Customer Reviews

Finding Mary Blaine

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In Austin, Texas, Blaine and Mark Anderson barely talk to one another as their lives have become comfortably managed by him. An attorney, Mark is considering running for public office, but does not contemplate Blaine's fears of public appearances. Mark goes on to work while Blaine leaves him a note that she is going to a clinic and they need to talk later.

An explosion rips through the clinic killing some people including a nurse holding Blaine's coat and rings while she was being examined. Blaine, now knowing she is pregnant, survives in a daze, but the papers declare her dead when Mark recognizes her jewelry.

Unable to reach her spouse, Blaine goes undercover using her first and middle name Mary Blaine hiding in a homeless environment as the bomber, realizing she lived, searches for her. When Mark learns his wife is alive, he begins a street search for her because he loves her and rejects the notion that she just simply left him. With the help of street people, Blaine survives and makes friends, but the killer is coming and aid from her spouse is cut off by his employer.

FINDING MARY BLAINE is an exhilarating romantic suspense that focuses on a mousy heroine surviving by befriending street people. The story line moves forward at a fast clip, but readers gain an appreciation for Mary, Mark, and several folks she befriends. Though the inability to reach Mark seems odd in an age of communication even with his mentor manipulating much of the scenario, fans will appreciate this rousing look at the plight of the homeless wrapped inside an exciting thriller.

Harriet Klausner

This is truely one of the most heartwarming and captivating stories I have read in quite some time! The storyline was something very new and exciting. Unlike any book I have read. I found myself bursting into tears one minute, then biting my nails in suspense as Mary (Blaine) runs for her life! My husband even got a tad angry at me because I brought this book in the car and read on our way out to eat dinner...I could not put it down..I was so captivated. I believe you will not regret reading this wonderfully written book, it will touch your heart and make you take a look around your life as to what is REALLY important in your life.

I really enjoyed this book! It's got everything in it. It makes you care about the characters, appreciate relationships and see the good in everybody.

It takes the main character from a very comfortable, high-style but robotic life to living on the streets. She learns that the street people actually survive by caring for and looking out for one another. As she trys to survive that experience, in the meantime, she is being hunted by a hired killer, who quickly finds that he missed her as his target in a clinic bombing. Early on, her husband is told the worst, that she didn't survive. His feelings, and even a friendship he strikes up with an elderly neighbor, are developed.

She also discovers that even though she and her husband went through their daily routines and their relationship without much effort, she came to realize how much she really cared for him and how strong her instinct was to keep him out of harm's way.

I highly recommend this book, as I found it suspenseful, romantic and enlightening. A very good read, in my opinion.

Are

I debated on giving this book five stars, but it just did not rank that good of a book to be catogorized with my favorites. It takes the first thirty pages to really get you interested at the beginning. From there, curiosity is only what keeps pulling you along as far as the suspense part of the book goes.
The characters and the relationship the homeless people have with one another is what this story is all about. As far as that part goes, it is five stars all the way. It was simply a heartfelt tale about a woman who had everything money could buy, yet had no life at all until she was in a tragic explosion and faced to fend for herself amongst the homeless. Her husband hardly realizes that she exists until he believes she is dead. Then he will throw away everything he has worked for to find her.
The ending was not as solid as it could have been. NO surprise endings, no clever twists in the plot. It is not a romance in the traditional sense, but that is as close to a genre as I can put this one, because the suspense is not that intense. All in all. This is a very touching story, but I recommend you check it out from the library instead of buying it.

This book was sooooo good. Just could not put it down. Blaine had to hide from a killer and she did a great job. Highly recomend this book.

I really enjoyed this book. The charactors and the story draw you in with the suspense. I won't spend time repeating the plot as other reviewers have already explained it well but have to say the focus is on both the main charactors. The secondary charactors add depth to the story and help maintain the suspense. It is not a cookie cutter romance but a story that shows how two people can be lost can be found again. I highly recommend this book.

This was an interesting story with alot going on from beginning to end. I enjoyed all the twists and turns and how the main character was able to find ways to meet her daily needs inspite of her unusual circumstances. You know it's a good book when you can't wait to get back to it!

From the get go, this one was hard to put down! The author keeps your attention by keeping you guessing as to what lies around the next bend for the heretofore wealthy socialite Mary who has just survived the bombing of a clinic she was visiting incognito. Dazed, confused and subsequently identified as being one of the bodies carried out of the rubble, the story line builds around the concept of how even the hoity toity of society can suddenly and without warning find their circumstances drastically changed and how, unless they are die hard snobs, they too can come to appreciate the every day struggle those less fortunate than themselves must contend with just to survive. It also reveals how some people's greed outweighs integrity and any thought of human decency in their pursuit of even more wealth. It also re-instills the old adage of "never take for granted those you love". In this instance, the couple were afforded a second chance to really discover both themselves and each other. How close they both came to not having that second chance. This appears to be one of Jodi Thomas' earlier books and it was a definite departure from her usual offerings which are almost always set in her native Texas. I found this suspensful romance quite by accident while perusing the Jodi Thomas book list on amazon.com. It was only available via a seller that resides in England. Although a bit skeptical about ordering a book from "across the pond" the seller in question adequately packaged the book so that it arrived in pristine condition. It is a delightful read.

*warning plot spoilers*

This "mystery" started off promising, but went downhill sooo fast, with some of the most far-fetched plot twists ever, along with the TSTL H/H. Blaine and Mark were both emotionally retarded, and barely knew each other after 10 years of marriage. There was really no emotional connection between these two. Blaine visits a women's clinic and is in the wrong place at the wrong time when an attack is made on the clinic. She is thrown clear of the immediate clinic area and awakes bruised, but alive, but is mistakenly listed among the dead. The book chronicles her attempts to find out who, what and why this happened and to stay alive while doing it.

My problems with the book started with the husband, Mark. Instead of grieving when he thinks his wife is dead, and thinking about how she suffered (I mean he thinks she burnt up in the bombing), all he can think about is how it will affect his life (i.e. "what will I do"). Mark doesn't know which grocer she used who cuts his steaks just how he likes them, doesn't know the location of the dry cleaners, etc. Mark had to be one of the most self-absorbed characters I've ever read about. He was irritated about the police contacting him (they were only working trying to solve his wife's murder, after all); he was irritated with the coroner's office for taking up his time in trying to positively identify his wife. I guess he had more important things to do, like going to work. I mean, who goes to work the day after their wife is murdered??

The coincidences of how Blaine couldn't reach him on the home number, the private line or his cell phone just kept conveniently popping up like in a bad horror movie when the girl running from the killer jumps in the car and it won't start. I guess she didn't have a single friend she could turn to other than the homeless people she met on the street...