Customer Reviews

Killjoy

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

Ms. Garwood first hooked me with her charming historical novels such as the Secret, and Saving Grace. She has since moved on to pen the Romantic Suspense and Killjoy is the third in a series that began with Heartbreaker, and then was followed by Mercy.

Killjoy is the story of Dr. Mike's (heroine in Mercy) bother John Paul. In this story the killer for hire Monk plays a large part in the story. You will remember him from Mercy as well. If you have not read the previous two books that is ok this story still manages to stand alone. This story is fast paced but it is more supsense and on the edge of your seat reading with a little romance on the side. This seems to be more of a mainstream novel then romance so fans of Ms. Garwood may be a little disappointed by this. I found that the lack of romance was not a bad thing and made the romance between John Paul and Avery more believable since they were not falling into bed right away. The story is well plotted and the character development is also well done. The secondary story and characters add to the telling of the story instead of detracting from it. All in all this is a very strong novel and worth the time it takes to read.

Killjoy is another treat for Garwood's fans. For many of us, making the leap with Garwood from historical romantic suspense to contemporary romantic suspense was a bumpy transition with her first effort, Heartbreaker. Mercy was much better, and I was expecting more stories featuring the Buchanan Brood. I was pleasantly surprised to meet some new characters in Killjoy and learn more about an enigmatic character from Mercy.

Avery Delaney, the heroine of Killjoy, is a very likable FBI analyst, who has overcome a troubled past. John Paul Renard, the hero, has his own demons and is desperately in need of someone like Avery in his life. Readers will remember John Paul, the mysterious older brother of Dr. Mike from Garwood's previous contemporary, Mercy. After meeting him in that book, I was interested in finding out where this cynical man's story might go. I was glad with the direction in Killjoy.

Readers will also be pleased to see old friends, like Noah Clayborne, and catch up on the folks in Bowen, LA, but don't expect a repeat of Mercy's down home, bayou vibe. Set in and around the fashionable Aspen, CO mountains, Killjoy has as many twists and turns as the roads and rivers described in the book.

Garwood's well on her way to a dual career in contemporary and historical romantic suspense.

Like many other reviewers on here, I've been a long time fan of Ms. Garwood. Her historical romances are fun, warm, and loving. Once you read "The Secret" or "The Bride," you don't forget the characters.

Over the past three years, Ms. Garwood has gone away from this genre, and into suspence-romance. At first, I was excited. One of my favorite authors was branching out to find a larger audience. However, I bought her first novel "Heartbreaker" and was greatly disappointed. I wasn't going to give up on her though. I bought "Mercy" and thought, this was a little better. Finally, there's "Killjoy."

"Killjoy" is really a story about the heroine's mother, Jilly. This book should have been titled "Jilly's Revenge." The time and effort spent to her was vast, compared to that of the hero in the book. John Paul, who we first met in "Mercy," was not given fair justice in this book. His military background was not explained fully. We understand what initially drove him to move back home, but we don't understand why it took that last assignment to do so. Also, it is unclear how this individual "loner" guy falls in love with someone very opposite of himself.

Overall, "Killjoy" is an okay novel. It isn't the great Ms. Garwood we've had in the past. If you are just getting into Ms. Garwood, I would recommend her earlier work first. Start with "The Secret" and skip these contemporary novels.

Julie Garwood writes good suspenseful books like Killjoy. I read it in four days, I could not put it down. The characters and the situations they found themselves in are really well written. And I agree with one of the other reviewer's about having Noah Clayborne as the main character in a novel, I would definately buy that one as well.

I am a Julie Garwood fan and have read all of her books. Killjoy is the 3rd of her series including Heartbreaker and Mercy. The main man in this book is John Paul, the brother of Dr. "Mike" from Mercy. The storylines from the previous two books are continued in Killjoy, however, it can be read as a stand-alone.

Garwood is a fabulous writer. Once you start one of her books it is difficult to put it down. In my opinion, Killjoy was not as good as her other books. I had been anxiously awaiting a book with John Paul and this didn't live up to my expectations. None of her books are bad, but this just didn't grab me the way her other books did. I reccomend you wait until it comes out in paperback. Don't spend the money on hardback.

