - it would have been 1 day but life got in the way.

I liked the interaction of the main characters and the eccentricities of the supporting ones. I love it when JAK adds the "odd" people - they make the story more interesting. It had drama, humor (a necessity), and just the right touches of mystery and romance, of course. I liked the fact that the story wasn't overwhelmed by the love interest (Trask & Alexa) but was neatly blended together with the mystery to create a thoroughly enjoyable story.

But, I especially liked the fact that I couldn't figure out the entire plot until the end of the story. Tho' the story was lightweight compared to some, it kept me interested and curious. I've read several mysteries lately that were a waste of time - this one wasn't.

So, even tho' I thought the ending came a little too quickly & neatly, my only real complaint is the fact that Trask's brother was missing at the finish. How could the story end without Nathan showing up? He's there at the beginning, he's there in the middle, but along comes the ending and he's no where in sight...?

Hi there! After reading a few of the reviews I can't see what people are complaining about. I recieved this book from Santa and spent Christmas day reading it. As usual I couldn't stop and resented the delays in finishing the story.

The setting was interesting, the characters were fairly well fleshed out and the complaints that the relationship was too fast and uncontested were without basis. I don't know about others but my relationship was about that fast. So I can see where and why it happened that fast. Real life is not romantic, and slow.

The complaint about there being too many charaters to keep track of is also not reasonable, because it added to the story line and kept the reader in suspense until the end, and like any convoluted story including those in the news (real life) there are twists and turns galore before the end.

I enjoyed the book, the story and the characters including the bad guys, and have no complaints except that Janye can't write them fast enough. For those who like mystery with romance it is a good read, for those who wish for only romance, that pales, after awhile and doesn't stand up in the day to day living, a hero who can be romantic, (ie: buy a romance novel and wrap it from santa) but still bring home the bread and help with the dishes, is much more romantic, than one who only thinks of candle light and roses, and leaves the heroine to do the cleanup.

I expect more from a top-line hardback than this book produced. I was surprised but uninterested when the two main characters finally made love. Talk about the kiss of death. (I thought, why are they doing this? And skipped forward some pages.) Like everyone else, I found the people uninteresting and faded copies of earlier Krentz characters. But I'll add something: ALL the extra details added by the author for flavor text were just that: added artificial flavoring. They had no point or purpose and No Impact on plot or character. I found this exasperating. Examples: the setting is Arizona, and there is a visitor (the Hero, Mr. Boring) from Seattle. Let me tell you as one who has visited sunny climes after living a while in the Pacific Northwest: You burn. You can't see because it's too sunny and wear sunglasses and sunblock all the time. Everyone is very tan. You are very pale. Adding setting impact would have been so easy! I don't expect perfection, but for some detail somewhere to have relevance/impact sometime would be nice. As it was written, there was no real difference between her settings in Seattle and this one in Arizona except for descriptions of scenery and turquoise bracelets. And where did the rainstorm come from? Except for physical descriptions, the art was no different from the other art in her other books (like the glass). Its purpose was to exist for the purposse of forging and nothing else. The whole book was like that! If it's just there as part of the mystery, make up something new! The heroine's shop was the same as wild creatures, there was a Seattle style tea shop... Argh. I'm annoyed just remembering. Get it from the library and preview before buying. And did I mention the random tiny chapters? (Trying to extend it????!!??)

This is the second book I read by JAK, and I was a little cautious of it. All those nasty reviews on Amazon, I thought. Let me tell you I was happily surprised...

