Customer Reviews

One Scream Away

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I really appreciated the cat-and-mouse back and forth as we saw how Chevy Banks (the Bad Guy) was stalking, taunting and teasing Beth Denison (our Female Lead), and as Neil Sheridan (Our Hero) started to interfere with his game. The back and forth between the characters kept me reading, not wanting to put the book down.

Our Hero was a good guy but damaged by his past. Our Female Lead was tough and feisty and in over her head. The Bad Guy was a combination of mentally ill and pure evil. The dolls push the creepy factor over the edge.

Unfortunately, this book didn't work as well for me as a romance. I didn't really feel the attraction between the leads, although the author told me it was there. It also broke one of my rules of romantic suspense- the lead characters didn't work as a team to face the danger. I liked each of them individually well enough, both as people and as part of the story. There were some good secondary characters as well.

Once I decided to read it as a thriller rather than romantic suspense, I completely enjoyed reading this book.

Seven years ago, Chevy Bankes did something horrific to Beth. She's been living with her ghosts ever since then. Beth has learned to live on her own and has raised her daughter by herself. But she isn't prepared to face Bankes when she finds out that he's been released from prison, and that now he's after her. Neil, an ex-FBI agent, has somehow gotten himself roped into the case. Now it's causing him to have to dig up his own ghosts and face them, too. Can two people who lost love earlier in their lives learn to love each other, can Beth keep her daughter out of Bankes' hands, and can Neil save the woman he loves from her worst nightmare?

One Scream Away was one of those books that you stay up late reading and that you can't put down, and that you yell at whoever interrupts you because it was so addicting good. It was exciting, suspenseful, romantic, mysterious... everything a book should be.

Without giving away anything, there were many parts in this book that I felt my heart rip when I read what happened. The characters were tangible, like I could pluck them out of the book and set them on my table and watch the rest of the story play out. But they were also relatable, so most of the time I felt like the characters themselves.

Pacing and plot were fantastic in this one. It was impossible to see what would happen next, and Kate Brady keeps you guessing until the very last page, and surprises you at the end.

The writing was not the strongest point. It wasn't bad per se, it just wasn't very good either. Acceptably mediocre is the best phrase I can think of, because it wasn't Dante, but it wasn't hard to read.

My only other complaint was that a lot of the times, Brady describes what things look like, but not what things feel like. Although the characters were very relatable, I found my own imagination supplying the feelings of the characters while I read this.

Content: There was no elicit sex in this book, although scenes are mentioned and skipped over. There was a lot of language (hey, we're talking about FBI agents and Police officers and Serial Killers here.) and some rather vulgar details. Murder is not exactly pleasant. Although it wasn't mapped out in extreme detail, the images left in the reader's mind are ones that are not for the faint of heart. Or stomach.

Recommendation: Ages 18+

Kate Brady has won or been a finalist in many writing contests, including the Golden Heart from the Romance Writers of America, the Maggies, and the Suzannah. One Scream Away is her debut novel.

After a previous case goes horribly wrong, Neil Sheridan leaves the FBI behind and embarks on a quest to drown out his sorrows in alcohol and woman whose names he can't even recall. Now working for a private security organization, the scars from his past emerge when an old colleague and friend knocks on his door about a case which is eerily similar to a disturbing one from his past. Across the country, one by one, women are brutally murdered in comparable means to resemble antique dolls. The connection- Beth Denison- a single mother who is receiving calls from the killer and at one time has researched the dolls. A beautiful woman with a secret she'll do anything to keep. After Beth surrenders to Neil, both in his embrace and in his protection, Neil discovers that seven years ago Beth was attacked by the killer named Chevy Bankes. Beth created a new life for herself, far removed from the tragedy of that night. But now Bankes is out of prison and after her, killing women in prelude to his real desire- her. It may just be too late for her and her daughter when the truth comes out. Neil knows Beth isn't telling him everything, like why Bankes really wants her screaming, or why she'll consider the unthinkable- facing Bankes alone.

The only real fault I have with the book was the secret Beth was keeping. I figured it out very early on. Then again, the author may have written it or wanted it this way. I didn't feel it ruined the story either.

I think, in a story like this, where there is so much trauma from the past, Kate Brady did a remarkable job of understanding her characters and reactions from them. This wasn't just a romantic suspense, but a delve into the psyche of human nature and how we rebound from heartbreak and previous experience. This may be a bit too deep of a statement for a fiction book, but from a writers perspective, it made the plot flow well and engages the reader without them understanding why. I felt it was worth mention because a great author does this well. This book is well worth the read for the characters alone, both antagonist and protagonist, you walk away, or close the book, without questions and with truly feeling what made them tick. I was particularly pleased with the ending. Without having to put up a spoiler alert, this wasn't a quick, wham-bam-thank-you, Mam finish. The suspense slowly built until the last page. As previously stated, the plot flowed well, was well spaced, and there weren't any areas where I lost interest.

