Customer Reviews

The Prey: A Novel

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Three women have known violence in their childhood. They come together as roommates at the FBI training academy. Ten year later, their nightmares really begin.

Rowan Smith left the FBI after she was assigned to a case very similar to her own childhood violence. No one really knew she left to preserve her sanity. She began a writing career and had astounding success. In fact, one of her books is being made into a movie in Hollywood. Rowan thought she had left her past behind her at last. Then a dismembered body is found in Colorado. The victim had the same name, occupation, and looks as a character Rowan wrote in one of her novels. This is followed by a second victim, again eerily similar to a character in one of Rowan novels.

Michael Flynn is an ex-cop. John Flynn is a former DEA agent. The two brothers own and operate a security firm. They are hired to protect Rowan. John believes there is more to it all than they currently know. He also has some secrets of his own that he wants no one to learn of. Yet even he will be astounded as the truth comes out. And the only way to reach the truth is for Rowan to revisit the violence in her past, a past that just may kill them both.

***** It is hard to believe that this is Allison Brennan's debut novel. It is fantastic! This title is the first of a trilogy. Each woman from the academy will get her own story told. You will not have to wait a long time between the stories either. The three books come out with only a month between each. (The other two titles will be "The Hunt" and "The Kill".) I could not read fast enough to find out what was going to happen next. Highly recommended reading! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Allison Brennan's first book is a tightly written thriller with a romance that sizzles. Rowan left the FBI four years ago with hopes of finding peace in seclusion at a Malibu beach house where she's penning best selling mystery novels. She's a tortured heroine who still sleeps with her weapon and contends she needs no one. But she wakes one morning to a front yard filled with media, because a killer is using real people to recreate deaths of fictional characters in her story with grisly accuracy.

The fast paced story is woven with gripping emotion, high action and tense scenes as Rowan, her hot Delta Force bodyguard and the FBI try to find the murderer before an end game is played out with Rowan as the final prey. The ending of THE PREY is terrific and the ride to get there intense. I've already ordered THE HUNT and THE KILL.

Rowan Smith's hiding from a violent past in order to survive. An ex-FBI agent turned bestselling crime novelist, she finally has a new life when a killer makes her his prey. He commits murders in the exact form of her books, sending Rowan souvenirs of the crimes to taunt her, making it known this is personal and will only end with her death. Bodyguards, Michael and John Flynn are assigned to protect Rowan at all costs. A vow they take literally when each falls for the tormented blonde who, with each murder, teeters further toward the edge of insanity.

As the death toll accumulates, everyone searches frantically for a clue to help them stop the killer. But it's Rowan who must stifle the terrors of her past and avenge the victims of these brutal murders...by going after the killer herself.

If you're looking for a book you can't put down, this is it. Brennan's debut is a "killer" and this reader can't wait to read THE HUNT.

There are numerous thrillers on the bookshelves and I must have missed something. As much as I read, I was not aware of the number of women producing exciting and gritty page turners where evil serial killers litter the landscape and bright, strong and determined women fight the battle to rid that landscape of its tormentors. Author Brennan is one of those women.

Rowan Smith is a former FBI agent turned best-selling author. She's temporarily left her Colorado home for Malibu and the world of Hollywood screenwriting.

After leaving the FBI some four years earlier, Rowan believes she's outrun and outwitted the demons that have chased her since childhood. But when someone begins murdering people in eerily similar manners as the murders in Rowan's books, and possesses information about her that few people in her life know, she is frightened enough to accept the protection of a bodyguard.

The only way Rowan can stop the killer is to face her own tormented past. But even then, can she save others from a horrendous death? Can she save herself?

Allison Brennan has written a scintillating and frightening novel where she invites us into the mind of the prey and the predator. And while we might want to look away, we're compelled to watch because we have to know how it ends.

The plot of The Prey is ingenious. I however like my suspense/thrillers free from romance. It's distracting to me to have a serial killer on the loose and people "falling" for each other. I also understand that others enjoy the mix and that it's a personal choice. I also figured out "what was going on" fairly early in the book but that didn't dissuade me from continuing because the plot was so interesting that I wanted the explanation. I wasn't disappointed.

Armchair Interviews says: A good thriller with some romance. If you like that combination you'll want to read her previous books and be on the lookout for her February 2006 release, The Hunt. I know I'm going to read it.

I am a huge fan of romantic suspense and have read everything that Linda Howard, Lisa Jackson, Carla Neggars, and others have written. I was so looking forward to this series of books and bought all 3 at once. However, I could barely finish this first one.

I gave 2 stars for the plot premise alone. It was original and had great potential. What it cannot overcome is the heroine, Rowan. She is 1 dimensional and that dimension is boring. So she is pretty, but that doesnt explain why 2 brothers would both fall in love with her. She was stiff and unyielding even when her life was in danger. Insisting on running on the beach everyday when there was a killer after her did not make her look brave, but selfish. Both brothers were too good for her.

I despised her and by the end I was rooting for the killer to get her so John would find someone better. I never understood what he saw in her. I wanted to smack her like Tess did.

I am sorry I bought all 3 books. I am plodding my way through the second one, and I will warn you that this heroine is just as boring and annoying as Rowan.

