Killing Me Softly [Mass Market Paperback]

Maggie Shayne (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 29, 2010

The Nightcap Strangler, who terrorized the town of Shadow Falls sixteen years ago, has finally been executed. Case closed. Until Bryan Kendall's lover is murdered in the notorious killer's unique style and the rookie cop stands accused. Has someone committed the perfect copycat crime…or was the wrong man put to death?

A continent away, Dawn Jones hears that her first love has been accused of murder and knows that only she can help him. But to do so, she'll have to face the very fears that drove them apart.

Together they'll work to uncover secrets someone's willing to kill to keep, and renew a love as dangerous as it is inevitable. And their best lead is the girl found dead in Bryan's bed, reeking of the whiskey poured down her throat before her killer squeezed it shut.

A killer who thinks that Dawn, too, could use one last drink…

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Rookie cop Bryan Kendall awakens one morning to find his lover, Bettina Wright, strangled in his bed. The crime is identical to those committed by the so-called Nightcap Strangler, a convicted serial murderer who died in prison just weeks before Bettina's death. Bryan's worry intensifies after Dawn Jones, his ex, returns to his little Vermont town and he recognizes the strong resemblance both women share with Nightcap's former victims. Bryan's mentor, a "hero cop" who brought down the original Nightcap Strangler, is sure that a copycat killer with a grudge is trying to frame Bryan, but further murders convince the local police that Bryan is the perp. Bryan and Dawn go on the lam with Nick's help, struggling to prove Bryan's innocence as their romance rekindles. Romantic suspense fans will find this a pleasant beach read, if not particularly scary or tense.
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About the Author

Maggie Shayne is the bestselling author of more than forty novels, including the groundbreaking vampire series Wings in the Night, the most recent of which is called Prince of Twilight. Her numerous awards include two Romantic Times Career Achievement Awards, the National Readers Choice Award, and the coveted Romance Writers of America RITA Award. Maggie lives in a small town in southern central New York. Find her at www.maggieshayne.com.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Mira (June 29, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0778327930
• ISBN-13: 978-0778327936
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #163,319 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

New York Times Bestselling author Maggie Shayne has published 53 novels, all for major NY Publishers, in her 18 year career. So far. In 2012 she'll be releasing a brand new trilogy dubbed "The Portal" and its books will include MARK OF THE WITCH in October 2012, DAUGHTER OF THE SPELL CASTER in December 2012, and BLOOD OF THE SORCERESS in February 2013, all for MIRA Books.

Maggie has published westerns, category romances, romantic suspense, paranormal romances, urban fantasy, women's fiction, and just about everything in between, and is currently working on her first thriller. She's a winner of the RITA Award, the romance fiction industry's most prestigious prize, and has won countless others.

Maggie's "Twilight" series of vampire novels, officially known as Wings in the Night, began in 1993 with a TWILIGHT PHANTASIES from Silhouette Shadows. The series only just concluded with TWILIGHT FULFILLED in October 2011. (Printable list and reading order at the author's website and on her Facebook page.)

Besides being an author, Maggie is a Wiccan High Priestess, Reiki healer, Tarot Card Reader, unofficial Life Coach, Law of Attraction expert, advice columnist, and a licensed minister. Her long running newspaper advice column has just now been compiled into book form; SHAYNE ON YOU, the author's first non-fiction book.

Recently, Maggie has begun re-releasing her out of print novels in ebook format. So far these include FAIRYTALE, FOREVER ENCHANTED and ANNIE'S HERO, fantasy-romances she wrote for Avon Books (Harper Collins) in the early 1990's, and a novella WITCH MOON RISING, originally published by Spilled Candy Books.

There will be much more to come.

Of course Maggie's publishers also release E-versions of her works, and it's difficult for the average reader to tell whether an ebook is released by a publisher, or the author herself. Especially books that were previously published by a NY Publishing House. Just look for the "Publisher" listing in the book's information and you'll see what's what. The prices are usually a little bit lower on the books Maggie releases herself.

Maggie lives with her soulmate Lance in a tiny town called Taylor (phone exchange: Truxton, mailing address: Cincinnatus, tax map: Cuyler. Smalltown folks understand!) in New York State's little known but sprawling and gorgeous dairy farm & wine country near the Fingerlakes region. Together they have a pair of Old English Mastiffs (Dozer & Daisy,) a chubby little bulldog (Niblet), an arrogant cat (Glorificus,) a saltwater reef aquarium with two clown fish (Larry & Cill) and two damsels (Vinnie & Blue,) a bearded dragon (Captain Yellow Beard) and a life of utter contentment and joy.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Page Turner, July 12, 2010

By 

Kisstastic2 (Norman, OK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Killing Me Softly (Mass Market Paperback)

The Nightcap Strangler has finally died in prison so everyone sighs with relief. Then rookie cop Bryan Kendall wakes up next to his dead girlfriend. She has been killed in the same manner as the Strangler used to kill his victims. Bryan is then suspected of killing her.

