Customer Reviews

Not Guilty

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Keely Bennett has a wonderful husband, and a loving nine year-old son when her life shatters.
Her husband Richard has been suffering from migraine headaches and as a result of the excruciating pain he decides to take his own life, leaving his young son victim to finding the body. This devastating blow pushes Keely to the limits of what her mental, and emotional state can handle, but with the help of Richard's best friend Mark Weaver she can get over this horrible tragedy and put back the pieces of her life.

What started as a friendship with Mark turned to love, and several years later the two are married with a beautiful baby girl, but what on the surface seems perfect is not...

Keely's son Dylan, now a teenager, has become distant, and his dislike for his step-father and baby sister has become more apparent, forcing Keely to reach out to help her son before it's too late, but another shocking tragedy will plunge her back into the depths of darkness she so fought so hard to escape.

While out one night, Keely returns home to find Mark dead, a victim of drowning, and her infant daughter soaking wet, the police rule this as an accident, obviously the baby fell into the pool and Mark jumped in to save her, even though he couldn't swim, but the pool gate is always locked, how did it get unlocked? The further the police look they come up with their prime suspect...Keely's son, Dylan. Refusing to believe her son is a murderer, Keely begins questioning everything she thought she knew about her second husband Mark, the answers she will find will be beyond anything she could have imagined, and worse still are the connections to the death of her first husband.

Keely realizes she must find her answers quickly, for tracking her every move is a killer who will stop at nothing to keep the secrets of the dead buried.

`Not Guilty' is an up-all-night, adrenaline fueled, thriller that can't be set aside until all the secrets are revealed. Twist after twist you will be held spellbound trying to figure out where the book is going, and just when you think you have it figured out another twist comes in and throws you off track.

Patricia MacDonald has crafted a masterpiece of suspense, very similar to the early works of Joy Fielding, she grabs her reader early on and hurtles them through one of the most enjoyable thrillers I have read in years.

I can't recommend this book highly enough, anyone looking for a suspenseful thriller should run out and buy this for it is that good, it deserves to be bestseller!

An absolute MUST read!

...

I have read some of Patricia MacDonald's books previously and have always found them to be well written, with unexpected twists and turns. Ms. MacDonald writes in the same genre as Mary Higgins Clark - the everyday world surrounding an attractive and sympathetic heroine becomes a place of horror. This tale, which involves both a woman's relationship with her troubled son and her loss of two husbands who were also childhood friends under suspicious circumstances(one to suicide, one to an "accidental" drowning) is loaded with well drawn characters and that "turn of the screw" type of suspense that makes you keep reading. Yes, some will say it's predictable - but that's the beauty of it - you start one of Ms. MacDonald's books and you do know exactly what you're going to get. And, in today's crazy world, that's a wonderful thing. I highly recommend "Not Guilty" to those of us who love women in jeopardy novels and Lifetime Movie Network movies and aren't ashamed to admit it. I loved this book and now want to read all of this author's books!

I think that this book is worth reading, but it's not an edge of your seat page turner like some other thrillers. The plot is interesting (if not a wee bit far fetched) and will keep your attention. It just doesn't get thrilling and scary and make you anxious like some other books I've read.

It is the story of Keely Bennett. Her first husband committed suicide and her son found him. While dealing with this tragedy, Mark Weaver swoops in as an old friend of Richard's who has to come to help Keely with the legal aspects of his death. He falls in love, they get married and have a baby together. Too good to be true? Yes! Mark is found dead...presumable an accident in their pool. Until a woman scorned, the District Attorney, tries to pin it all on Keely's son. The story from there is about Keely trying to protect her son...and what they find out about Mark's death. It unravels at a quick pace and doesn't leave you wondering for too long.

It's a good book...but not too "thrilling."

Not ever having read anything by Mrs. MacDonald, I wasn't sure I'd like this book. Was I ever surprised! Mrs. MacDonald is a Class-A writer. She kept me guessing, right up to the end. And the "villain" was someone I never would have suspected. The plot twists were just fabulous; they kept me right on the edge of my chair. Every time I thought I knew who the "villain" was, Mrs. MacDonald inserted a clever plot twist and shot my clever theory down. I read this book in two settings. And the ONLY reason I didn't read it in one, was because I had things I just had to do. It was THAT great.

I have never given my opinion about a book before. But felt that THIS book was well worth the effort.

I've already gotten the titles of some of Mrs. MacDonald's previous books, and fully intend to read them.

Keely is happily married to Richard Bennett and living in Ann Arbor with him and their nine-year-old son Dylan. The only problem is Mark's crippling migraines, which come with increasing frequency and cause Kelly and Dylan to remain absolutely silent when he's in the throes of one. One day, when Keely comes home from work, she sees Mark dead, the victim of suicide and her son hiding in the closet.

Four years later, she is happily married to Mark Weaver and has a one-year-old daughter by him. Mark and Richard were best of friends in high school and from the moment he saw Keely at the funeral, he claimed to have known she was the one for him. History repeats itself when Keely comes home from shopping to find Mark dead in the pool, his wet daughter at the side of the pool. At first the police treat it like an accidental death but an ambitious District Attorney, who once was Mark's lover, tries to blame Dylan for his death. As a result of her actions a tragedy occurs and Keely goes to extraordinary lengths to exonerate her son and flush out the real killer.

Patricia MacDonald is the mistress of suspense, an author who writes such an exciting tale that readers immediately become interested in the story line. NOT GUILTY stars a strong and dynamic heroine but the character that steals the spotlight is Dylan, a fourteen old teenager who has known much tragedy in his life but goes on fighting even though the odds are against him.

Harriet Klausner

I have only discovered Patricia MacDonald not to long ago and have been devouring anything I can read by her. Not Guilty was a
great story about Keely Bennett who has a 9 yr. old son and a husband who suffered from terrible migraines. She comes home one day to find her husband dead, a sucide and finds her 9 yr old son Dylan in the closet after discovering his father. In comes Mark who says he is Ricards childhood friend and is a lawyer and offers to help Keely get Richards insurance and such in order. They fall in love and marry and have a child...but then tragedy strikes again when her second husband is also found dead. The DA who previously was engaged to marry Keely's second husband is out for revenge and tries to pin it on Dylan, Keely's brooding teenage son. Its a wild ride and keeps you on your toes. I enjoyed this book very much and read it in a day!
I hope Patricia MacDonaly keeps them coming.... still a few I haven't read yet and today will run out and get them!

Patricia Macdonald has done it again... I couldn't put this book down. She writes in such a believable way and keeps the reader guessing the entire time. A great book to take on vacation!

I basically stumbled upon Patricia MacDonald one day in our Hennepin County Library in Edina, Minnesota. It has been quite awhile since I have discovered an author who causes me to cease doing anything but reading! She keeps her plot moving and develops her characters with every passing page. Let us hope that she continues to write, but not merely a duplicate of the previous novel as some author's have done of late. She is well worth five stars and I have alerted other's to her.

Fabulous. Could not put it down. Twists in the plot but not so convoluted that you had to re-read to understand. I intend to read more of this author's work.

I just finished reading this book & it was great. Patricia MacDonald is a wonderful writer. It was very hard to put this book down. It has a very surprising ending. If you like a good mystery do read this book