Former FBI agent turned author Rowan Smith survived a horrifying childhood. But will she survive emotionally when someone starts killing victims exactly as she's written in her bestselling suspense books?

Breaking Rowan's spirit is the murderer's goal. After that, he wants to take her life and finish the horror that began when she as a child.

John Flynn is climbing out of his own darkness. Guarding Rowan is just a job until he can end a greater evil from his days as a DEA agent. But his objectives change when he falls in love with her. Nothing is as important as preventing her death from one of the smartest villains he's come across.

Once I started reading THE PREY, I couldn't stop. The characters spring to life, even the minor ones, and something unexpected happens in each scene. I kept turning the pages to find out what was going to happen next.

It's hard to believe this is Allison Brennan's first book. I want more! I'm eagerly awaiting THE HUNT and THE KILL.

Our story starts with Rowan Smith, a former FBI, turned author, after investigating a gruesome Tennessee crime scene. When all of a sudden the murders that Rowan is writing about begin happening. Just as she's written then in her books. This killer is using the same names, towns and cities and occupations as Rowan has written about. Rowan's Agent gets concerned for her client, she pays for a bodyguard. Michael Flynn reports for duty, assisted by his sister Tess. Rowan isn't very receptive to the bodyguard but after the murders continue she realizes no one is safe. Tess Flynn begins to see that her brother Michael is starting to have feeligns for Rowan, so she makes a call to her brother John Flynn and informs him of the situation and he comes home to help. After releiving Michael of his duties, John takes over. John a former Delta Force Officer who has a past of his own, tries to help Rowan revisit her past and figure out who is responsible for making these murders in her books a reality, before they themselves become "The Prey".

For a debut book, The Prey has a powerful and well placed narrative that can rival many top selling authors of murder, mystery and suspense. An explosive read!

Rowan Smith, novelist and former no nonsense FBI agent, is living the life most people can only dream of. Her books are selling well, and one is in the process of being adapted into a Hollywood film. She moves into a Malibu house on the beach temporarily, because it's a perfect location in many ways. Easy to commute for work to oversee the film production of her book, and it's a great place to unwind and go running. But her dreams are shattered when a dismembered body is found, and has sickening similarities to a character from her first book. So alike, she is assigned a personal bodyguard, Michael Flynn, and his computer geek sister, Tess, to protect her. Not something Rowan is pleased about. Michael becomes so involved with her life he cannot help being attracted to her. However, when the killer strikes again, and again, it is more than obvious that someone is using her books to intimidate and destroy her; using her characters the killer combines her fiction with their sick reality.

Seeing Michael's involvement appears to be more than professional, Tess decides to ask their older brother for advice. Hearing her worries about the Rowan case, John, a former Delta Force officer, flies up to California to help. The moment he sees Rowan he is instantly drawn to her strong will and beauty. This causes friction between the two brothers, who yet again, find themselves in an awkward battle for a woman's affections. But do their differences get in the way of their professionalism? Can they allow themselves to become emotionally involved with the person they are trying to protect, or will their competitiveness ruin the whole operation and jeopardise Rowan's safety? As the search continues to find who the killer is, Michael, John and Tess try to work out which character will be next, using Rowan's books as guidelines. They need to protect potential victims before the murderer strikes again. And this puts Rowan, the author, in the firing line. As the story unravels, it would seem there is much more to Rowan than her protector's are aware of. It's not until her former FBI boss, Roger, gets involved that things really take a turn for the worse and the truth of Rowan's past is finally uncovered. On the outside she may appear be a strong woman, quite capable of defending herself with her former FBI training, but inside she is struggling to come to terms with a hidden history. Will they discover her secret before it's too late or will their hands be tied by the murderer who is hell bent on ruining Rowan's life and reputation?

For a debut book, The Prey has a powerful and well placed narrative that can rival many top selling authors of murder, mystery and suspense. The romance is sensual, but not as prevalent as many of the usual books I read for Euro-Reviews. What you get in replacement, however, is an all round entertaining novel that whisks you into Rowan's incredible adventure, achieving a resonance far stronger than I expected. In short I devoured this book from the first page. It's action packed, the pace quickens in all the right places, and the plot develops into a satisfying conclusion, with surprising twists and turns and exciting new discoveries throughout. Together, Allison Brennan'svivid characters and startling imaginative plot blew me away. An explosive read!

This is the first out of series of three, The Prey, The Hunt and The Kill, and I am eagerly looking forward to reading the next two. After the prey is chosen, the hunt is on and the kill is certain.

Unfortunately I bought 2 books of this trilogy...I couldn't make it through half of the first book before I wanted to kill the stupid twit myself. AND, she pulled her gun out every time someone looked at her. Like that is going to happen in real life before someone takes it away from her...I'm not even going to start the second book and just take this purchase as a bust. I don't think I will give this author another chance. Anyone want these books for free?

This action-packed thriller from Allison Brennan will leave you breathless as you turn the pages. Rowan Smith has a stalker. A former FBI agent, Rowan's former collegues, the movie studio she's working with and her adoptive parents get her to hire a bodyguard. And that's where the fun begins. There are plenty of twists and turns in this book, but not all of them keep the reader guessing. Still, Brennan wraps up her story of Rowan Smith and Smith's romantic counterpart while opening the door to book two (The Hunt with herione Miranda Moore) in the last few pages.