Customer Reviews

Paradise County

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

Karen Robards is one of the leading writers in Romantic Suspense and in PARADISE COUNTY, she has done it again.

Alex Haywood is recovering from her father's death (an apparent suicide) and the discovery that his fortune is gone. She has to fire Joe Welch, manager of the family horse ranch, except Joe refuses to stay fired. Joe wants to protect his family and grow his share of the ranch. Falling for a rich girl who is bound to leave (like his ex-wife did) is not on his list. Especially if she has a sister like Neely who falls for one of Joe's sons. Fortunately for the story, Joe's hormones, and Alex's, don't listen to their rational sides.

All is not well in Paradise County, however. A truly evil villain (he is so bad he not only rapes and murders women, he also sets dogs on fire) is intrigued by Alex and Neely. Noone, not even Alex herself, can believe the increasing evidence that she is being watched--stalked.

PARADISE COUNTY is steamy-sexy, with a believable attraction between Joe and Alex. Unlike most romantic suspense novels, this one ends the romantic conflict before the suspense--but the suspense ends in an epic struggle between good and evil. Robards penetrates deep into the mind of the 'predator' creating a far more frightening character than would have been possible if she had not. Be careful, though. The predator is not for the faint hearted.

All in all an excellent read. Not since Walking After Midnight, have I enjoyed reading about a hero, so much. Joe Welch certainly personifies the sexy man of the 21st century. Handsome, compassionate, family man, with a great body, Joe really sparks up the pages. When he and Alex after facing off twice, find themselves alone at an opportune moment, things really heat up. The supporting cast of teenagers was wonderfully characterized and so believable. I am so tired of reading about nearly perfect teenagers in a lot of Romances these days.I mean who do those kids belong to? With two of my own, it was refreshing to see that someone else has normal, body piercing, hair dyed pink, teenagers that smoke marijuana, even if they aren't real. It was obvious that Karen has teens or has been around them. As with all of Karen's books there is a macarbe psycho pervert on the loose and there is a nice plot twist with the old house and the secret passages. Best of all was the highschool pep rally, hay ride and walk in the woods, reminiscent of days gone by and it was nice to see not much has changed that way in small communities.

This book was very good and has an exciting, fast paced storyline. I was kept guessing as to who the serial killer was, which is usually obvious. Which might be because I did take the advise of a previous reviewer, who forewarned reader's about graphic animal cruelty scenes in the beginning of the book, by skipping those sections of the story. I really wish authors who used sadistic villains in their stories would leave more to the readers imagination. I really have no need to be "in the mind of a killer." Especially when trying to enjoy a good romance. But, after having skipped that bit of the story, I really don't feel that I missed a thing. The relationship between all the characters, first and secondary made this book well worth the time I spent reading. The story is very realistic, I kept thinking, "Thank goodness, that's exactly what I would do!" Unlike most portrayals of truly frustrating characters that never do the obvious.

This is another of her "can't put this one down" books. I love everything I've read by this author. I am more partial to contemporary romances and this one is an excellent one. I found myself fantacizing of moving to this town to find the hero in this book. You can never go wrong with Karen Robards.

Alexandra has lost her father and his millions, not to mention her finance married someone else and her sister Neeley has runaway from school again. She now has to sell everything that she loved, including Whistledown her father's horse ranch. When meeting the farm manager Joe Welch she finds herself in for a challenge. The first night at Whistledown she discovers someone is in her house. Frightened she and her sister run to Joe's house. Not sure on what to believe Joe helps her out. You know in the book there is a serial killer and now he is fasinated with Alexandra. He wants her and sneaks into her house to watch her sleeping. He's just biding his time... When Neeley and Joe's son Eli disappear they know something bad has happened. Now they are in a race for time. Can they find Neeley and Eli in time or will they be the next victim. And what will happen to Alex? Fast paced and hard to put down. Ms. Robards does it again.

A vintage whodunit from one of the Romantic Suspense genre's consistent stars! The story revolves around the presumed suicide of a millionaire, whose less than legitimate business practices are revealed after his death, propelling his company into bankruptcy. His oldest daughter Alexandra finds herself handling the liquidation of all of the family holdings (including a horse farm in Paradise County Kentucky), dealing with a very interesting younger half sister, the crusty young horse farm manager and his family, and unbeknownst to her a serial killer.

