Customer Reviews

High Anxiety

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

 

 

Psychologist Kate Holley wonders if she is as big a Nutcase as some of her patients ever since her former husband Jay Rush the firefighter became her lover again in spite of her obsessive compulsive fear of his profession ever since her father was taken from her by the Fire Gods. While Jay is fighting a forest fire in Florida, her best friend and receptionist, Mona Epps is on sick leave so the High Anxiety shrink hires a temporary assistant Abigail Davis.

However, although Abigail is competent she changes her wardrobe and hairstyle to emulate Kate. When she begins to get involved in Kate's personal life, the psychologist knows in this case What Looks Like Crazy is crazy. Although she has other issues and is worried about Jay, Kate knows Abigail is at the top of the list as her temp is stalking every aspect of her life.

This is an exciting fast-paced madcap thriller that balances humor with the seriousness of a deranged stalker. The story line is fast-paced whenever the plot focuses on Abigail who clearly needs help. When the subplot involves other clients, neighbors or mom it is over the top with fun eccentricity. Readers will enjoy Kate's third case mostly because of Abigail, whose needs turn potentially dangerous.

Harriet Klausner

Peppered with biting wit and southern charm, Charlotte Hughes returns with "High Anxiety" to transport her fans back into the laugh out loud and constantly crazy world of Dr. Kate Holly. Kate truly believes that her chaotic life might be actually calming down...or at least she seriously hopes so after she nurses her firefighting ex-husband back to health. When Mona, Kate's longtime best friend and secretary, finds herself suffering from a bad case of hives, Kate is forced to hire a temp--lest she be required to endure her mother's version of secretarial skills--and Kate's life quickly shifts from bad to worse.

Seriously, normal would be unexpected and boring for Hughes longtime fans. With trouble following Kate's every step and comedy around every corner, "High Anxiety" is a book to be shared between mothers and daughters, sisters and friends.

The best of the three books in the series. It keeps you turning the page until the end. Some funny moments but has a more serious tone to it. Kate Holly going from victim to taking control has you cheering. As the secondary characters band together and new interesting quirky characters are added. The stories and the plot well written and thought out. MS Hughes has a winner with this series.

I find that this book is very similar in the writing of Janet Evanovich. Nothing wrong with that - new characters and new adventures and misadventures. I do very much enjoy this new Charlotte Hughes series.

I loved the 1st book in this series and knew I had to get the other books. Charlotte's hit another one out of the park with this one!!

Kate Holly just can't seem to catch a break. The clinical psychologist from Atlanta, Georgia, endures catastrophe after catastrophe in each book in this series from novelist Charlotte Hughes, and the third (and newest) installment High Anxiety is no exception. Of course, catastrophe is somewhat the business Kate is in; she counsels patients with mental illness at her practice in a multi-business building in Atlanta (You can do your banking AND grab a bite to eat after your therapy session!).

There's the former Marine with gender identity disorder (who currently lives with Kate's own mother and aunt), the man with OCD who feels he has to move anytime he brings dirt into his home, the woman with borderline personality disorder who feels the world revolves around her, and -- of course -- the lady with multiple personality disorder whose personalities change as frequently as other people might change the music on their iPods. Kate tries her best to help her patients live normal lives, but she is always getting caught up in the midst of her own personal problems (and having to deal with the touch of OCD she herself suffers from).

In High Anxiety, Kate and ex-husband Jay are still trying their best to make their relationship work. He's a firefighter with a history of getting hurt on the job; his commitment to his work drives Kate crazy. She'd rather he settle down and find a less accident-prone career. But Jay worries about Kate, as well; the patients Kate sees have a tendency to get violent when unhappy. Her office has been blown up, and she's suffered various maladies in the previous two novels. But both stick to their guns and refuse to give up the work they love. Thus, they've been divorced and now are trying to work through their issues.

As Jay travels to Florida to help fight an outbreak of wildfires, Kate has troubles of her own back in Atlanta. First, she gets involved in a minor shooting incident while managing an anger management group. Then one of her patients goes into crisis and has to be hospitalized. In addition to all of these problems, Kate's best friend and secretary Mona falls ill. When Mona's replacement from a temp agency begins at the office, she brings with her a whole host of new problems.

Like Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series and the "Full" series that Hughes and Evanovich pen together, Hughes inserts plenty of humor into the Kate Holly series, as well. Kate's mother and aunt provide much of it, with their twin overalls and big pick-up truck for junk-finding. Kate's patients also provide comic relief at times, mixed in with their actual problems. (As we often say in the social work business, 'You have to laugh, or you'd cry.') Romance comes into the series through both the relationship between Kate and Jay, as well as the constant badgering Kate endures from her old beau and colleague Thad. And, of course, Hughes includes a bit of suspense as the reader wonders what will result from Kate's new hire.

High Anxiety is good southern fun. As I mentioned above, Hughes has partnered with Janet Evanovich in the past. Her Kate Holly series is the latest solo project she's done. In addition to the "Full" series with Evanovich and the Kate Holly series, she has written dozens of romance, romance-suspence, and "soft" horror novels. Visit her website for more info on other books, tour information, and her blog.

Charlotte Hughs writes great suspense mysteries. She also injects a level of humor to make her characters more "human". But the plot twists are diabolical and keep me reading. I can hardly wait for her next book to hit the stands!

Sort of like Stephanie Plum from Janet Evanovitch's novels, Kate Holly has the worst luck. As a therapist, it's her job to deal with the crazies. But when her best friend/assistant has to take time off work, Kate must find a temporary replacement. That replacement is Amanda Davis. Amanda seems to have some interpersonal issues, but Kate thinks it is nothing that can't be overlooked. That is, until Amanda breaks into Kate's office, goes through her thinks, and then pulls a Single White Female on Kate and copies her wardrobe.

I love the Kate Holly novels. They are super fast reads and very entertaining. They are light, kind of fluffy reads, but very enjoyable.

I enjoyed this book more than the previous two Kate Holly books. I think Ms. Hughes hit the ground running with this third installment of the Kate Holly series. The characters are more fleshed out, the book flows wonderfully, and the plot is interesting and suspenseful. I was still smiling after I finished this book.

This was the first book by Charlotte Hughes that I have read. It was laugh out loud funny. The characters were quirky and funny. Definitely a fun read!