Customer Reviews

Killing Her Softly

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

 

 

Annabelle Vanderley is 34. Since she was 23 she has been the one to handle all the responsibility in her family. Her fiancee was in an accident and was paralyzed. For the last 11 years she has been alone taking care of him for the 9 years until his death and still taking care of her uncle and his 2 preverted children, Lulu and Wythe. At 28 Lulu is wild and selfish, Wythe is an abuser and even worse. But Annabelle loves her uncle and protects him from the truth about his children.

Quinn Cortez is an attorney. He has come from nothing and from the first uses his brilliant mind for the one with the most money. A judge saved him and turned him around at 16 so he tries to help other young people. He may do good for youngsters needing a hand, but he's not so good on women. Quinn is a lov'm and leav'm sort of guy. The string of broken hearts is long and winding. He may be passionate but he's not compassionate to women. His affairs are legion and so is his reputation. Quinn doesn't make love he just fills physical needs.

Annabelle is summoned to Memphis where Lulu lives. She is shocked to learn Lulu has been murdered, she was found by her latest lover, Quinn. Naturally he is the main suspect. When they meet the unexpected happens. Quinn finds for the first time he has met a woman he can relate to. Annabelle finds him attractive but knows only to well, that the man is a player and he may have killed her cousin.

Both try to hire the same private investigator and thus find themselves joining together to find the murderer. If Annabelle can learn to trust Quinn and overcome the unwanted attraction she feels, maybe they can solve this case. However, suddenly another one of Quinn's lovers is found dead. The police and the PI find 3 other women over the last 2 years who have been killed in the same way. All of them had had affairs with Quinn, and since he has been having black-outs he is not even sure he didn't do it. So how can Annabelle be so sure?

When Annabelle starts an affair with Quinn she puts herself in the path of a psychopath. One who will stop at nothing to make Quinn pay for his free and easy life style. The rage of a woman scorned can cause the most terrible pain. And someone has to pay.

The mix of characters is wonderful and we are assured that Beverly will give each of these new personalities their own story. I look forward to each and every one. Her suspense thrillers just get better and better.

I have read all of Bevery Barton's other books for Zebra & enjoyed them, but I could not get into Quinn Cortez. He is not a likeable hero. The story itself is good, no problems there. The problem for me was Quinn & Annabelle. I personally thought they had no chemistry and I found nothing appealing about Quinn, except that he has good looks. For followers of Beverly Barton it is worth reading but nothing to get exicted over.

When Annabelle Vanderlay arrives in Memphis to claim the body of her slain cousin, the last thing she expects is to find herself attracted to the man who discovered her body, who also happens to be a suspect in her death.

Quinn Cortez is a confident, sexy, self-made success. He is a shark of an attorney, with the same reputation in the bedroom. But someone is killing his lovers. As the investigation unfolds, four additional murders have the same calling card - smothered and the index finger severed, and all but one is tied to Quinn. It has all the markings of a serial killer - could Quinn be living a double life? After all, he seems to suffer from blackouts at the same time as the killings.

Both Annabelle and Quinn retain the services of a top notch private investigator to insure that the killer of Lulu Vanderlay is caught. Though in her heart she knows that Quinn is innocent, she can't help but wonder... Also in competition for her affections is one of the investigators, Chad George. Outwardly, he is the perfect man, but as Annabelle gets to know Chad and Quinn, she gets to know who is truly the more honorable man.

I did not get the sense that the two had much chemistry; prior to Lulu's funeral, she barely gave him the time of day (she seemed more interested in Chad), then suddenly she is totally hung up on him and they can't leave the hotel room? So much was made of him being a womanizer, but when he made a list of lovers over the last two years, it was single digits... I expected a lot more from a womanizing himbo.

While there is a great deal of suspense, it really does not take a brain surgeon to see the direction the story will take when all is revealed, nor the identity of the killer. And that creepy cousin just gives you the willies. I found that I like the secondary characters better - Jim and Griffin - and I am happy to hear that they will have a story of their own coming to a bookstore soon.

This is the 2nd Beverly Barton book I have read. I enjoy her as an author. She has good character development. The plot kept me interested and wondering who the true killer was. I can't wait to follow up with my next read.

How happy am I that I found "Beverly Barton"? I really liked this book. I read a lot and a lot of the books I've been reading are "ho hum". Not this one. It's a real page turner.

In the courtroom Quinn Cortez is a ruthless - take no prisoners - kinda lawyer. In his personal life he's a charming seducer that woman fall for immediately. Unfortunately the woman he is lover to are being brutally slaughtered. Quinn has blacked out for the murders being committed.

Annabelle Vanderley (from a very wealthy family) wants her murdered cousin Lulu's killer found and brought to justice. She and Quinn try to hire the same P.I. (the best in the country) to help solve the murder. She and Quinn are immediately attracted to one another and both try to ignore the attraction. He wants her. She's afraid he may have killed Lulu and then several of his past lovers also turn up brutally murdered.

If you want to be totally entertained, read this book. This was my first Beverly Barton book but it won't be my last. I'm a true fan. I haven't been this interested in an author since James Patterson.

Well I haven't read all of BB's books but I have read a few of them and this one had to be one of my personal favorites. I usually can guess pretty early on "who did it" but I loved the fact that not only was I unable to quickly guess the killer but I was wrong in my assumption. That for me was the greatest thing ever! I will say that even when I can guess the killer quickly, I usually have several moments when I change my mind while reading one of her books. But usually I am right!

