Customer Reviews

As Good As Dead (Zebra Romantic Suspense)

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

 

 

Since this was my first venture in a Beverly Barton suspense thriller, I should have known better to start with a book that finished a series.

I have to tell you that I was seeing double and doing double takes when it came to all the characters included in this book. Wow. Keeping track of them took all my concentration.

A murderer is killing redheads and wouldn't you know, Reve and Jazzy are redheads and just learning from DNA testing that they're sisters separated at birth.

Barton does a great job of carrying on several sub-plots, both romantical and subverse along with the main plot story. She pulls all the strings together in the end and ties them all up in a nice little knot. For me, I'd like to have known a bit more detail about how the story lines ended, but then maybe what I'm really missing is the beginning of the story. I think I'll give Barton's other books a try and start this series over from the beginning.

As Good As Dead by Beverly Barton is a gripping book in the Cherokee Pointe Series.

Reve Sorrell grew up a daughter of privilege. She is not so sure she wants to be related to Jazzy Talbot, her look alike. Jazzy is the polar opposite of Reve. But Reve is drawn to this sleepy little town and wants some answers.

Sheriff Jacob Butler has his hands bull with a possible serial killer on the loose. At first meeting Reve with her high class ways really rubs him the wrong way...Or does she? The sparks between Jacob and Reve are high voltage. Jacob realizes whoever is killing red headed women has their sights on Jazzy and Reve.

Jacob sets out to protect Reve from the growing danger. But she poses a bigger threat to his heart.

The suspense is riveting, you can feel the evil lurking. Reve and Jacob start out as less then friendly but they have a passion and a connection that is amazing. I love Beverly Barton books, I think this is the best one yet.

When I picked up this book, I had no idea that it was part of a series. Although it did seem obvious that there was more to the story than the author touched base on.
I had several problems with this book. First off, way too many characters were introduced at the start. Maybe if I would have read the other books first, I would have known who they were, but as BB started jumping around at the beginning to touch base on each family and how miserable their lives were, I found it very boring. I found it a bit much to read how almost every man in the county cheated on their wives and slept with prostitutes. Even some of the unmarried ones did. There is something really wrong with that. Sure it was supposed to create more red herrings, but it was just annoying.
Secondly, the romance part of it was lame. The two bicker and fight until near page 250 and then all of a sudden they are hot and heavy. Too much of the story focused on all the sordid details of everyone else's sex life and affairs than on Reve and Jacob. I would not call this a romantic suspense in even loose terms. Yes there was sex, but way too late in the story to create the same type of anticipation the reader looks forward to.
Lastly, either this author does not know the definition of certain words or there are a few typos that are really bad. For example, one of the funniest ones talks about how Jacob's BACK hair fell across the pillow. Okay, that is just gross if he really had so much hair it piled over the pillow. I realize the author meant to say BLACK hair, but now you see what I mean by typos. Other ones are even worse where the words used have entirely different meanings and make the reader wonder if that is what BB meant to say or what it should have read.
Other than that, the reveal of the killer is dragged out until the very end but it is pretty obvious who it is. As my first Beverly Barton book, I was not impressed in the least. Linda Howard wrote that the book was fast paced, multi-faceted and absolutely riveting. Multi-faceted, yes. Anything other than that no. Kay Hooper wrote "a powerful story that kept me up very late-with all the lights on. With a villain you won't soon forget and nail biting suspense." If this was nail biting and too scary to keep the lights on, she must be reading children's stories because there was nothing about this book that was anywhere near to that description. Sorry to lay it all out, but this one is not worth the buy.

"As Good as Dead" is the third in a series of three novels set in the small town of Cherokee Pointe, Tennessee - a town rife with serial killers, and a police force that seems to rely heavily on the clairvoyance of one of it favorite daughters to solve crime.

Billed as a romance for Sheriff Jacob Butler, the story actually is more of a continuation of the previous novel, "The Last to Die," with the relationship of Jazzy and Caleb taking more of a center stage then Jacob's reluctant love interest, snobbish Reve Talbot, who has just discovered through DNA testing that she and Jazzy are twins separated at birth. The romance is insignificant, undeveloped, and almost forced upon the reader.

The much more interesting story is how the two were separated in the first place, as well as who their parents are. There is yet another serial killer on the loose and his prey of choice is red headed women of shall we say "loose" morals. Red-head Jazzy has an undeserved reputation, and by default, Reve is also targeted by the assailant.

