The Kissing Blades [Paperback]

Jessica Hall (Author), S. L. Viehl (Author), Lynn Viehl (Author), Gena Hale (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 5, 2003

One of Catherine Coulter's favorite new writers captures the thrill of desire on the edge of danger-and takes passion to the point of no return...

Los Angeles-based jewelry designer Kameko Sayura thought she had managed to steer clear of the criminal world inhabited by her father and brothers. But when her sixteen-year-old shop assistant, Tara, is abducted, Kameko is drawn into a perilous search for a priceless sword collection.

Her only hope: Turn to the one man she vowed never to see again. The one man she loved...and betrayed.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Prime suspect in her beloved teenage assistant's kidnapping, 40-year-old jeweler Kameko Sayura uncharacteristically jumps bail and enlists the help of her own former kidnapper and ex-lover, Sean Delaney, an alcoholic, retired Army colonel-cum-cow herder. Warned her young employee will be killed if a priceless Asian sword collection known as the White Tiger is not retrieved within five days, Meko and Sean embark on a desperate search for answers, all the while being tailed by the police, the FBI and the Asian mob, which her deceased father once headed. Jessica Hall (The Steel Caress) packs The Kissing Blades with action and plenty of details pertaining to Japanese folklore and culture but leaves little room for character development or a credible romance to bloom between Sean and Meko. Indeed, many romance readers may lose interest in this tangled tale before it takes its final, far-fetched turn.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Signet (August 5, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 045120946X
• ISBN-13: 978-0451209467
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,752,347 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Finally!, August 20, 2003

By 

S. Gould "gouldpjaks" (Woodmere, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Kissing Blades (Paperback)

I anxiously awaited this final segment of Jessica Hall's trilogy which included 'The Deepest Edge', 'The Steel Caress', and finally 'The Kissing Blades'. In this closing chapter of the trilogy Kameko Sayura a talented 40 year old jewelery designer who first appeared in 'The Steel Caress' seeks the aid of her ex lover, Sean Delaney, an alcoholic former Army Colonel after her adored young assistant, Tara, is abducted from Kameko's showroom. Kameko must give the kidnappers the famed but missing White Tiger sword collection within the next five days in order to save Tara. Thus begins an exhausting search for Tara and the White Tiger collection with the FBI and the Asian mob in pursuit.

Although this episode brings closure to a superior trilogy and it continues to vividly explore Asian culture it lacks the warmth and depth of the previous books. The characters are not as deftly drawn and the action is almost too fast paced. Never the less it is a good and enjoyable summer read.

1.0 out of 5 stars terrible, October 21, 2010

By 

Feles31 (Honolulu, HI United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Kissing Blades (Paperback)

Looks like I am the odd man out here.

Reading S.L. Viehls' books (I believe this is a pseudonym)- another one I could not even get through.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A non-stop action romantic thriller, August 5, 2003

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Kissing Blades (Paperback)

In Los Angeles, jewelry designer Kameko Sayura goes to deposit her receipts in the bank, leaving her able sixteen-year-old assistant Tara Jones to watch the store and to make some emerald selections. When she returns Tara is gone, a sword is imbedded into her desk with Tara's bracelet on it, and a subsequent phone call substantiates that she has been abducted. The caller demands the return of the Swords stolen by her now deceased criminal father. The police suspect Kameko hurt or killed Tara especially when she seems to hide information.

Kameko needs special help and she knows one person who can do that. Retired intelligent agent Sean Delaney once abducted her in his search for her father and the swords with the encryption that supposedly could harm thousands. She finds him hidden on a farm, drinking. Unable to not help the woman who haunts him, they begin a quest to find the swords and rescue Tara not yet aware that her chip off the old block brother is in America willing to kill to possess the swords.

The finale of the Tiger Swords trilogy is a non-stop action romantic thriller that answers the questions from the previous two novels. The story line moves rapidly forward from the moment that Tara is snatched until the final confrontation. The lead duo is a delightful pair struggling to evade police, the US Army, criminals, and an assortment of other individuals who want their heads. Jessica Hall wraps up a strong trio of suspense novels with a fine finish.

Harriet Klausner