I preferred The Dying Game and The Murder Game (which are actually books 3 & 4). This one was still very enjoyable and I liked being introduced to some of the secondary characters that I read about in The Dying Game and The Murder Game.

As for the relationship between Quinn and Annabelle, I definitely did not "fall in love" with them like I did with the main romantic characters in the other two books.

The suspense/mystery was good. However, I guessed who the killer was pretty early on (even though I did not have much proof or a reason why - just a hunch). When you find out how and why in the end, it's shocking and wraps things up nicely.

I also enjoy the fact that Barton gives the readers Epilogues in the end of each book. I like seeing into the future a bit.

The Trilogy of Cherokee Pointe was my first encounter with Ms. Barton. I tried not to be too critical of her style, thinking it just related to the trilogy--in which I thought the characters were stiff and the dialogue too formal.

I looked forward to KILLING HER SOFTLY, which has a character in it that was mentioned in one of the trilogy's stories, although he never made an appearance.

Quinn Cortez is that character, the `hero', and he's an ass. His womanizing is stated so many times it's redundant and made me wonder if Ms. Barton thinks her readers are obtuse. He's a male slut--I get it! Because his former lovers are being murdered, he is a suspect in the murder cases--the first one being Lulu Vanderley.

The `heroine', Annabelle Vanderley, Lulu's cousin, is a snob. She's nice enough, really, but comes from such a `high station' that it's hard to care for her. She gasps and gapes and trembles at every little thing--a touch, a knock on the door, a sultry look from a man, etc. Despite that, she falls for Quinn Cortez, like so many women before her has. Does she want to become a name on his long list of conquests? Yes, she does--because she's fallen in love with him. Really? Again, the fact that Quinn is a suspect in Lulu's murder is hammered into the story over and over and over.

Part of the police procedure is ridiculous, which means part of it is logical. Sergeant George is the ridiculous part of the police investigation. He is ready to arrest Quinn without any evidence whatsoever, spews his opinion of Quinn's guilt all over the place, and refuses to consider another suspect.

Detective Jim Norton and Private Investigator Griffin Powell seem like decent men and real, three dimensional characters.

Incest is hinted at, forever. Again, I get it! I got it early on in the story and feel like Ms. Barton, despite the content of the story, is writing for fourth graders. It's insulting.

Despite all that negativity, Ms. Barton does provide a couple of viable suspects who could be suffocating Quinn's former lovers.

I have to say the storyline isn't bad, but as with Ms. Barton's other books to this point the majority of the characters are lacking.

I'm intrigued by Ms. Barton's CLOSE ENOUGH TO KILL, so that's next on my reading list. Because I see some talent in this author, I'll try to keep an open mind and not look for all the same flaws I've found in the four previous novels of hers that I've read.

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

www.shelleydawn.com

Definitely not my favorite by this author. I thought the relationship between Annabelle and Quinn was forced and unrealistic, and it really detracted from the story. I also didn't understand why the whole Chad George thing was never fleshed out or resolved -- what was the point of even introducing it?

*** Back cover synopsis ***
WHEN A KILLER DOESN'T WANT TO GET CAUGHT...
The woman waits impatiently on her satin sheets. Her lover knows exactly how to satisfy her. But this time, he has something else planned...something that will really take her breath away...
THERE'S ONLY ONE WAY TO ELIMINATE HIS VICTIMS...
In the courtroom, defense lawyer Quinn Cortez has a reputation as a ruthless predator who always gets what he wants. In the bedroom, it's no different. Quinn is an accomplished seducer with a long list of conquests. But now, someone has brutally slaughtered one of them, and Quinn has no memory of the night he was found in her home...
SOFTLY...
Annabelle Vanderley wants justice for her murdered cousin, and if Quinn Cortez swears he can find the true killer, she's willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. But then another body is discovered...and another...each victim an ex-lover of Quinn's. Now, consumed by dread, Annabelle wonders just how close she may be to a twisted psychopath for whom pain would be the ultimate pleasure...

*** Review (without spoilers ^_^) ***
The story starts off with the death of one of Quinn Cortez's lover and eventually, more of his past lovers turned up dead. Automatically, Quinn becomes the prim suspect, since he always seems to be within a mere mile from the setting when these murders took place. Worst of all, he doesn't seem to have an adequate alibi each time these murders were committed.
Annabelle Vanderley is the cousin one of Quinn's dead lover and despite him being a high profile suspect on the detectives' list, she believes he wasn't the murderer and falls for him. The story goes on as we see the two main characters get together and eventually revealing the true mystery behind the deaths of those women.

*** Personal opinion ***
I have to say this was a disappointment compared to what I read on the back-cover. I had read better is all I can say, despite the fact that the main character bears one of my favorite names, Quinn, and he has the reputation of a womanizer. I used to give in more liking to these facts but in this novel, the mystery wasn't as intense as I've expected and there was definitely no hint of chemistry for Quinn and Annabelle. There was absolutely no portrayal of Quinn's charm. Even the immediate attraction the two had was ridiculous to me under the considered circumstances. What irked me most was Annabelle's attraction towards Quinn - a total stranger, nonetheless, a murder suspect of her own cousin and the investigator Chad. He was just way out of his line of work. Probably the lack of realistic facts going on in this book was something that added to the disappointment.
However, I would give credit to the other low-profile characters in this book. I actually enjoyed reading more about them other than the mains.