Customer Reviews

Long After Midnight

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book was really good. It had me considering ways in which the characters were going to "get rid of" the bad guy, but the ending really let me down. There was no swinging-up to a big climax. That's why I gave it only 3 stars. Most times the ending can either make or break a story. This one just shot it right down.

Johansen has really provided some fabulous reads and this one is no different. The story grabs you and pulls you in at the very beginning and you just don't want to put it down...even after the last page.
The characters are strong, the story intersting, the plot flows smoothly and there is just the right touch of sensuality to sizzle. Keep up the great writing...

The characters in this book are forever taking showers. When they're not taking showers, they are either planning to take a shower, wishing they could take a shower, or telling each other to take a shower.

Why in the world does she make the main character, Kate, a scant *29* years old?? It's ridiculous. Not only does she have an MD, she has at least one PhD. And she has managed to reach the top of her field by 29. But wait, there's more! She also, during all this achievement, managed to squeeze out a baby at the tender age of TWENTY, and then raise it. Uh huh.

Why does Johansen not just make Kate 39, and be a bit more realistic on all counts? There is a hint early on when Kate muses that Benny, her ex-husband's new girlfriend, is only 23, which makes her so much more attractive than elderly Kate. ARGH! Clearly, Johansen does not think a woman can be attractive at the advanced age of 39. *snore* How ridiculous.

I found the abridged reading of Long After Midnight to be a tense twisty thriller with plenty of action. The reading by Carolyn McCormick- best known as Dr. Olivet on Law and Order- is right on. She is able to capture the drama of this medical thriller without being over the top.
I liked the main character Kate Denton and found her reactions to be believable, Seth the mercenary who protects her is the typical romance alpha male with the soft spot for the woman he is protecting. I liked Seth - he does not take any guff and barrels along removing all obstacles that come at them.
The underlying storyline is that Kate is approached by a scientific genius who has developed the ultimate drug- RU2 can cure everything. Only problem- he needs a delivery system to make sure it can get to the cells in your body that are diseased. Kate has that system. When they team up the forces of big business, the mafia and the government all come after them. Nobody wants the ultimate cure all on the market- it would destroy the pharmaceutical industry, as an illegal substance it has potential for untold profits.
Great thriller- perfect for a good long car ride!

Long After Midnight is the best book I have ever read in my entire life. It was suspenseful and very unpredictable. Iris' other books are great too. If you enjoy this book you will also enjoy The Ugly Duckling and And Then You Die. They are both by Iris Johansen. They are worth reading. If you like the way Iris Johansen writes then you should also read a book by Thami Hoag. She is equally as good. I hope that you enjoy this suspensful book as much as I did!

After reading the other 2 I mentioned, this was just not so exciting and nerve racking.

In all fairness, I think it is a good read and a reviewer mentioned about how unrealistic it is that Kate Denby is 29 and has all these degrees, well it is all explained in page 8.

I had a really hard time connecting with the plot when I listened to the abridged version. I would NOT recommend it. I'm going to try reading it and see if it gets any better. Was upset that Noah died as well. I also thought Kate was a little annoying I would have let him kill Ishmaru. She should really feel responsible for all those other deaths.

I have only read 3 of Johansen's books but I would rank this one the best. It was so inspirational to me. I have the greatest interest in joining CIA now. I have always wanted to do spying and such and this totally motivated me. I couldn't put this book down. The characters were described so well that I felt as if I knew them. Johansen's mix of mystery, suspense, action and romance is incredible. I found that television was no longer interesting to me. This book played out in my mind. If I were to suggest any book in the whole world for someone to read it would be this one. The end of this one was satisfying. I would love to have it go on but I was satisfied with the end. I didn't HAVE to know more. READ IT!!!

Long After Midnight is only the second novel by Iris Johansen I have gotten around to reading. I loved everything about this book. Kate was a very likeable character. She was strong but towards the end willing to admit she needed help. Seth was great. At first I thought I wouldn't like him but he turned out to be good guy. Kate ended up with the right guy. Noah was to like herself. Ishmaru was a very creepy bad guy. The whole Indian mysticism was kind of scary coming from him. Some people take things to far. The only thing that wasn't plausible was RU2, it seems kind of unbelieveable. But all and all it was a very suspenseful journey.

As far as I know, Iris Johansen has only written a few books in the mystery genre but numerous of the romance variety (ok, so they may have been hot and steamy, but the mysteries have much better story lines!). In my opinion, all of these mystery tomes are fantastic and I highly recommend each and every one of them! If I had to pick a favorite one, I'd be hard pressed, as each are unique and utterly captivating. I finished LONG AFTER MIDNIGHT and loved it! Was it better than UGLY DUCKLING or FACE OF DECEPTION or THE KILLING GAME or AND THEN YOU DIE? I can't make that decision but I can tell you that each one of these kept me intrigued until the very end.

In LONG AFTER MIDNIGHT, Kate Denby a doctor of genetic research is an unwilling target for competitors who are willing to kill in order to stop the completion of a drug that will change the world. Noah Smith, of J and S Pharmaceuticals, approached Kate to go to work for him and refuses to take no for an answer. The opposition doesn't know or care that she's turned him down. When her ex-husband is killed in a car bombing right in front of her, not so soon after Noah's plant is blasted, she begins to suspect that something is wrong. This begins the story of her run in order to save not only her life, but also that of her young son, Joshua. Iris Johansen throws in a few love entanglements with Kate, Noah and Seth, Noah's best friend. Seth has the responsibility of helping to keep them safe while Noah and Kate try to finish work on RU2, the wonder drug of the future. This is enough to make a wonderful story, but Johansen doesn't stop there. She throws into the mix a diabolical creature named Ishmaru who enjoys scalping his victims. Kate defeats Ishmaru once, but he's on her trail and uses Joshua's safety to play head games with Kate.

When things seemed to level out to a steady rhythm, Johansen hurled an obstacle to create another dimension - a realm I hadn't even thought existed. I don't think you'll ever really figure out the entire plot and subplots included in this book until the very end. I thought I had everything worked out in my head and then BAM - a major zigzag was added that gave even more depth to the tale.

Iris Johansen has a unique style and you will always be thrown off by an unexpected twist in the book (usually towards the end of it). This is what makes her mysteries more enticing than most writers - she's always trying to keep the reader on his/her toes.

This is definitely a "stop light book" and you'll lose sleep trying to finish this one! An absolute must for your summer reading list! By the way, if you haven't read my definition of a stop light book, it's in my review of UGLY DUCKLING by this same author.