Customer Reviews

Fade To Black

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Hate to be in the minority but I found this book boring. There was so much detail on stupid things. Two paragraphs on how a woman changes her baby's diaper. Three on exactly what someone puts on their sandwich. And Elizabeth/Mallory/Cindi was constantly questioning herself: Should I do this or should I do that. I understand that she would be paranoid after what she's been through but she kept going over the same things, again, and again, and again. Not to mention the fact that she seemed to suspect everyone of being the stalker, except the real stalker! I really believe that if this book had been cut back to 230 or 240 pages it would have been a big improvement!

Famous actess, Mallory Eden thought she had gotten away with faking her own death to escape a stalker. Little did she know that her past would catch up with her in a small village on the other side of the continent. Someone knows who she is. Thinking the worst, Mallory, now going by the name Elizabeth Baxter fears that her stalker has finally found her after five years of being on the run, and there is no one she can trust with her secrets.

Fade to Black is suspenseful from start to finish, filled with twists and turns along the way. Unfortunately, the ending is a bit predictable, but then anyone who reads a great deal of mysteries would know how to pick the red herrings out of the real suspects. I have seen on the cover of most Wendy Corsi Staub novels how this author is being compared to Mary Higgins Clark. I don't see the comparison. MHC's style of writing is much different. (Less suspenseful, less twists of the plot, much more predictable ending) Wendy Corsi Staub also writes in a strange combination of both first person and present tense third person. Her sentences read much like first person, but without using any "I, me, mine,etc." It is a little difficult to get used to at first. All in all, this author has potential.

Is it worth buying?
The paperback price is still a bit higher priced than most in its class at $6.99, but this was a fairly decent mystery, so I would say yes.

...because there IS someone watching Mallory Eden!

A retired actress, Mallory Eden fakes her death to leave the Hollywood life and enjoy peace and solitude in a small coastal community in Rhode Island.

Peace dodges her; she receives anonymous letters from somebody who knows secrets from her past. The anonymous writer threatens to blackmail her. Mallory Eden hides behind a false name; the name she chooses has an interesting twist to the story as well.

The list of suspects is a long one. Her neighbor's husband, a rather questionable police officer is one possibility. An embittered young woman who suffered disfigurement is another. People Mallory knew in her small midwestern hometown pose yet more possibilities. Even though the blackmailer's identity was not surprising towards the end of the book, it was a masterful mystery. I was sorry to see the curtain come down on such a wonderful book with a host of realistic, interesting and refreshing characters.

Mallory Eden, a famous actress, disappears to a sleepy village in Windmere Cove, Rhode Island, where she becomes Elizabeth Baxter, a loner who keeps to herself for fear that the stalker that made her run away 5-years ago would find her. One day Elizabeth finds a pink envelope in her mailbox that turns her world upside down; the note inside says "I KNOW WHO YOU ARE ". Elizabeth finds solace in the arms of Harper Smith, the only person she has allowed to get close to her, but can Harper be trusted?

FADE TO BLACK is a great mystery that is well written, filled with suspense, wondering, and heart racing excitement that keeps you guessing until the climatic final act. The characters are very thought out and a wee bit strange, except Elizabeth, who I found to be an interesting and sympathetic character whose only desire is to have her life bank and feel safe in it.

Elizabeeth Baxter had managed to stay out of sight for five years, until one day a pink envelope turns her life into fear. From there, you are kept guessing and until the real stalker is revealed, you have just about put everyone in the guilty seat. This was my first book of Wendy Corsi Staub, but it will not be my last.

Screen icon Mallory Eden fakes her own death after succumbing to the pressures of celebrity and the actions of a stalker. Armed with a new identity, she hides out in a small Rhode Island town for five years, never getting close to anyone, always with the curtains drawn, fearful that her stalker might find her again.

When a card arrives in the mail with the words "I know who you are..." her imagination goes into overdrive. When her house is broken into, she has the locks changed and captures the attention of locksmith Harper, who also has a past he would like to forget. As he pursues her, she finally takes the first step to put her past behind her. When she is attacked and her stalker is arrested, bringing about tons of media attention, she flees back to LA to return to her old life. But was that really her stalker?? Or is it someone closer to her?

With plenty of hints tossed in, discovering the identity of the stalker is pretty easy, which in turns makes the story lacking int he suspense department. Not a good sign for a "suspense" novel.

Fade to Black...is a book with a very interesting underlying idea that I've thought about. What if for some reason, a celebrity faked his/her own death to get out of the spotlight? Often when people die before their time, there are ideas like this floating about, conspiracy theories and the like. This novel makes you think about this concept while putting a creative spin on it.

Mallory Eden leaves her life as a celebrity in order to escape a stalker. She lives in fear - will she be discovered? When will things all come unwound? The novel is wonderful in the way that things do become unwound because of various circumstances. Its not really one thing or event that exposes her, but rather, things snowball at the end.

The novel ocassionally changes perspectives and I find this to be very interesting and refreshing. I recommend this novel for an "easy" read. The novel is written clearly and is highly "readable" and enjoyable. (and reasonally priced in paperback which I also like!) I hope to find other novels by this writer!

"Fade to Black" is the firsrt book I have read by Wendy Corsi Staub and it was marvelous! So thrilling, believable, and grabbing. Cliff-hanger chapters with a perfectly delighting and surprise ending. Of course, you'll have to find out the end for yourself. The Main character, Elizabeth Baxter, used to be the famous actress, Mallory Eden, until a stalker forced her to fake her own death and begin a new lif in Windmere Cove, Rhode Island. A man she thought she couldn't trust might have some connection to Mallory Eden's past... Wonderful, don't miss it!!!!

As a mystery author with my debut novel in its initial release, I genuinely enjoyed Wendy Corsi Staub's FADE TO BLACK. The novel tells the tale of Mallory Eden, a Holloywood flavor-of-the-month starlet, who apparently committed suicide. She was actually fleeing a stalker, and she moves to a small town and lives under an assumed name. Then, she receives a letter from someone who claims to know who she actually is. Her fears of the stalker return. There are a number of suspicious characters in Eden's new life, and the plot (with backstory) works well. I recommend this book highly.

A famous actress disappears. Believed to have committed sucide. But in reality she has assumed a new identity to escape the stalker that had made her life a nightmare. On her own for five years in a small town Elizabeth is starting to feel safe until she receives a note in the mail saying I know who you are. All of sudden her new sense of security is ripped out from underneth her. This story brings a lot of different characters who all have a reason it seems to see Elizabeth aka Mallory dead. This book will keep you guessing until the final act.