Customer Reviews

Find Me

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

 

 

I have had a long relationship with Debra Webb's books and all have been about a four star read, but this is one of those books I wish I hadn't even started. The cover sounds and looks good, but it doesn't stand up to the story. I disliked most of the main characters and found that at the end the only one I felt any empathy for was the serial killer. Not only that, but the last page and a half were totally unneeded and made the whole book redundant. At least to me.

Sarah Newton is a reporter for a magazine called "Truth". She is known for getting to the facts and debunking myths and legends. She has a dark secret in her past and does not trust anyone. She lies to her shrink and her boss about taking her meds. I just wished someone would lock her up in an asylum until she got straight enough to function in the real world.

Kale Conner is the new councilman in town, he runs his father's business because his father is paralyzed. He has issues also, with his family and the town leaders. He is picked to keep Sarah away from anyone or anything that would tell her what is going on with the investigation of the murder of one girl and the disappearance of another.

It seems everyone in this town has secrets that they are afraid she will find out. From the hotel owner, to the preacher this is a town of unbelievable secrets and liars. Twenty years ago two other girls died in the same place only the MO was different. Their hearts were cut out. The chief is certain they are not connected.

I found the story very involved, with to many red herrings. There were to many people ready to kill someone and these were not nice people at all. I did not like anyone in this book, I kept waiting to start likeing the heroine or the hero at least but that did not happen. I really felt sorry for the serial killer and wished he had been worse and had taken out alot of the people in this book. As you can tell I feel I was taken for my time, money and interest in this book. If you must read it, get it from the library so that when you get tired of the BS you can lay it down without any problem.

Since discovering writer Debra Webb, I have waited eagerly for each new book. I have never been disappointed and this book is no exception! The clues to the killer's identify were so subtle I couldn't figure out "whodunit" until the very end - and I loved the unexpected twist at the end of the book.

The main characters are both captivating from beginning to end and I especially appreciate a female heroine who is not afraid to stand on her own two feet - even in the dead of night in an isolated wood - to try and learn the truth. If you only read one book this month, THIS should be the book! Buy it and read it. You won't be disappointed!

The townspeople think it's the work of the devil... just another day at work for journalist Sarah Newton, who tends to disprove these theories and is disliked as a result. While working on assignment in Maine to uncover the truth behind the sadistic murder of one teen and the disappearance of the other, she is unprepared for what and who she'll encounter. A town where most residents have at least one thing to hide, she is unwelcome at every turn, and has to work overtime to convince the townspeople that some outside force isn't causing the mayhem; the evil might be closer than they realize.

Webb's latest thriller sounds great on the back cover, but the actual story is a bit all over the place. There are so many characters with so much to hide and so many secrets that it gets a little overwhelming (and yet predictable) at times. An unlikely romance between the psychologically damaged heroine and the sexy councilman just seems a bit out of place; as many other readers stated - she need therapy not sex. I just wasn't as engaged in this story as I have been in others. Despite the flaws, I like her writing so much that I am not about to give up on her.

© Tracy Vest, February 2009

Overall, I enjoyed this a lot, but it definitely has its weaknesses.

On the plus side:
- Well written and well paced suspense
- Good character development
- Well written dialogue
- Great chemistry between the protagonists; it started off a bit slowly, but picked up well

On the minus side:
- It occasionally got a little convoluted. In an effort to keep you guessing about who the killer is there were (in my opinion) a few too many characters introduced with complicated motivations and backstories that were otherwise largely irrelevant to the plot, and while it does keep you guessing, I think on the whole it detracted a bit.
- A complaint I've had about one or two of Debra Webb's books before has been that the protagonists are too emotionally damaged to really seem ready for a healthy relationship. In this case just the heroine, but she had so many serious issues that were touched on but never really resolved that I would almost have preferred to see her end up committing more fully to her therapist than to a relationship.

That said, I would still definitely recommend reading it.

NYC based investigative reporter Sarah Newton works for Truth magazine, traveling to locations in which the locals claim the supernatural committed murder; she debunks their mystical fears. However, Sarah is a loner who is used to people loathing her.

Sarah travels to freezing Youngstown, Maine where one teenage girl Valerie Gerard was found viciously sliced to death in a chapel and another Alicia Appleton is missing. Many townsfolk claim the curse has returned as similar murders occurred two decades ago. The City Council assigns lobsterman and newest member Kale Conner to escort the outsider around town; Sarah knows that means to help the town hide its secrets from her. As the police work the case, so does Sarah who soon begins to win over Kale to her side. Attracted to one another from the onset, they begin to fall in love, but neither has any hope for a future as he scorns her as a Manhattan pushy woman while she assumes he is her natural enemy although a dark secret from her own childhood closet is her real reason to keep him away.

FIND ME is a well written investigative romance starring a fascinating journalistic sleuth and a former dreamer. The story line is exciting from the onset as Sarah arrives alienating everyone. Kale is a strong character who gave up his dreams when his father became disabled; he goes from doubting antagonist to believer in his beloved. Sarah makes the tale work with her take no prisoners' attitude and her Pygmalion Effect of expecting no cooperation so acts offensively which leads to no cooperation, her family history, and her loner status that the lobsterman finds heartbreaking. Although the townsfolk do not seem very frightened or frantic over a vicious murder and a probable second killing fans will appreciate this fine Manhattan-Maine romantic suspense thriller.

Harriet Klausner

While the story was well-written, I found that the main characters were so awful that the whole book ended up being less than enjoyable.

Sarah was a shrew without a single redeeming quality. Kale was a wuss who thought with the wrong part of his anatomy. Neither character was likable in the least, which made it hard to really care about them or what they were doing.

I also didn't understand the premise. Sarah was a writer, not law enforcement. If people didn't want her around, why didn't they just tell her to buzz off instead of reluctantly giving her information? She had no legal right to be there and she was so brazen and arrogant that at no time did you feel like she was helping -- rather, that she was just trying to feed her own ego by showing everyone that her nasty self was always right. By the end, I was hoping the killer would just kill her and put everyone out of their misery.

The title and cover drew me to this book: a woman's shadowed face, and the outward look from a dank cave...not to mention the title! Sarah travels to cover the disappearance and subsequent murder of a teenager. Another teen is kidnapped while our heroine, an investigative reporter with a knack for finding the truth, is babysat by a town representative, Kale. Our simple fisherman's unofficial job is to minimize bad publicity but finds himself enthralled by this New York women who is hiding secrets. Small town foibles, hidden truths, scary moments, and hot sex pulls the reader in. I couldn't put it down!