One Scream Away, by Kate Brady, is one heck of a break-out book from a talented emerging author.

Kelly Moran,

Author and Reviewer

I'll start by saying that the story is a well told, well plotted suspense that is very detailed in aspects of murder, suspense, police procedure, and good story telling. Good story telling, however, is not the same as a believably good story. The killer in this novel has as much story time as our hero and heroine, and apparently also has the luck on angels on his side. The story literally starts with our villain Chevy Bankes, newly released from prison, killing his next victim in a long plotted and carefully executed plan for demented revenge.

7 years earlier, Beth Denison was the one that got away from Chevy Bankes. Now that he's free from prison, he sets his sights on Beth and terrorizes her with prank phone calls. What he doesn't know is that Beth has been planning for this with kickboxing and target shooting and she feels she's ready to take him on. They both hold a secret that ensures Chevy that Beth won't go to the police. Little does beth know, that blackmail is not on Chevy's mind but killing. Enter former FBI detective Neil Sheridan. Neil's friend drags him back into a case when a new murder pops up that is disturbingly familar to a case Neil investigated 9 years ago. Apparently after this latest murder, the victim's cell phone was used to call one Beth Denison. When they go to question Beth, it's very clear that she's hiding something. Neil, after dealing with his own skeletons in the closet feels protective over Beth and her daughter and gets involved more than he should.

As the story progresses, we find Beth hiding her secrets and the police and FBI hiding information from Beth so that trust becomes a big issue. Meanwhile, Chevy Bankes comes in under the radar to rack up a death toll of ten with it becoming very clear that the finale is to be Beth and her daughter.

That's the generic synopsis, but from here on out are the spoilers of terrible plot manipulation from our author. If you don't want to know, then don't read this paragraph, although I can't say it truly ruins anything since it was pretty predictable. It turns out that Beth was not only a witness but a victim of Chevy and she feels responsible for a murder because she had the balls to attack Chevy when he was holding a gun that led to a stray bullet killing a woman. She was also raped at the time, but when she goes to her husband instead of the police, HELLO????, she decides to not get involved and watches the news media convict Chevy without anyone knowing she was involved. I'm sorry, but this revelation is absolutely lame. It's not like she even knew him before she stumbled upon the attempted murder and her own rape and could have helped put him behind bars even longer. Regardless, I felt that was the first of a list of manipulations that led our dastardly Chevy to accomplish crime after crime, always being two steps ahead of a full FBI task force and everyone on the police force over two states.

Again, the story is clever and well planned, the terrorizing practically genius, but to have pulled it all of like it was, with our villain being within feet of our police and FBI, it straddled fantasy. Even Hannibal Lector isn't that clever. Aside from that, I found the chemistry between our hero and heroine lacking and don't come knocking here for steamy sex scenes. It's akin to finding out the next morning that they had sex and that's basically it. The main characters are all so flawed and I just didn't feel them truly connecting.

Years ago, Elizabeth Denison came in contact with her worst nightmare. She became the victim and obsession of serial killer Chevy Bankes. She survived...if you can call always being on alert and scared a better alternative. Bankes was caught and sentenced to prison. He is now out and ready to pick up where he left off.

Former FBI special agent Neil Sheridan has been asked by his best friend, Rick, who is a cop to help him on a murder case. At first Neil has no interest. That all changes when Neil learns that the murder victim's face was cut up to look like a doll; in addition to being raped and shot to death. The case brings back bad memories for Neil. When he was still active, he had caught and killed a serial killer. He believed that the killer was dead but now it seems he might have killed the wrong man.

Elizabeth Denison receives a phone call one day. The caller is none other then Bankes. He tells her that he is out and he hopes to hear her scream once more for him. Beth fears for her and her daughter's lives but she keeps her mouth shut about the phone call. The police discover that the murder victim's cell phone was used. The last call made on it was to a Beth Denison. Beth plans to take out Bankes herself but will her silence be deadly?

One Scream Away is what I call a good time. I just about read this book in one sitting. Both my eyes and hands were glued to the book. The sparks that Beth and Neil shared were really good. I liked that that the story line didn't veer too far from the murderer and the characters and head more into a romance between Neil and Beth. While I do enjoy romantic suspenses; I like when they are evenly balanced. I scream for more Kate Brady!

