Customer Reviews

Hard Evidence (I-Team, Book 2)

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

THIS is the kind of book you will want to read over & over again! Pamela puts you in the front seat,straps you in tight & hits the gas!!! You will feel as though you are truly experiencing the story,not just watching from the sidelines,a distant observer.She has a special talent for bringing even the smallest details to life,with clever,imaginative writing that keeps you glued to the pages,wondering exactly what will happen next.

The hero,Julian,is especially compelling as he pursues the sick & twisted criminals who perpetuate modern-day slavery.He goes after them with a ruthless intensity and determination that you will revel in.Watching Julian interrogate suspects is like watching a thrilling episode of your favorite police show without all the commercials or the agonizing wait between seasons.Add to that his undeniable sex appeal and his chemistry with Tessa,and it's easy to see why he is so compelling.

Tessa is a wonderful character as well,not just an afterthought without substance.She has plenty of courage and intelligence,which makes the sparks between her and Julian flare even more brightly.The love scenes are hot & exciting without seeming misplaced or excessive,and their relationship is developed in a way that feels natural and true.

There is also plenty of humor to break up the tension,not only between Julian & Tessa,but her group of friends and Julian as well.

You will NOT be disappointed in this book;it has EVERYTHING you could ever want:mystery,danger,suspense,laughter,lust,love,revenge and justice.HARD EVIDENCE is a keeper to be read again and again!

In her line of work as an Investigavtive Journalist, Tessa Novak thought she had seen it all. When she witnesses the murder of a young hispanic girl who was standing less than three feet away from her, Tessa is determined to bring the young girl justice. With her investigative instincts humming and the last words of the dead girl ringing in her head, Tessa sets out to find the truth behind the murder.

Special Agent Julian Darcangelo has been trying to bring Alexi Burien down for over five years. When Burien slipped through the net three years before, Julian swore that he would get Burien off the streets and save the lives of innocent young girls, or die trying. After seeing him at the scene of the murder, Tessa inacurately pins him as a suspect. When he sees the article on the front page of the Denver Independent, he knows that he has to bring Tessa into the case.

Though Julian is not in the habit of trusting reporters, he soon realizes that Tessa isn't to be lumped in with reporters only looking for glory. He learns that she cares about what she writes and does it to try to inform the public and help people at the same time. Though they are instantly attracted to each other, Tessa doesn't trust Julian, while Julian refuses to get close to anyone.

Hard Evidence is a fantastic romantic suspense. While human-trafficking isn't something that is usually on the front page, Pamela Clare brings it to life. It is horrific to think that there are really young girls out there that are being taken against their will and sold. The romance between Julian and Tessa help tone down the horror, but does not retract from the suspense at all.

Don't miss it!

As much as I love romantic suspense, I believe Pamela Clare's contemporary novels deserve a sub-genre of their own - perhaps something like "Romantic Ficumentary?" I say that, because the fiction she writes feels so incredibly real, it could easily be confused for a documentary. Yet, the intensity and the passion in her stories make them oh-so-very entertaining, that I can hardly put the books down before I've read them cover-to-cover.

Hard Evidence is a richly crafted story, which tugs on a number of emotional strings. Heart-wrenching childhood misfortunes, undeniable reality of human violence, the struggle between ethics and instincts, pulse-raising passion and sizzling sensuality are some of the reasons this book is a must-read! The unforgettable cast of characters is perhaps the icing on the cake.

Tessa Novak, an investigative reporter for Denver Independent, is a high profile murder witness, determined to shine a light on the apparent violence taking place on the streets through her writing. Trying to sidestep the danger her life is in, she hopes to get to the bottom of the investigation of the murder she witnessed. Unfortunately, the man she initially suspects to be the killer, is an undercover FBI agent, whom she could inadvertently bring out of the shadows...

Julian Darcangelo has spent what feels like most of his life trying to bring down a major human trafficking empire. As he is closing in on the trail, Tessa becomes a hurdle in more ways than just interfering with his investigation. He is furious with her and attracted to her at the same time.

Tessa is just as attracted to Julian, but refuses to give up investigating him or her work on the case. Armed with the knowledge that Tessa means something to Julian, the killer renews his grudge with an ever growing violent determination.

The hardest part of facing the danger their lives are in, is trusting each other, something neither Julian, nor Tessa, is certain they can do...

Sometimes I find the lack of first hand knowledge or adequate research on the subject of a book (i.e. Navy SEALS, Army Rangers, etc.) so apparent on the writers part, that the book becomes distracting and even silly at times. The fact that Ms. Clare is an investigative reporter in real life, and has first hand knowledge of the things she writes about, adds to the intelligence and believability of the book. I say BRAVO Ms. Clare! and wholeheartedly recommend this book!

Investigative Reporter ("I- Team") Series:

Extreme Exposure

Hard Evidence

Unlawful Contact



I might be judging Clare a bit harder than I would other authors, because she is so much better at what she does than most other authors. The story was very good. The characters had depth. The romance was steamy. I really did enjoy this book. However, I can't honestly say I liked it as much as Clare's other work.