Dawn Jones gets word that her first love has been accused of the crime and returns to Shadow Falls to help Bryan solve the mystery of who has started killing girls again like the Nightcap Strangler 16 years earlier.

Actions cause Bryan and Dawn to go on the run and being so close together, they start questioning why they ever broke up. However, they have to put their feelings aside and figure out who killed Bryan's girlfriend before someone else gets killed and Bryan gets accused of the murder.

This book was a page-turner. The author has a way of making you want more and more and more until you realize it is 2am in the morning. This is the first book I read by this author and I would highly recommend it. I enjoyed the depth of her characters and the story line. The romance part of the book was not over the top too much which made it seem even more real. Just two people trying to figure each other out but also trying to figure out who is killing before they are killed?

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good story, slowly solving the mystery of a serial killer while on the run from police and the killer., October 3, 2010

By 

Jane (Chicago, IL, United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Killing Me Softly (Mass Market Paperback)

(What's this?)

STORY BRIEF:
Dawn's father was psychic. Somehow when he died five years ago his gifts were passed to Dawn. She began seeing and talking to ghosts, and she couldn't make it stop. So she ran away from Vermont and made a new life for herself in California. She left her teenage sweetheart Bryan. Since then she has been taking tranquilizers and alcohol to stop the ghosts. Bryan became a cop. Nick, another cop, became famous 15 years ago when he caught the nightcap strangler, a serial killer. Bryan has been asked to prepare a presentation about Nick for an awards ceremony. It's a secret, and no one is to know that Nick will be honored. So Bryan secretly takes the serial killer police files to study them for his presentation. The serial killer is still out there. An innocent man went to jail. The killer is aware of Bryan taking the files and is worried that he might be caught. So the killer kills Bryan's friend Bette and frames Bryan. Dawn hears about this and comes back to town. She hopes to use her psychic gift to help find the killer.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
This book was labeled romantic suspense, but it's mostly mystery suspense. There's just enough romance to put it within the genre, but I would have liked more relationship development. We don't see that because the relationship developed years ago when they were teens. Now they are separated, and it's mostly about working together to solve the mystery.

I would have liked more explanation about the psychic gift being transferred to Dawn at her father's death. I expected to see more happen with this gift, but it hardly came into play at all. That's ok with me, it's just why pay so much attention to it at the beginning of the book if you're not going to use it? I also wanted to know more about Sara's baby. It was mentioned several times but never answered. Again, that's ok, but it would have been nice to get an answer.

Regarding the story, it didn't grab me emotionally. I didn't get the feeling of "oh, this is good." It felt more like slowly uncovering clues about a serial killer. It was a little unbelievable that Bryan and Dawn could go around interviewing people without being captured. The police were hunting for Bryan to arrest him. But again, I accept it for the sake of the story. It was an ok story. No serious problems, but nothing special enough to set it apart from others. There was an interesting collection of characters in a cabin at one point. I was intrigued with their interactions as they suspected each other. The ending was well done with suspense and action.

OTHER REVIEWERS:
I noticed some other reviewers say they "knew who the killer was" early in the book which was a problem for them. My reaction was different. First, I had a suspicion, but I didn't "know" for sure. Second, I don't think it's a problem to know who the bad guy is. I've read a number of good stories where I know the villain early on. It can be good to be in the minds of both the good guys and the bad guys and watch their interactions. It's just a different type of story. I wouldn't fault the author over that. In fact I was pleased with myself that I suspected someone. I felt smart. I don't often figure those things out.

DATA:
Story length: 370 pages. Swearing language: strong, including religious swear words. Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: one, five pages long. Setting: current day Vermont. Copyright: 2010. Genre: mystery suspense with some romance.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Light on romance, but an interesting plot, December 28, 2010

By 

Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Killing Me Softly (Mass Market Paperback)

(What's this?)

Rookie cop Bryan Kendall is in charge of presenting an award to his mentor, Nick who made a name for himself when he caught the nightcap strangler, who wreaked havoc on their small Vermont town 15 years earlier. The "strangler" died recently in prison, and Bryan starts reviewing the case files for the presenation, taking the files home so as not to alert anyone to the award Nick will receive, which puts him in the crosshairs of the real killer, awakening one morning to find his companion murdered in the same fashion, and he as the primary suspect. His old flame Dawn arrives in time to go on the lam with him and conduct their own investigation, using her psychic abilities. Will this be a second chance for the two?

Labeled a romantic suspense, the novel actually has a minor sub plot of romance tossed in. But I found the writing and the pacing engaging. Normally when I come upon psychic abilities, I roll my eyes and toss the book aside, however this one managed to hold my attention. It did fall a bit on the predictable side, but overall the story is very entertaining. This is the first novel I have read by this author, and I plan to seek out more titles by her (provided they don't have second sight or any other paranormal sub-plots - once is enough for me).