Once again, Barton pens a story with plenty of potential suspects, and then chooses the most improbable one of them all, as Jazzy and Reve elude the killer and solve the mystery of their parentage. It falls a little short of the first novel, and may be a little hard to follow if you have not read the rest of the series.

The book was an easy read but I was disappointed that the relationship between Reve and Jacob was not more developed. There were glimpses into the development but it wasn't until the last couple of book that they got together and that was to have sex. I felt that the book was once again about Jazzy, Reve's sister, whom we had read about in "The Last to Die".

The conclusion to the Cherokee Point stories has finally arrived and Barton did not disappoint. The story remained with me until the end, especially once the secrets and the killers are revealed. It is great to see Jazzy, Genny, and Jacob find happiness and their respective loves. Barton continues to write great suspense in the likes of Sandra Brown, Linda Howard, and Karen Robards. I say that's pretty good company.

The third in the Cherokee Pointe trilogy might keep you guessing due to a number of suspects thrown into the mix. It has a good story line, but as with the first two stories the characters and dialogue don't feel natural. Still, the book is entertaining.

This is Reve's story and involves her and her twin sister, Jazzy, getting to know each other (they were separated and left for dead at birth) and searching for the identity of their parents. Someone will go to great lengths to keep the truth from being revealed. After both sisters are attacked, Reve turns to the Sheriff, Jacob Butler, for help.

Jacob is a sexy, macho man and a decent hero. Sexual tension has hummed between Reve and Jacob since the beginning of this trilogy and I felt it took too long for them to finally get together. I'm a big fan of love scenes and had to wait a long time for one in this book.

The ending is fairly predictable, but it works. Like I said, it's a nice wrap up to a mediocre trilogy.

Shelley Dawn, author of Sweet, Sweet Jessie and Dark Nights.

This is the third story of a trilogy set in Cherokee County, TN. Each involve a set of lovers and a serial killer. Three serial killers in one small county is a bit much, but okay if the stories are good. The first book was good enought to stir interest for the second, which was not quite as good. The third is the worst. All the books feature unhappy marriages between older couples although they are not the main story. Actually, they may be as by the third book, there seems to be more of them written about than the young couples. It almost makes you want to run fast from the opposite sex if things are going to turn out like this. All that misery becomes too much over time, with the love scenes, not quite enough to make up for the rest.

Barton is a good writer. I just hope she gets writes other themes with a little more joy in them.

This is the third and last in the series about Cherokee Pointe, Tennessee. It is the best although the other two (THE FIFTH VICTIM & THE LAST TO DIE) are excellent this one is superb.

Reve is the twin sister of Jazzy. They take DNA tests and then confront Jazzy's Aunt Sally. Reve was found in a dumpster and adopted by the Sorrell's. It turns out Jazzy was abandoned in a stump in the woods. Sally found her and raised her.

From here to much information ruins the book. I will say the romances are wonderful and let us know you are never to old to find love.

Not only does Jacob and Dallas, the sheriff and chief of police, have to try to protect the twins from whoever tried to kill them 30 years ago. There is a serial killer killing redheads, Reve and Jazzy are both redheads.

The story is wonderful full of twists and turns. I could not put it down. And the climax was great not to mention the total surprises at the end of the book. Don't miss this one.

I'm sorry for having wasted my time on this one. The main problem for me was the lack of focus on the lead couple and the sad attempt by the author to throw way too many characters (mostly unlikable) into this book, seemingly to throw us off as far as the identity of the killer. It became painstakingly clear which family was involved, and between the killer's thoughts and actions, there's no need to read through chapters of the police trying to figure it out. It was torture.
As for romance, with what few scenes this couple shared, it just wasn't enough for us to get to know them. And I personally don't like it when the intimate scenes are plied with four letter words. There wasn't much tenderness if you know what I mean.
I would recommend Anne Stuart in Romantic Suspense. She's an author that can make you anxious enough to wonder if you've got what it takes to finish her books. She has a way with the epitome of the "Bad Boy." But Wow, "Into the Fire" well, I highly recommend it. Karen Rose is tops on my list of Romantic Suspense also. She's as close to perfection as they come with all of her books. Linda Howard will always be a favorite of mine, along with Karen Robards, Lauren Bach, and Jane Graves. Happy reading, I hope that my review is helpful.