Ms. Garwood has done a tremendous job jumping from historical romance to contemporary suspense romance. Garwood is a great writer and knows how to intrigue you from the very beginning. She does a great job of weaving her characters from one book into another. And she has the gift of letting humor be present in many situations throughout her stories. I love reading about the different characters from one book to another.
Killjoy is the third attempt in the contemporary arena. If you have not read Heartbreaker and Mercy, after reading Killjoy you will want to. It has more violence than Mercy or Heartbreaker but is thrilling to the very last page. I could not put this down until I had finished it.
The return of John Paul, Noah, and Monk was great! I can't wait to see if she will write anything with Noah in her next book. Way to go Garwood!

This continuation of Julie Garwood's exciting and well-written 'Mercy' was a lackluster disappointment. It almost felt like it had been written by another person!

Where its predecessor, 'Mercy,' made Monk an intriguing villain, 'Killjoy' turned him into a buffoon. The protagonists had few likeable moments, and while I had hoped John Paul Renard's character would be given more depth now that he was the hero of the story, there was hardly any development. Perhaps that was what was what was so unappealing about this novel - everyone, whether they were supposed to be on the side of right or wrong, came off as immensely shallow, and the traumas that were meant to endear them to the reader felt sorely contrived.

Also, too often the action of the story was told in past-tense summation. Escapes, explosions - some moments that could have been tense, page-turners were half-heartedly skimmed over in ho-hum narrative. The end result was more deflating and tedious than thrilling.

Julie Garwood's prior work is much more entertaining than this selection.

SLOW START & KEPT GOING DOWNHILL ...No romance, little suspense and not worth reading unless you like crazy, violent people... a sociopath, hit man, etc. I am a fan of Ms. Garwood's wonderful historical romances and really feel disappointed in her current switch to violence. Previous characters were introduced to try to save the lack of plot... it didn't work. Don't waste your money ... read it from the library if you must ...

Yikes! This book falls into the "it is so bad it is funny" category. I finished it only because it kept me laughing so hard at how bad it was. In one scene our so-called heroine actually says "Heavens to Betsy" as she hits her peak during sex. I nearly dropped the book from laughing. The plot is totally unbelievable from beginning to end. Like many other posters here, I was hoping the hit man would succeed and kill the vapid heroine and her disgustingly superficial and self-centered aunt. I found so many scenes that were hysterically funny because they were so stupid. Several times the heroine and the bland hero who inexplicably falls in love with her are on the run from certain death and the ridiculous girl stops to do her yoga. Simply hilarious. And yes I called her a girl because she is definitely not a woman by any stretch of the imagination. She may have the body of Helen of Troy but she is mentally no more than a teenager. I can understand a man might want to have sex with her but anything more than that is simply not plausible. She and her aunt would drive any man to murder in a very short amount of time. If the aunt's husband had taken out a contract on her, I would have helped him pay for it. Plot--unbelievable. Dialogue--hilariously bad. Characters--cartoons. Overall--AWFUL.

The tension and action is still in abundance in Garwood's third Buchanan installment, "Killjoy." John Paul Renard, who was a minor character in the last novel gets his own story, providing background into why he was so apprehensive of the government and became a recluse.

Avery Delaney is the daughter of Jilly, a truly evil sociopath. Abandoned and raised by her grandmother and aunt Carrie, Avery was left for dead when Jilly's lover killed her grandmother. She managed to survive, though filled with scars, and put him behind bars. Jilly apparently perished in a car accident and escaped punishment. Avery moved to LA with Carrie, who is now a high powered talent agent.

Now an FBI analyst, Avery discovers that Carrie never arrived at the Colorado spa retreat where they were supposed to meet. She is accosted by sexy John Paul, who's tracking the elusive hit-man Monk (last seen killing the arrogant ringleader of the infamous "Sowing Club" from Garwood's "Mercy"). He has tracked Monk to Carrie, also missing are two other women who have no apparent link to Carrie.

Soon they discover that the money behind Monk's latest job is feral mom Jilly, who faked her death, and now is wreaking havoc in a misguided attempt to get justice for her former lover who's rotting in jail because of Avery's testimony. Joining forces and falling in love while on the run eluding Monk, Avery and John Paul unravel the mystery with the aid of charismatic FBI agent Noah Clayborne, who always steals the show, adds humor to the storyline.

Garwood's latest installment in the Buchanan mysteries is an action-packed, suspense-filled romantic romp through the mountains of Colorado. The two protagonists are perfect foils for each other.