Tessa is a reporter for a small local newspaper. When she witnesses a murder, she becomes determined to investigate and expose the killers.

Julian has been working under cover for several years to stop a huge child prostitution ring. He is just a step away from the final proof needed to bring down the criminals. The last thing he needs is for a nosey reporter to expose all of his hard- earned evidence.

When Tessa's articles capture the attention of the prostitution boss, her life is threatened. Julian has no choice but to keep her in hiding until he can arrest the criminals who are harming teens and who now wish to silence Tessa for good.


The heroine character in Hard Evidence, Tessa, seemed to copy the Extreme Exposure heroine in a couple of ways that made Tessa too predictable for the reader. First, she was over- the- top about doing her research as a reporter for a small local newspaper. She put herself in situations that were much more dangerous than an actual newspaper reporter would. "I have to do my job" was repeated several times, as it was in Extreme Exposure. Also, late in the tale, she becomes suspicious of the hero, Julian, and begins to investigate him even as she continues to live and sleep with him.

Tessa's character seemed immature and irresponsible. The police and Julian, an under cover officer, ask her not to continue writing in the paper about the things she uncovers because it will alert the bad guys about the case they are building to stop the crime ring for good. Tessa doesn't respect that these men know more about fighting crime than she does. She does irrational things like walking into a gang neighborhood, alone no less, to interview some dangerous gang members in an alley. It caused me to think that Tessa must be either insane or very stupid. Her actions cause the hero to be shot when he covers her body with his own during gang- related gun fire as he tries to get her out of gang town. She promises never to go back to that neighborhood, but continues to dig and research criminals who are even more dangerous than the gangs. She does eventually agree not to risk the police investigation any further, but by then she had lost my respect.

So why did I still give the book 5 stars? The writing and the core story are terrific. I had a hard time putting the book down. The hero character was strong, smart, protective, a bit soul- tortured from past experiences, and charmingly artless when doing romantic things for the heroine. The story as a whole was fast paced and engaging. These details, along with the fact that Tessa does show regret for the pain and trouble caused by her actions, kept the story at the top of the rating scale for me.


Want to read the series? Here is the link to the first and third books:
Extreme Exposure

Unlawful Contact (Berkley Sensation) (Best of the series so far!)

Pamela Clare's Historical Romance favorites:
Three Part Series:
Sweet Release
Carnal Gift
Ride The Fire (Leisure Historical Romance) --One of my personal all- time favorite historicals!

First in Clare's second historical series:
Surrender (Leisure Historical Fiction)

The Sequel, "Untamed" is scheduled for release in November 2008

If you enjoy romantic tales between protective men and modern women, try the "Bullet Catchers" series. Here are the first three of the series:
Kill Me Twice (The Bullet Catchers, Book 1)
Thrill Me to Death (The Bullet Catchers, Book 2)
Take Me Tonight (The Bullet Catchers, Book 3)

Probably my favorite of the series, simply because the over the top histrionics are toned down here, the couple make sense and the romance is believable.

Still points off simply because, in TSTL fashion, the heroine endangers herself and the hero, treats the law with contempt, therefore putting innocent people at risk ....but the arrogant "Oh but she's a reporter! So she's a hero and everything she does is OK!" trope is played yet again. The lack of respect is galling.

But the book itself makes up for the TSTL/totally unlikeable moments.

I've read the series, but won't re-read read it: till recommended at 3.5 stars if you haven't read the series.

This was my first book by this author and I was very pleasantly surprised. With its edge-of-your-seat suspense, edgy leading man, and immersive police/FBI case, it reminded me in style to one of my favorite cop series--the Prey books by John Sanford. But it also had a sexy and sweet romance mixed into the storyline. I liked the main characters and supporting cast. The hero was an undercover agent working a long running, horrible sex crimes/human trafficking case. He came from a hard background and his adult life was just as tough given the cases he worked. While the heroine had a tough time growing up, she worked hard, got an education and became a successful investigative reporter as an adult. I liked that the characters weren't perfect and had issues to deal with. The bad guy was one of the nastiest, slimiest villians I've read about in a long time, and you really wanted to see him taken down. The only area for improvement was that the storyline was a little predictable at times, however the big mystery of the leak at the FBI was a surprise. The cover was also cheesy/lame, but I know that's not in the author's control. All in all, this was a very good read and I plan to buy the other books in this series.

STORY BRIEF:
Tessa is an investigative reporter for a Denver newspaper. She stops at a gas station for coffee. While there, a Spanish speaking teenager runs in crying and begging for help. Within minutes, someone drives by and shoots the girl. Tessa starts investigating who and why.

