Customer Reviews

A Man to Die For

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

 

 

Dreyer's story of a serial killer and the nurse who is driven to defeat him is compelling, compassionate, and completely enthralling. Her heroine is smart enough to be scared and tough enough to keep going anyway, and her villian is fully drawn, never a cardboard monster in anything he does, which makes him all the more chilling. A terrific novel.

Dreyer knows how to write suspense with a dash of romance and a heaping tablespoon of sarcastic humor. Her heroines are women I admire who have fully rounded personalities and unique characteristics. The characters are odd, endearing or one's you love to hate. Keep it up, please, Eileen Dreyer!

I liked this book. The heroine was sufficiently flawed to be believable. And the "bad guy" in this one is sneaky enough to keep you wondering. The "getting inside his head" is a little creepy. The mystery is engaging. I was sad to see that Eileen doesn't use the same characters from book to book becuase I truly liked this nurse. But I guess it would stretch belief as she is a normal person in an extreme situation

When a trama nurse suspects a respected OB/GYN of murder, let alone unnecessary and rough exams, things really heat up in the ER! Eileen Dreyer takes the reader along on a thrill ride through swamps and bayous and into the local emergency room, as Casey struggles to prove her suspicions that the handsome doctor is a Real Lady Killer!!

STORY BRIEF:
Dr. Dale Hunsacker is an attractive, wealthy, well known gynecologist who recently moved to town and joined the Mother Mary Hospital. He brings clients to the hospital because women like him, especially the wealthy ones. He charms them. They flirt and fawn over him. Casey is an emergency room nurse at the hospital. She sees cruelty and a deadness in his eyes as he performs a pelvic exam, intentionally causing pain to his patient. Two nurses were killed after they left work. Each of them had argued with Hunsacker on the days they were killed. Other murders occur. Casey suspects Hunsacker. Hunsacker knows she suspects him, and he enjoys taunting her about it. Eventually Casey works up the nerve to report her suspicions to Sgt. Jack Scanlon (police detective). Jack is having trouble finding anything to connect to Hunsacker.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
I wanted to try this author, so I picked this book because it won an award. The Romance Writers of America gave it a RITA Award for Best Single Title Contemporary in 1992. I do not see this as "romance." It is straight fiction. There is no romantic relationship between Jack and Casey. The cover of the book calls it "Fiction," not romance. So I felt misled. I thought any award from RWA would be for a romance novel. I will have to be more skeptical in the future. In fairness I have to say there was one passionate kiss that came out of nowhere. The author never showed any "desire" building between the characters. It felt like a coworker relationship, and then all of a sudden there is a kiss. It was uncomfortable. And the author didn't show any emotions or romantic feelings after the kiss.

This is told in third person, but it is entirely from Casey's perspective. I am never in anyone else's head. I wanted to know other characters' thinking, feeling, and motivations - especially Hunsacker and his victims. That would have made the story better. There is one scene where Hunsacker gets out of handcuffs. I was frustrated that the author did not show how he did it.

Other important things missing - I wanted to know how Hunsacker created his alibis, how he followed and set up his victims, how he killed them, how he covered up afterward and escaped with no witnesses. Never was any of that shown. There is a scene where Hunsacker gets the upper hand against a cop. I wanted to know how he snuck up or approached the cop and what he said and did. The scene just starts with the cop already tied up and being cut.

The best books draw me to characters and have interesting interactions with other characters. There was nothing of this. If you don't have a romantic relationship, at least give me other relationships to enjoy - good or bad. This could have been done with coworkers, the police, or even patients. That was missing, so all you have left is plot. It was ok, but it didn't draw me, and it didn't keep my interest. Nothing was special or different in her attempts to stop the bad guy. I didn't feel fear because I was never in the bad guy's head. Plus my annoyance with Casey's stupidity and actions was too strong to allow me to feel her fear, as it was described.

STUPIDITY:
(1. I did not like the following stupidity by Casey and Jack. Casey should have contacted Jack secretly and alone (not with her mother present). Jack should have kept their connection secret, but he came to talk to Casey at the hospital. Then he asked Hunsacker to come to the police station for questioning. Everyone knew she was the finger-pointer. She was ostracized by coworkers, threatened with losing her job, and now in the sights of the killer. Her role was snitch, and she and Jack should have kept it secret.

(2. A policeman has been staying at Casey's house and driving her to and from work due to fear for her safety. So why does she leave work alone, not even call the cop assigned to her to check-in, and not pay attention to suspicious cars parked near her home? She stupidly walks into danger.

BEST PART:
The best part of the book was that I found it educational about being a trauma nurse. I learned some things about hospitals. But that was all.

DATA:
Story length: 471 pages. Swearing language: strong, including religious swear words. Sexual content: none. Setting: current day St. Louis, Missouri. Copyright: 1991. Genre: crime fiction.

CAUTION SPOILER (unsatifying climactic scene):
(1. Watching Casey during the climactic scene with the killer was no fun. She was so full of fear and anxiety that she was paralyzed. He didn't need to tie her up. He cut her and did things while she stood still and let him. She didn't try to run or fight. I understand and accept that anxiety can paralyze someone, but it wasn't fun to read. Besides, throughout the story she is tough, smart, has great instincts, and stands up to him. Then all of a sudden she's a frozen wimp. I want to respect the author's choice in character definition, but it wasn't fun. It was inconsistent.

(2. Someone yelled at Casey to throw something out the window. She threw a book out the window. I never understood what that someone wanted her to throw and why it mattered. Was throwing the book helpful?

I am an RN and like nurse mysteries. I like Saints and Sinners the best, but this was worth the read