This book grips you straight away. It's a real page turner. A killer wanting revenge, and it becomes a cat and mouse game between the Police, the Killer and the Victim. There are twist and turns, and a little romance thrown in for good measure. If you like Thrillers that grip you, then this is the book for you.One Scream Away

I was so excited to read this book! It had ever thing you will ever want in a book; an unstable murder, to a broken woman trying to piece together her life as best as she can for the sake of her daughter, an ex cop with his own secret past and don't even let me get started on the dolls. A lot of the stuff that went on in the novel I totally did not expect! The writing is in third person and it focuses on Beth, Neil and the serial murder, Bankes. The only thing that I didn't really enjoy about this book was that there were fat too many people murdered, I think the book would've been done the same way if less people were hurt. Not going to say how many, as I would be giving the book away but still, too much blood. Although I do have to give the author major props because she had me hooked from the first sentence! I can not wait until "Last to Die" (book #2) hits shelves on June 3, 2010! I'm rating this novel 3.5 out of 5 paws.

After just a few years behind bars, Chevy Bankes is paroled from prison to hunt, attack, and kill female prey. During his time in jail, he obsessed over the woman who sent him away; blaming her for his incarceration though he assaulted her. Chevy is honing his craft torturing and murdering women with his plan to come for Beth Denison and her daughter Abby.

He calls her from the phone of his first victim just to say hello and warn her Abby is his target before Beth. As more women die, Beth's only hope to keep her daughter safe seems to be former FBI agent Neil Sheridan, but he is burned out having worked this case very poorly once before. She doubts she can rely on him while he sees her as his redemption for failing to keep a victim safe from Bankes. Together, they might stand a chance; separately they will be lucky to survive the ordeal from this lethal predator who waits inside Beth's home for the right moment.

This is a terrific serial killer thriller that keeps the expected romance for the most part in the background; in fact the romantic subplot is unneeded distracting baggage. Beth and Neil are strong flawed characters whose past has returned with a vengeance; while Chevy is a more typical literary serial killer. Fans of tense cat and mouse confrontations will want to read this tense tale as Kate Brady is an author the sub-genre can bank on.

Harriet Klausner

Synopsis:

Beth Denison is a young single mother with a growing business in antique dolls. Young, beautiful, and active, she is raising her daughter in a wealthy and safe neighborhood. That she has a small almost imperceptible scar on her face and strong training in self defense are two small clues that Beth is more than she seems. When she receives threatening phone calls from a dangerous man in her past, Beth's life is turned upside down.

Killer Chevy Bankes is just paroled and lives to execute his revenge against antique doll expert Beth Denison. A master of disguise and a methodical killer, Bankes is a dangerous and motivated man. To prepare Beth for what's coming, he carefully prepares messages in the form of staged victims and antique dolls that he mails to her one by one.

Former FBI Special Agent Neil Sheridan is called in to consult when the police find bodies that are eerily similar to the crime scenes left by a serial killer that Sheridan knew well - and had previously killed. The investigation leads Neil Sheridan to Beth and seeing Beth with her young daughter reminds Sheridan of the family he'd lost. Sheridan must establish the mysterious link between Beth and Bankes. Sheridan must learn Beth's secrets to stop the killings from escalating. As Beth and Sheridan learn to work together to stop Bankes, they are surprised by the strength of their mutual trust, affinity and attraction.

Review:

One Scream Away reads like a fast paced thriller. It struck me as carefully crafted with strong characters and a complex plot. The three main characters, Chevy Bankes, Beth Donovan and Neil Sheridan are strong flawed characters whose motivations are made clear and coherent. While certain scenes have graphic violence, the book is not disturbing - just sufficiently action packed to be an engrossing read. In this way, the book reminds me of the contemporary action/FBI romances by Julie Garwood.

I would recommend the book to readers of action novels and readers of contemporary romances in equal measure.

I wanted to put in my two cents on this one. Some reviews here complain that the book isn't as well written as they had expected; I think they're forgetting this is the author's first novel. Considering that it took Nora Roberts decades of writing true crap to reach her current position on the Best Seller's list, I really think this untried author did extremely well. Yes, I agree there needs to be a little more emphasis on the romance if you're writing romantic suspense, but considering that this is her first published work, she's done very, very well.

There's a gritty realism to this book that I found unexpected in a first work. The heroine is a survivor, the background was well-researched, and the villain was imaginative, to say the least. I think some might be put off by the violence the heroine is forced to endure, but that's because the writer made the reader feel her pain. I know Brady made me squirm, which is an indication of her raw talent.

I'd like to give her 4.5 stars; I agree it's not a perfect work, but I think it's a heck of a good read. I won't waste my time on any book that fails to hold my interest; this book was a page turner! Maybe I did figure out the ending, but I usually do, so that's not a deficit for me. I stayed up late reading, when I should have gone to bed long since. If someone writes well enough to keep me that enthralled, I'm happy.

If Kate Brady's critics think they can do better, I challenge them to give it their best shot. Meanwhile, I'll be waiting for more books from her, and look forward to watching her blossom as a writer, and grow to maturity.