Customer Reviews

No One Lives Forever

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

 

 

Born into violence, Christian Delacorte wants nothing more than a peaceful life with the woman he loves, Detective Raven Mackenzie.

Then assassin Jasmine Lee shows up to collect a marker he owes her and wants his help to rescue Nicholas Charboneau, her much older lover. Jasmine entices him to leave Raven behind.

Christian should have told Raven everything about his life before, and should have taken Raven along to begin with, it's not like she was a school teacher; she was a well trained cop!

Neither Jasmine nor Nicholas deserved to breathe air. They had no redeeming characteristics. Nicolas was a self serving, high end criminal with no concept of love or honor and was responsible for Christian's mother being in prison. Jasmine was a heartless, cold blooded, slutty assassin. She supposedly loved "Nicky" yet she was constantly touching Christian and throwing in sexual innuendos even when Raven was there. She would run a finger down his chest, put her hand on his thigh. In all fairness Christian often let her. She spied on him when he was in the shower and after she drugged him, climbed into his bed, made him think she was Raven and almost had sex until he realized it was Jasmine.

The story could have been done, and much better, with different characters. I was rooting for both Jasmine and Nicholas being killed in the end. The ending was anti-climatic and the resolution of Christian and Raven took place in two pages and he still hadn't told her everything about his past. It was a big letdown of characters I'd come to love.

In Chicago, bodyguard and paid killer Jasmine Lee visits Christian Delacorte to call in the favor he owes her. She needs his help to rescue her boss and lover crime lord Nicholas Charboneau; kidnapped in Brazil. Although he wants nothing to do with this woman or her caper as he just wants to be with his beloved Detective Raven Mackenzie, he reluctantly agrees. He knows he owes her and pays his debt.

Jasmine also knows that Christian is Nicholas' son and informs her shocked new partner who never knew who his dad was. With Raven joining them as she refuses to be left behind, the trio goes to Brazil to rescue his father, but Christian does not trust the hit woman and wonders what Jasmine's true agenda is.

The third "No One" thriller (see NO ONE LEFT TO TELL and NO ONE HEARD HER SCREAM) is an exhilarating romantic suspense tale filled with plausible twists especially as Raven and Jasmine wonder who their ally is and who their enemy is; no one is quite like they seem. Fans will feel the danger on every page as this strong action-packed tale lives up to its title. Jordan Dane is three for three.

Harriet Klausner

Jordan Dane's NO ONE LIVES FOREVER is the third of a debut series. This third book complements the second book, NO ONE LEFT TO TELL. Dark and suspenseful, NO ONE LIVES FOREVER takes the reader to the very edge of romantic suspense in terms of danger and the happy ending for which the romance genre is known. Combining chilling genetic crime and psychological depth, this novel will appeal to readers who like their suspense dark and their villains wicked with just a twist of empathy.

A man so cunning that life and business are carefully executed like the moves of a master chessman, Nicolas Charboneau, finally meets his match. Despite his great discipline and control, Nicholas cannot escape his past or payback for his actions. Kidnapped from his Brazilian hotel room, he can only think of his beloved and loyal bodyguard, Jasmine Lee, swearing vengeance, before losing consciousness. When Jasmine recovers from the attack and receives a ransom note, she must turn to the man who owes her, Christian Delacorte. Not only does he have the financial resources, but she once saved his and Raven Mackenzie's life. Even if she has to reveal the secret that Fiona Dunhill never told her son about Nicholas Charboneau, Jasmine will do anything to get her Nicky back.

Christian Delacorte and Raven Mackenzie love one another, but Christian has a dark side, a place where even Raven's love cannot enter. When Jasmine comes to them with a tale about Nicolas Charboneau's abduction, Raven feels Christian slipping away. With the secret revealed, Christian has no other choice but to go with Jasmine into the Brazilian jungle to hunt down the kidnappers and confront his past head on no matter what the physical or personal danger. Christian has primed himself as a hunter, a man able to fight and protect even in the dead of night. As he tries to unravel the clues to the identity of the kidnappers, Christian finds himself in a new and completely unfamiliar territory. Will his skills and savvy be enough this time to do his job and get out safely? Raven knows that their love will never grow unless he faces the dark side he hides from her. Will she be able to let him go? Will this journey bring him back to her or forever rupture their love? Will he even make it back?