Julian is an undercover FBI agent working with the Denver police. He is closing in on the trail of a human trafficker and killer, who is behind the death of the girl. Julian wants Tessa to stop investigating and writing about this, because she is hurting his ability to catch the guy. Also, the killer is now after Tessa as well.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
Her writing style is good. It's typical romantic suspense. It reminds me of a Shannon McKenna type plot. The difference is SM gets more into the minds and feelings of the bad guys in ways that scare me. This wasn't as scary. The major plot crisis worked, but it was predictable. I would have liked a little more of the unexpected. The ending feels good which I liked.

CAUTION POSSIBLE SPOILERS:
I did not like the following unnecessary conflicts. After Julian and Tessa spend a great first night together, Julian is scowling and acts indifferent to her. She is hurt by this, and he knows it. This didn't fit. I saw no reason for Julian to treat her this way. He also said something to her previously that was hurtful, and he knew it. But he didn't try to soothe or explain. He just left. He cares about her, yet he says things that hurt her? His life's work is going undercover to try to help women. He doesn't abuse them even when he has to act like he's abusing them for his cover. So why is he knowingly "verbally abusing" her? This didn't fit his motivations.

I'm not sure how I feel about Tessa "doing something stupid for the plot." Her life has been threatened. The police are going to put her into protective custody. But just before that begins, she sneaks away from the police to interview someone in a dangerous place, and something bad happens. On one hand this was stupid. On the other hand I sympathized. Reporters often go into dangerous situations to get the story, and I admire them. But then, Tessa is printing things and doing things that jeopardize the investigation, which I felt was leaning toward being stupid again. She should want the bad guy caught and help if possible. I am back and forth over this.

DATA:
Story length: 328 pages. Swearing language: strong, including religious swear words. Sexual language: strong. Number of sex scenes: 10. Total number of sex scene pages: 15. Setting: current day Denver, Colorado. Copyright: 2006. Genre: romantic suspense.

I purchased all 3 of Pamela Clare's I-team stories based solely on the strength of the Amazon reviews. Was it a mistake? After reading Extreme Exposure I was sure I had made a HUGE mistake. I truly did not like the book and it's overemphasis on journalistic & research detail (ie., boooring).

I then tackled Unlawful Contact and enjoyed that book and my hopes perked up. Ms. Clare clearly learned her lesson from the mess that was EE. She focused more on the relationship with the characters and her sensual writing was right on the money for me (and then some). While she did draw the reader in to the whole world of penal life. She did not kill the book with her extremely detailed writing.

Well, I read Hard Evidence in 1 1/2 days. I really liked Julian Darcangelo. He was dark and deadly and in many ways a bit twisted by his life as an FBI agent and he was not going to be a shiny white knight but clearly redeemable (of course by the love of a good woman). I also liked Tessa who once again (as with Sophie in Unlawful Contact) had so many real, down-to-earth traits that I identified with her pretty quickly and again the action and the sex was pretty right on and paced well throughout the book. Ms. Clare has hopefully learned her lesson and has eased up on the superflous overwriting about investigative journalism (which IMO) dooms alot of mystery and suspense writers. Ms. Clare may have a long lasting career as well as a fan by continuing to write contemporary romance that remembers to be a romance. NOW. If we can only get her to ditch the character of her pig editor. In no way does his abusive behavior toward his employees signify hard nosed in anyway. I also look forward to Holly's book.

Great Story! Exciting, three-dimensinal, sexy, strong, brave, silly, and interesting characters. I truly enjoyed this book. This is my first read by Pamela Clare but I have already ordered the first book/book before this book/Kara-Reece's book. The hero Julian is an Alpha to-die-for an a real Bad A$$. He is an undercover agent on the track of disgusting human traffickers. Heroinne Tessa is my girl. She has a wondersul southern believable accent, is a journalist and a brave, feisty little something. There chemistry was so wonderful to see blossom. I truly enjoyed and cried for Julian's awakening to Tessa. This book is so exciting, funny, sexy, heart breaking and interesting that you will not be able to put it down.

Julian and Tessa burn up the pages in this installment of Pamela Clare's Hard Evidence. I absolutely loved Tessa's soft, yet tenacious and intelligent personality juxtaposed against Julian's gruff exterior and his fiercely protective nature. They both come from similar backgrounds where poverty and abusive family circumstances ruled their worlds when they were children. It is extremely interesting to read how they each handled their circumstances and molded their adult lives to compensate for their derelict upbringing. Another great point in this book is that she puts the steam in a steamy hot shower scene and will have the reader hunting down their significant other to get some relief. I know I will never be able to look at another massaging shower head again without thinking of that scene.

The sex trafficking case they are both embroiled in becomes very dangerous and threatens both of their lives. Ms. Clare has done an excellent job of composing a story that draws the reader into a world that is difficult to comprehend but, elicits the reader's sympathy. The reader is so drawn into the story, you will find yourself cheering on as Julian and Tessa try to bring down the antagonist and the evil world he thrives in. The plot and the passion build to a pulse-pounding conclusion. Pamela Clare is extremely skillful at creating romantic suspense. The romance reader will not want to pass up this astounding book.

Happy Reading from Bona Fide Reflections!!