The book was refreshing, and a shear pleasure to read. So many of the Romance turn Romantic Suspense writers, including Sandra Brown, Tami Hoag and Nora Roberts have turned away from their roots with their hardcover novels (to be fair to Nora Roberts, however, her niche books in the "Romance" genre remain pretty steamy). I've begun to wonder, however, if editors have convinced these once best selling authors that a good hardcover book shouldn't focus on romance, but down play. If that's the case, they've done it, to the extent that this element of their stories has become bland and uninteresting, and in most cases, so have the stories themselves.

Karen Robards and Linda Howard are two authors who haven't made this change in their hardcover books. Both Robards and Howard have only become better, maturer storytellers in the Romantic Suspense genre; remaining true to their strengths-great romantic tension in the middle of a plausible mystery.

In Paradise County, the predator is as evil as they come, and the suspense leading up to the climax is well handled. Paradise County is one of Ms. Robards' best. It's an engrossing, suspenseful read.

This was the first audiobook that I've listened to completely. The reader did a good job. You get the damsel in distress, with a knight in shining armor trying to take care of them and his three children. You get a killer whose next victim could be anyone. It was fun to listen to with just the right amount of suspense, drama, humor and romance. I don't know if I would call it Paradise, but I would call it an enjoyable read.

In Kentucky, Whistledown horse farm manager Joe Welch finds the owner Charles Haywood dead in a barn. Joe thinks Charles committed suicide since the deceased smelled of alcohol and a gun with a discharged bullet was near him. After the funeral, Charles' daughter Alexandra fires Joe, giving him thirty days to leave. Joe refuses, intending to complete his current contract, forcing Alexandra to explain that the horse farm is bankrupt and she will have to sell its assets, the horses.

Alexandra, a renowned photographer, spends the night at Whistledown for the first time in a quite a while. She gets spooked when she hears breathing in her room with no one there. She and her teenage sister Neely flee to Joe's house. At the same time, a psychopathic killer tortures a young lady who looks similar to Neely. Over the next few weeks, Alex and Joe fall in love, but happiness eludes them when her sister and his son Eli vanish.

Karen Robards has a unique writing style that provides readers with a fresh voice with every new novel she publishes. PARADISE COUNTY is a high caliber romantic suspense novel featuring realistic characters struggling with a rainbow of feelings. The steamy romance between the adult couple is counterbalanced by the sweet relationship between Neely and Eli. Ms. Robards knows how to raise the temperature on several levels with a strong tale that will excite sub-genre readers.

Harriet Klausne

After the death of her father, Alexandra Haywood is left with the job of seeing after her father's estate. Contrary to what everyone believes- the estate is broke and has to be down sized. The lawyer suggested that Alexandra let him take care of dismissing employees and selling race horse farm but Alexandra feels she owes it to the loyal employees to be told by her that they no longer have a job. She sets out for Paradise County, Kentucky. When she mets Joe Welch, the farm manager face to face and tells him to sell off the horses so she can sell the farm, Joe fights her all the way. His dream was to make these horses the best race horses yet and now it is being shot to pieces. Sparks fly! Emotionally and physically between the two. There's an attraction there between Alexandra and Joe but never want to admit it due to the friction over the farm. It is still hard for Alexandra to believe that her father would commit suicide- but that is what the report says- but even from it things don't add up. And Joe Welch was the one that found him dead. Alexandra wants to do some questioning of her own. The more Alexandra ask the more unusual things start turning up, like a presence in her bedroom at night and someone setting the house on fire- could someone be out to harm Alexandra? Alexandra's kid sister showing up from school to live with her doesn't help the matter. Joe has his kids to keep track of too. Being a single parent hasn't been easy but Joe has worked at it. Now he has someone else needing some of his attention- Alexandria. Can he deal with someone special coming into his life after all of these years of being single? The story line is good but there seemed to be something left out of it. It seemed choppy to me- I don't know. It just wasn't one of my favorites. But I wouldn't say don't read it. Just don't buy it. There is better out there.

This book has it all, romance, suspense, and humor. I have just discovered the books of this author and cannot wait to read them all. Highly recommend!