Alexa Chambers has thought of JL Trask for twelve years, reliving the night he came and threatened her stepfather Lloyd. He did more then threaten Lloyd though, he acused him of the murder of his father. When Trask left, Lloyd was confident that the young man would never return, but Alexa knew better. She knew he would be back. And now, twelve years later, a new resort is opening in Avalon, Arizona, and it's owner is Trask. Planing on coming to the opening ofhis hotel, Trask is secretly planing to unearth the mystery behind his father's death which was labled as an acident. Alexa is conected to the resort, but no one knows about it. Years before, she was connected to an art scam and it ruined her reputation as an honest art consultant. Now, she is planning to break out into the art world again by putting together a museum worthy collection of art deco for the lobby of Trask's hotel. She is secretly consulting the man Trask hired for the job so the collection is really hers. The two meet on the night of the opening, and sparks fly. Trask proposes a deal with Alexa. She will be seen with him to make people talk and in turn, Alexa will be informed of his investigations. But, the kooky local metaphysical resort seems to have something wrong that is stirring the waters. And, people are dying, and they are identical to Trask's father's death. Will Alexa and Trask be the next victims? Can they find out who the murderer is before it's too late? And, will their love survive?

_Eye of the Beholder_ is a fabulous romance/suspense that kept me wanting more. The tale was unique and fast paced with colorful characters and enough quirks to make it interesting. Alexa was the classic Krentz heroine: not completely beautiful, smart, fiesty, and has enough mettle to be able to take anything. Trask was also very Krentz: tall, handsome, brooding, and with a dark past. Together, the two fit and go together like peanut butter and jelly. The dialogue was witty and humorus and a treat to read. I was not dissapointed by this latest JAK offering, and I would suggest it to anyone who is looking for a fast paced, high quality, witty, romance that is heavy on the suspense. Enjoy!

I love Jayne Ann Krentz but this was kind of a dissapointment. I read it but it was what one would call nondescipt. I was annoying because the characters had no character. I found two words to describe her Courageous and Determined there are plenty of people who are courageous she doesn't have a trait that singles her out. He is pretty much the same thing determined. no offense but a lot of peolpe are determined it is no shining acheivement. Well ignoring the characters it seems to me that there are only so many suspects in whatever crime that was commited until you get confused by them.There is a limit to how many suspects you have until you don't care who commited what crime. But I really enjoyed the end whemn we found out what type of person Mac was.It was okay but the near death thing in every single one of her books is gettng old.

This was my first Jayne Krentz book and I could not have been more thrilled with it. Her characters were captivating from the get go and the plot was as twisted as any I have read before. The killer is not revealed until the very end and I was up all night trying to GUESS WHO? I would have to say that I have become a JAK fan. I love romantic suspense and she gave it to me in full force in Eye of the Beholder. Great work. I can not wait for her next book.

I'm sorry to say I have to agree with most of the other reviewers in that this book was nowhere near as good as many of her previous ones! I read JAK books because I love romance and love how she enhances the romance with her sometime eccentric secondary characters and the addition of mystery and adventure to the storyline. This book was, in my opinion, almost more of a mystery/who-dun-it than a romance. They may be fine for some, but that's not what most readers are looking for in a JAK book. The romance between Trask and Alexa was very weakly developed and I never really felt any attachment to either one of them. The supporting characters were okay, but there were almost too many of them to keep track of. I thought the idea for the plot was a good one, but I just didn't care enough about the characters to care how it ended. In her previous books (Grand Passion and Deep Waters being 2 of my favorites) the romance develops slowly with a few stolen kisses or embraces while the 2 lead characters both try to convince themselves they don't want to get involved with each other. In this one, their first kiss lead to sex and that was pretty much the end of the courtship. I'm certainly glad I waited for this to come out in paperback, but I wish I'd waited to buy it used and saved even more. I do have to admit that this was an improvement over "Flash" (which I thought was awful) but I expect much more from JAK. This book actually started out good - which unfortunately got my hopes up. I love so many of her books, including all the Amanda Quick ones, that I hope she takes these reviews to heart and goes back to writing "romance with a twist" books with the emphasis on romance.

I believe Ms.Krentz has forgotten the meaning of the word variety. This book is boring. Don't waste your money her Plots are the same in just about all her books. If you have read one of her books you have read them all the only things that seem to change are the names.

This book was a waste of my time and money. I can not believe J.A.K. actually wrote this book. I am a huge fan and I always buy her books. Alex and Trask were not a believable couple. No development whatsoever. I hope her next book, which I will wait until it comes out in paperback, lives up to her usual standards.