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5.0 out of 5 stars
A Story to Cherish, January 3, 2003
This review is from: The Night In Question (Harlequin Intrigue) (Paperback)
I loved this book! It was a real tear-jerker and really touched my heart. It also had a better balance between the romance and the suspense than so many of the Intrigues I've read lately. The love story was very emotional. At the same time the mystery was developed well. It was nice to be able to follow along on the investigation as Max and Julia figure out who framed her. It kept me eagerly turning the pages and brushing away tears. I have to disagree with the other reviewer's complaints. They're inaccurate and can be answered with some common sense. The FBI might have wanted to retry Julia, but they couldn't with what they had. The only concrete evidence against her was thrown out. They didn't have a case without it. In real life they probably would have wanted to retry her but would have decided not to waste the time and money on a circumstantial case they had no chance of winning. Also, while the sister-in-law was placed in some sort of witness protection, I thought it was clear she wasn't in the actual Witness Protection Program, since she was still in contact with her family. That's a big no-no for the Witness Protection Program. I've read enough books with the protector storyline to know that there are other kinds of witness protection than the full blown FBI relocation/renaming treatment. It was clear that was what was happening here. The reviewer also reveals a secret that doesn't come out until well into the book, which is annoying. I highly recommend The Night in Question. Max and Julia were wonderful characters who have both suffered devastating losses. Watching them walk a path to redemption and hope was a joy.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Gripping, May 23, 2007
This review is from: The Night In Question (Harlequin Intrigue) (Paperback)
This is one book that grabbed me from the very first page and never let go. I meant to read only a few pages before going to bed, but once I started it, I only surfaced almost an hour later, almost halfway through the story.
Those first pages are just amazing, with Julia just out of prison and having to deal with Max following her everywhere and pretty much harassing her, because he thinks she got out of jail on a technicality and is guilty of killing her husband and trying to kill her daughter, too.
Those pages until Max realizes the truth... wow! I read the entire thing with a lump in my throat, almost crying for Julia. She's a very tortured heroine, not just because of her experiences in jail (though those were horrific enough... the scene in which Max finds out what exactly is that weird mark on her hand was very powerful), but because of an overwhelming guilt for certain decisions made years before, especially before her marriage.
Once they start working together, after an angsty scene in which Max sees the light (a scene helpfully excerpted on the first page by those idiotic people at Harlequin), the book does become a teeny bit less emotional, but still quite good.
The mystery that is at the heart of the book is interesting and well constructed, but it's the romance that makes it a winner. Even when their relationship is at its most adversarial, when Max still considers Julia a black widow spider, these two fairly sizzle. It turns out Max is just as tortured as Julia, and the scenes in which she basically brings him back to life emotionally were wonderful.
Truly a buried treasure, this author!
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Emotionally rich story, December 1, 2002
This review is from: The Night In Question (Harlequin Intrigue) (Paperback)
Julia Tennant spent two years in jail, convicted of killing her husband and three other men with a bomb. Now she's free, on a legal technicality. But FBI agent Max Ross will do whatever it takes to keep Julia from seizing her daughter and becoming a fugitive. Except, when he's with Julia, he starts to wonder whether he put the right person in jail. Could he have made a mistake--been led into a false conviction? Author Harper Allen does a fine job delivering the emotional message of her story. Julia has emerged from prison a different woman from the weak person who went in. She's stronger, tougher, but still capable of love--and blessed with a psychic bond to her daughter despite the distance and the years that separate them. Max has never forgiven himself for the death of his wife and unborn son--a son he denies ever existed. Julia's mother/child bond tears at him at the same time as he sees it for something he can never have. Allen's dream sequences add texture to the story. Severe research problems weaken the intrigue plot. If Julia had been freed due to a flawed search warrent, the FBI would be doing everything it could to prepare for a new trial--second trials for the same crime are barred only in cases of an innocent verdict, not the case here. The idea that Julia's sister-in-law would be admitted into the witness protection program to protect her from Julia (who is in prison) is unrealistic. Witness protection is expensive and wouldn't be offered in cases like this. Romance readers who don't quibble over legal matters and focus on the emotional details will find THE NIGHT IN QUESTION to be a rewarding read.
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