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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great., May 16, 2009
This review is from: One Deadly Sin (Mass Market Paperback)
Author Annie Solomon is a native to New York , a RITA-winner, and has been dreaming up stories since she was ten. After a twelve-year career in advertising, where she rose to Vice President and Head Writer at a mid-size agency, she abandoned her professional life for her first love, romance. Other titles include: Dead Ringer, Like A Knife, Dead Shot, Tell Me No Lies, Black Out, and Blind Curve. An avid knitter and soap opera fan, she now resides in Nashville , Tennessee with her husband and daughter.
Edie Swann has hungered for revenge ever since her family was forced to flee from their small town when she was a child. More than anything, she just wanted answers. Did her father really kill himself? Was he murdered? If so, why? By who? Armed with a list of names, Edie returns to her hometown, leaving each suspect a sign that they have her father's blood on their hands. Except, one by one, the men she has targeted begin dying- leaving her the ample suspect, and still with no answers. Sheriff Holt Drennan knew the minute Edie stepped foot in his town that she was hiding something. She has a haunted and saddened look to her eyes, despite the tough, defiant exterior. Torn between the town he loves and is sworn to protect, and the woman he's falling in love with, Holt can't help but admit that all the evidence points to Edie. As the body count rises, and long-buried secrets begin to emerge, nothing is as it seems...Except the sins of the past are ready to be paid in full- with Edie's blood.
I have to bow down and give credit where credit is due. Annie Solomon knows how to pace a story better than any other author I know. With the perfect elements of romance and suspense, she takes you on a ride that leaves you guessing until the very end. With realistic and relatable characters, flaws and all, even their responses to stress and surroundings were genuinely convincing. The small town gave credible true-to-life scenarios, making the book all the more powerful. The secondary characters added energy and endearment to the storyline. Without having to issue a spoiler alert, I didn't see the end coming. Bravo!
One Deadly Sin is a well-written, enthralling, and fascinating read- One that won't disappoint from this rising author!
Kelly Moran,
Author and Reviewer
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
3.5 Stars: Very good story, but the beginning is vague & the ending disappointing. Everything in between was terrific., August 21, 2009
This review is from: One Deadly Sin (Mass Market Paperback)
There are several good synops reviews, so I'm just adding a quick "nutshell" review:
The characters are very well written. Plenty of depth to their personalities:
~The lead male is definitely heroic. He's a single dad who is working as the town police chief. To help raise his daughter after his wife's death, Holt is living with his parents in the same home he grew up in. No one has awakened his soul in the five years since Cindy died. Now, a dark angel rides into town and shocks both his body and soul to attention.
~The lead female is a self-made misfit. She'd rather die than be like the carbon- copy blondes, wearing pastels and fussy hairdos, around the sleepy town of Redbud. She has returned to this, the town of her birth, for one reason: revenge upon those who caused her mother's and father's deaths. Riding in on a Harley, wearing black leather, black hair, and tattoos, Edie is quick to receive local scorn. The people don't want her type around... Too bad. She's not leaving until she gets what she came for. Armed with a big city attitude and a list of her enemies names, she can't wait to stir things up.
~Many other characters are involved and most are just as well fleshed out. A couple ended up being a little too 80's- horror- film- cliche, but that didn't happen until the end of the book.
~The scenes and situations are very well told. When the heroine is thrown in prison, you feel as if you are there with her. Great writing.
~All told, the mystery and suspense are terrific throughout the book. The romance is intense and deep, but the love scenes are mild. The first chapter, which was only a couple pages long, made no sense at all. Then the second chapter kicks in with the real story.
My reasons for making this a 3.5- star rating are listed below, but note the spoiler alert. In the end, it's a worthwhile read.
SPOILER ALERT:
Unfortunately, the author lets the reader down in the end. She had spent hundreds of pages keeping us guessing between a few possible suspects. All of them made sense, and any of them would have been a great choice for the murderer. Sadly, the author copped-out and threw in the old "psychotic killer you never suspected" ending from out of nowhere. The killer proceeds to then spell out how everything happened in a matter of a couple of sentences. Instead of being a shocking/ chilling answer to the mystery, it was an eye-rolling "oh please" ending.
Another thing that bothered me was that fact that Holt's father never had to pay any consequences for his part in destroying Edie's family. Nor was he prosecuted for trashing her hotel room in an effort to frighten her into fleeing... which would have lead to her being thrown in jail. He was totally stoic about it, only giving a quick apology after he was caught in his lies. Edie suddenly became the queen of forgiveness, while Holt stood strong in his disapproval of his dad's actions. So Edie threatens to leave Holt if he won't forgive his dad? A man and a woman died, a child's life was devastated, and an innocent woman almost spent the rest of her life in prison for murders she didn't commit... but Holt's dad said nothing. I'm with Holt. Dad deserves his son's scorn.
END SPOILER ALERT
Hopefully, as the author gets more books under her belt, the she'll get more gutsy about her endings. I'd love to read more from her. There were also a couple of bad editing errors... one minute Edie sees a guy lying asleep on the couch, the next she is wondering where he is...but I still enjoyed the book.
If you like romantic suspense, here are a few I love:
Unlawful Contact (I-Team Series, Book 3) (You don't need to read the two books before this one. They are good, but not as good as this third in the series.)
Thread of Fear
Bodyguard
Cry No More
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Loved this book!, April 30, 2009
This review is from: One Deadly Sin (Mass Market Paperback)
I LOVED this book! It was a great book that had me totally sucked in from the beginning. Once I picked this up, I didn't want to put it down. Besides, when you build a story around a big, hunky cop, you can't go wrong! (My hubby was a big, hunky cop when I met him!!)
Edie is set on revenge. So, she takes on the role of the bad guy in her pursuit of the truth about what happened to her father who died when she was young. When some of the folks that Edie is hoping to get answers from begin to die, she is quickly considered the likely suspect. Plus, she's the new kid in town. When Edie starts to fall for Holt, it gets a little messy considering that he's the town police chief, and his dad is on Edie's list of suspects in the cover up that killed her father. As Edie is trying to keep herself from becoming a victim, she's also trying to protect Holt and keep herself out of jail.
I liked that the villain of the story was female. That left the hero to be the hunky cop, Holt. Going in I knew that Holt and Edie would eventually hook up, but it was still interesting how it all came about. When Edie and Holt finally shared their first kiss, I found myself actually smiling! I love a good mystery thriller that has just a little romance/smut to it. They are my favorites and this one really hit it!
Throughout the book I tried to figure out who the real killer was, and just as I'd figure it out, my mind would be changed with a new twist in the story. The author kept me guessing all the way to the end. Each and every character that was a part of this story had a story of their own, so it was interesting trying to figure them all out. I loved Holt's character. He was loyal, dependable and a total gentleman. He was the good guy! He's a widowed father to a young girl and I liked this about him. It fit with the story and made him believable. He was painted as such a nice guy that as a reader I wouldn't have liked him being a divorced man. Edie was wild! She rode a Harley, had several tattoos and was stubborn. She had such a great attitude and personality! I couldn't help but want Holt and Edie to get together.
Overall, I really liked this and have already ordered another book by this author. I plan to keep my copy of this book. It's one that I would definitely read again and share with friends!
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