Customer Reviews

Present Danger (Zebra books)

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

 

 

Is beauty a blessing or a curse?

Aunie Franklin doesn't know the answer. Because of her beauty, she is married to a rich and handsome man, Wesley Cunningham, at nineteen but lives like a prisoner. Wesley is a gallery owner and is very possessive of Aunie. He arranges everything and controls Aunie's life that she feels unbearable. She finally gets Wesley to agree for a divorce and he gives her a big settlement including his house and car.

It is just the beginning of Aunie's nightmare. Wesley always shows up whenever he likes and gets her to attend business dinners with him. One night when she refuses to go with him, he beats her up and she is put in hospital. Wesley is arrested and put in jail. Aunie is scared to death and once she is released from the hospital, she rents a car and drives directly from Atlanta to Seattle.

James Ryder is a construction worker and the owner of the apartments where Aunie rents her new home. He is also the hot cartoonist known as JT Ryder. When he meets Aunie in her recovering status, he knows that she is in big trouble and refuses to rent her the apartment but Aunie has already given Lola, the apartment manager, a down payment and has signed the lease.

Aunie starts to attend school in the local area and meets new friends. James is attracted to this little beauty although he doesn't want to get involved. Sparks grow between them and one challenging little kiss starts the flame within James and Aunie. Then, all hell breaks when Aunie receives a call from her lawyer, informing her that her ex-husband is released from jail.

Present Danger is the second romantic suspense written by Susan Andersen. The story is captivating and thrilling with a dash of humour. James is not a typical hero a woman to die for and most people would think him a villain with his build and appearance. Aunie is the Snow White of every man's dream and she tries very hard to prove that she has a brain and not just beauty. A definitely page-turner and keeper for readers who loves romantic suspense!

The story was good but could have been better as a regular romance instead of suspense romance. There was so much potential for a wonderful suspense story but I feel that Andersen did not take the ball and run with it.

Aunie escapes from her abusive and delusional es-husband to start a new life in Washington State. Here she does her level best to start a new life for herself and surrounds herself with a new circle of friends. One of these friends is James Ryder a 'wrong side of the tracks cartoonist' who finds himself against his own judgement drawn to his "magnolia" despite all of her problems.

Again it is a good story with really likeable characters. It only falls short on the suspense area. If you are a fan of Susan Andersen you don't want to miss this read. If you are new to Susan Andersen don't let this turn you against a very talented author. It is just not one of her best.

This was the best book I have read in a long time. It was suspensful and full of "real life" situations. The romance was delightful and not just mush like some other books. I have recommended this to all of my friends. WOW!

Aunie Franklin is battered, physically, mentally, and emotionally. However, she is not the "typical" rescue-me female seen in some romantic suspense novels. Aunie does not have a history of being abused, and got out straightaway. She is young, intelligent, and capable...and did I forget to mention, beautiful? She has learned that she cannot exist on her looks, which is what her parents and surrounding family brought her up to do.

James Ryder is, in his words, "an ex-tenement rat" that has ended up taking care of everyone's problems, and he's done with that. Needless to say, he was not happy to find Aunie renting an apartment in his building. James is a wonderful man, strong, intelligent, and willing to do what needs to be done to take care of those he loves...even when he thinks that what he'd like most is to be left alone.

Lola and Otis Jackson are strong, wonderful supporting characters. Otis and James grew up together. Lola (Otis' wife, just in case that wasn't clear) is the apartment manager of James' building. They are strong and well fleshed-out characters - and add greatly to the storyline.

Mary is a secondary character that also adds to the storyline.

This book is about Aunie and James, and Lola and Otis, to a lesser degree - and how they grow, become stronger and learn to love each other.

There is a villain of the piece - I'm sure you've guessed - Aunie's ex-husband.

As with all books I love, there is a depth of emotion and growth, along with the requisite happy ending!

I am so disappointed by this book! I hate to agree with the other reviewers but I do. I love Susan Andersen she is a great writer. But this book had me snoozing! It started out good but it just dragged and was boring. It was not suspenseful at all. I might have liked the book more if they didn't claim it to be romantic suspense on the spine. It was just okay. I would recommend her other romantic suspense Exposure however. That was a wonderful book!!

I really enjoy Susan Andersen's writing. Her characters are always truly intriguing, and it's always a good read, especially the book Exposure. I've overlooked a trend of hers in other books that was impossible to get past in this one, though: her misuse of southern dialect. Someone please explain to this wonderful writer that we in the south no longer speak like Scarlet O'Hara and haven't for decades! The very worst, though, was the frequency of the misuse of the word y'all, which makes southerners in general appear quite illiterate. I'll clear it up for you. Y'all is always plural (hence the all at the latter part of the word) and is never, never used by a true southerner when speaking to one person and referring only to that one person. Others may not find this irritating, but I was almost unable to finish the book, as it seemed that on every other page the heroine was calling one of the other characters 'y'all.' Ms. Andersen should use some of her royalty $! ! to take a research trip to the South. I'm a fourth generation Atlanta native, the supposed origin of the main character, so I know such a trip would be beneficial. Aside from the negative light I believe this book casts on southerners, I enjoyed the suspense and chemistry between the two main characters.

Aunnie has fled from Atlanta to Seattle to escape an abusive ex-husband. She is immediately befriended by a Caribbean woman (or should I say woo-mon) who rents her an apartment in a building owned by James, a carpenter/cartoonist with no intention of ever settling down. One look at Aunnie's bruises makes him determine that she would be just another person he has to look out for, in addition to his three ne'er do well brothers.

Soon she and James give in to their obvious sexual tension and fall in love while he teaches her self-defense. But her abusive ex Wesley, who was just acquitted of beating the snot out of her, has tracked her down and is ready to teach his errant ex a lesson.

Very rarely does a Susan Andersen novel disappoint. In fact, "Present Danger" is an excellent story - with plenty of intrigue and romance. It's just one thing... two really - those horrific southern and Caribbean accents. They are so distracting that it takes twice as long to read because I could not fathom a book with phonetically spelled colloquialisms managing to leave an editor's desk ... well, unedited.

Present Danger had everything in a great romantic thriller. It had sex, emotion and action. Aunie Franklin is running from her cxrazy husband. She settles in Washington state finding new friends and a sexy new neighbor name dd James. Now James is like other romantic heroes. He wants to be unattached and unavailable to any women, but when he sees Aunie he cant help but like her. Well with great secondary characterslike Lola and Otis, this book gives you everything you need to get hooked in the plot and understand these people and there lives. Aunie and James have a refreshing romantic affair that blossoms into love . Your rooting for these two to get together. This is absolutely one of the best susan anderson books ive read in a long time and its a definite keeper.

A riveting read - second in hot sex, suspense, terrific character development,romance and fun to her novel "Exposure".
I thoroughly enjoyed her use of dialect - didn't find it excessive (Exposure went a little overboard with the cher amies).
I couldn't put this book down - very suspenseful and loved the hot sex scenes!

Aunie Franklin flees her unbalanced abusive ex-husband to start a new life in the Pacific Northwest. She grows close to a new circle of friends she meets there, while falling for bad boy James Ryder, a cartoonist with an attitude. As a suspense premise, the material here is slim. Perhaps that's why the plot never really delivers the expected tension. The only present danger in this book is that of being bored to death. There's way too much introspection and not enough of Andersen's usually wonderful dialogue. Readers should definitely pick up one of this author's other books for a great read. I'd encourage you to pass this one by, though.