In her delightfully dark tale of romantic suspense, Jordan Dane develops the themes and characters introduced in her previous release, NO ONE LEFT TO TELL. In the jungles of Brazil, ancient voodoo rituals and cutting edge genetic research create an ominous and sometime macabre atmosphere of mystery. Every trail might be a misstep. Law officers shadow the hunt, checking Christian's every move. Perhaps part of the corrupt criminal infrastructure and perhaps not, everyone Christian meets must be seen as a threat. One clue conflicts with another. The trail leads in several directions and to make matters worse, the clock ticks down with little time to spare. As the race quickens, Christian must ask himself what role does Nicholas Charboneau play in the shocking crime uncovered? Does his past even make him worth saving?

Jordan Dane takes dark and mysterious to the next level as Christian hunts down the trail of his father, a man known for turning crime into a work of art, a chess game to be played with finesse and minute skill to the final checkmate. Jordan Dane takes the reader into the heart of a man once a victimizer turned victim, allowing the reader to feel this man's agony, the one tender place within him. Jordan Dane peers deep inside the psyche of Jasmine Lee, the mysterious almost super-heroic Asian martial arts bodyguard, allowing the reader to see beyond the ultra-tough girl to the dark attraction that binds her to Nicky. As Jasmine and Christian follow the trail, each is forced to trust one another more than they would like. Each reveals vulnerabilities as the past comes back to strip off the layers of self-protection so carefully built. As the dangers increase and lives are risked with no guarantee of living beyond the moment, Christian and Raven are drawn to each other in ways that will test the very nature of their union, a love that must reach down to the primal depth as love faces the raw uncertainty of death. Crime and psychology combine to create a character portrait that haunts and moves the heart.

In NO ONE LIVES FOREVER, Jordan Dane's vision takes the reader to the most intimate level of crime and suspense as hints of genetic research turn to nefarious ends. Christian himself must look to the nucleus of his family. Having found his mother, he must now look into the dark unknown world of his father. Jordan Dane creates a taut edge-walking level of suspense as the external and internal journey meld. A trek to the remote heart of the Brazilian jungle leads to a hunt to the depths of the human soul, a journey just as perilous as the physical one. Jordan Dane takes the reader to the brink of the macabre, looking into the very hearts of her darkest characters, a villain and an assassin, while allowing the reader to see the strength of the human heart in love and facing death. In an exquisite sequel to NO ONE LEFT TO TELL, Jordan Dane brings all to a perfect conclusion, with just the slightest door open to leave readers with the hope that she will explore the lives of these wonderfully complex characters in future novels. Jordan Dane writes with a kind of aesthetic beauty, taking the readers to the line with a dark moment reminiscent of Edgar Allan Poe, while also revealing the brief splinter of light within the fullness of her characters to show their humanity. Dark, rich and complex, NO ONE LIVES FOREVER completes Jordan Dane's suspense debut trilogy with a masterstroke!

I apologize its taken me so long to do this...I thought it was already done...sorry....thanks so much for the book...just as described and I will return to buy from you again..thanks again.....AAAAAAAAAAA++++++++++++ Pat

I'm reading it right now and so far it is a good read...I have more
of Jordan Dane's books and look forward to reading them all...

Life can change in an instant. One minute, Nicholas Charboneau is on top of the world and the next minute he's held hostage, at the mercy of kidnappers for reasons he can't fathom. His bodyguard and lover, Jasmine Lee, is willing to do anything to save her precious Nicky, even breaking the silence about the son Nicholas fathered. After all, his son, Christian Delacorte, owes her a favor and he has the perfect training and background to help. Christian agrees to help rescue his father, but at what personal cost? Will he lose the woman he loves, Detective Raven Mackenzie, in his quest to discover his heritage?

NO ONE LIVES FOREVER is the third book in a trilogy although only the last two books in the trilogy are truly connected. I would strongly recommend reading NO ONE LEFT TO TELL prior to reading NO ONE LIVES FOREVER as the two books are closely intertwined. Raven and Christian's relationship is developed in the prior book as are the connections to Nicholas and Jasmine. Jordan Dane does provide the necessary history to read NO ONE LIVES FOREVER as a stand alone but a reader will miss many of the nuances of the relationships if so.

NO ONE LIVES FOREVER is perhaps the darkest book in the trilogy. While the first two were more along the lines of the romantic suspense genre, Jordan Dane takes a bit of a chance with this one... and it works quite well! In fact, NO ONE LIVES FOREVER is my favorite of the three books despite one niggling detail that kept it from truly reaching the level of perfection.

Jordan Dane continues to express the theme of redemption as seen in the earlier books. Nicholas has lived a life profiting off of the misfortunes of others but his kidnappers have put him in a position in which he is powerless. Christian desperately wants to know about his father even though he expects the very worst, both about Nicholas' circumstances and his character. Meanwhile, Jasmine and Raven both dread, for very different reasons, that they will lose the men they love. Jordan Dane reaches deep into the hearts of her characters to produce a gripping and sometimes chilling story in which every person is suspect and the hope of redemption is the only light shining through moments of pure fear.

NO ONE LIVES FOREVER is an excellent conclusion to the trilogy. Jordan Dane's eloquent use of language in creating a taut, riveting atmosphere is phenomenal. My only regret with the entire tale is a bit of an inconsistency in Christian's character that doesn't seem to jibe with the prior book. However, the strength of the storyline overcomes this detail as NO ONE LIVES FOREVER is very enjoyable.

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

Well, I got through 58 pages of "No One Lives Forever" by Jordan Dane. On the good side, it's a library book. On the bad side, our library wasted money on its purchase. The writing is so trite and clumsy, I'm not even sure I'll be able to skim this for the so far unbelievable plot and cardboard characters.

While in Cuiaba, Brazil, Nicholas Charboneau (first met him in No One Left To Tell), is kidnapped from his hotel room. His bodyguard, Jasmine Lee knocked unconscious. A note is left behind - deposit 1 Million in an account by a certain date, or else.

With no one else to turn to, nowhere else to go, her search exhausted and brought to a halt, Jasmine flies back to the U.S., determined to call on Christian Delacorte, who owes her a favor (she had helped Delacorte get Raven back in No One Left To Tell). Raven is not thrilled and Christian has no choice. The shocker - Charboneau is Christian's biological father, the father Fiona wouldn't admit to, believing that it was for his own good. Regardless about how he or Raven feels, he does owe Jasmine, and flies back to Brazil with her, leaving Raven behind.

Things escalate; first, Christian is indirectly threatened by police Captain Luis Duarte, an attempted hit-and-run misses him by a hair, a Macumba ritual is left on their hotel suite's balcony along with a deadly snake. A meeting with the Military police Chief Ricardo Zharan, doesn't seem to help ease the worry and tension for Christian or Jasmine. A meeting at Genotech Labs on raises their suspisions and Christian wonders even more if his father is involved in the despicable goings on. And just when things get worse, Raven appears at the hotel room door, unable to stay home and wait for Christian. And while together alone, Jasmine is kidnapped herself.

According to Zharan, Captain Duarte is now a wanted man, Jasmine still hasn't been found, but they believe Nicholas has been located. Desperate, Christian convinces Zharan to let Raven and himself accompany Zharan and his men in the rescue.

Then things turn ugly. Between accusations and firefightes, Jasmine arrives to save Nicholas. But can anyone save her?

Originally, I thought there would be more to this, but I didn't find that much to the mystery at all. I actually found it uninspired. I think there should have been more suspense, more action during their search for Nicholas. The characters come across as worried about the same things over an over again, the same thoughts over and over again, and it was getting to be a little too much - almost two-dimensional. The sexual innuendoes also should have stopped near the beginning - for someone in love with Nicholas, why would she antagonize Christian like that is beyond me. His son, for crying out loud? Once Nicholas is found, what happens after I thought very predictable. Almost too predictable. I'd have loved to see something else - maybe before they were handcuffed! Maybe a diversion and an escape into the forest...

I thought Raven showing up predictable, the villan almost predictable, the whole Genotech Labs and testing was predictable. I found that there wasn't enough in the explanation from Dr. Tyson Phillips to satisfy a reader who really likes the forensics side of a mystery of any kind, and the whole `threatened to hurt my family if I didn't cooperate' from Phillips was, again, predictable.

And while the predictability is plain to see, the action scenes are good, love scenes could have used a little more intensity, the characters could have used a little more work. And while there are descriptions of the characters' surroundings, they are all basic - they seem to just be thrown in for the reader's sake. They give you this detached feeling. I'm not one to like that at all, but I think the descriptions might play off of Christian well, if you think of it as him giving you the descriptions - they would go well with his attitude of not wanting to be in Brazil in the first place.

You still don't know enough of Jasmine to comprehend what she's done for Charboneau. And if it doesn't beat all, Christian proposes to Raven on the way home? He promised himself he'd talk with Raven, explain everything and swear to never leave her in the dark, no pun intended. Sorry, but for me, a marriage proposal doesn't take care of that end. He should have told her everything - start to finish - feelings and all. The proposal would have been all that much more sweeter.

In my opinion, the novel wasn't a waste of money but not the highest marks either.

Wow,

What a dissipointment to me. I loved all of her others but this one just did not quite cut the mustard. I hope she does better next time. Maybe she is kicking them out to fast.