Customer Reviews

The Private Concierge

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
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When former police officer Rick Bayless discovers that his longtime friend Ned Talbert's death has been ruled a murder-suicide, Rick's determination to reveal the truth behind the shocking scandalous crime leads him back to the past and a woman from his past, the woman he had arrested as juvenile. Back then, he knew she was trouble. Lane Chandler's company The Private Concierge caters to every whim of the rich and famous. Already trying to douse the scandals set off by some of her prominent clients, the last thing she needs is another scandal. When her newest client is found dead, Lane is on a mission to save her company before anyone discovers Ned Talbert's connection to The Private Concierge. When Rick Bayless starts poking his nose into the crime, Lane's troubles only get worse. One word from Rick about the secrets of her past will destroy everything she has worked so hard to build. As an attraction builds between them, will it destroy them? As they seek to protect friends and clients, will their attraction unearth the past? Will the hunt for the truth expose their vulnerabilities?

Suzanne Forster's THE PRIVATE CONCIERGE is a masterpiece of characterization. Not only are Rick and Lane two fascinating characters, but the stories of Lane's clients fascinate as well. On the surface Rick presents himself as a tough guy, a former police officer hardened by what he has seen in the lives of the juveniles he has prosecuted. As the story develops, his devotion to his friend Ned draws the reader into the deeper undercurrents and loyalties beneath the surface while his relationship to the mouse in his home provides an eclectic sense of humor, compassion and friendship. Having built her company into a concierge service with the most impeccable reputation, Lane is a woman of intelligence and know-how and yet at the same time, she has a certain compassion for her clients and friends and an ability to read the intangible desires of her clients. Priscilla Brandt, the new queen of etiquette is one of Lane's most impossible clients, and a character that one loves to hate as her pristine world crumbles around her. Each and every client has their own secret life to hide and each client's story captivates.

Suzanne Forster's THE PRIVATE CONCIERGE creates multiple suspenseful threads as the lives of Lane's clients and employees intersect in the scandals plaguing The Private Concierge's reputation. As Rick tries to investigate the concierge, Lane tries to cover the tracks, protecting her clients and their reputations as well as her own. Suzanne Foster creates a multi-layered work of suspense with meaningful twists and turns that will delight fans. I thought I knew who it was, then changed my mind several times but as I discounted one culprit, I found myself still satisfied, having enjoyed the story behind that thread. No twist is gratuitous but rather each builds up a intricate, fascinating network of characters, tied together by theme as the reader views their public life and more private life until the last surprising twist when the reader discovers the ultimate secret of both present and past. Suzanne Forster's THE PRIVATE CONCIERGE combines carefully plotted suspense with a look inside human nature, a brilliant look into the relationships and psychological connections that destroy, turning people into villains as well as those dynamics that inspire her characters to emerge from less favorable circumstances. As much as this reader sometimes feels resistant to the marketing pressure to produce series, appreciating Suzanne Forster's boldness in bucking this trend, after reading THE PRIVATE CONCIERGE, I find myself craving future stories of some of the unique characters developed within. THE PRIVATE CONCIERGE is a book that inspires rereading just to catch another glimpse of the characters inside. Suzanne Forster's THE PRIVATE CONCIERGE is a masterpiece of craftsmanship, combining a subtle, unfolding web of suspense framed by passions revealed beneath the persona, of pasts emerging to haunt the present. THE PRIVATE CONCIERGE is a work of suspense that both chills and warms the reader's heart.

"The Private Concierge" is 456 pages that should have been cut down at least a hundred pages or more. The author focuses too much on detailing all the happenings of the victims than actually working the plot. With all the jumping around from character to character and all the bad stuff that happened to each of them, it was difficult as the reader to actually connect with any of them. The concept was good, but the execution of the writing lacked substance. There were no clues, just the same questions being asked by each of the characters. The reveal was bland and anti-climactic.

I bought this book based on the high rated reviews from Amazon readers and was very disappointed. Honestly,I couldn't get through it fast enough. It was just way too lengthy for the little bit of story line there was in this novel.

Plot:

Rick Bayless has no idea why his best friend Ned would suddenly torture and kill his girlfriend before taking his own life, especially since he went to Rick for help the day before he died. Rick finds a business card for a private concierge business at Ned's place with the word "extortion" written on it along with the name of the woman who ruined his career 15 years before. Not wanting to confront her, but wanting answers, Rick decides to check out the woman's business more. What he finds is startling. A number of her celebrity clients are falling into bad luck. Someone is out to ruin their good reputations, and is making the concierge business look as if they are to blame. Can that person get away with murder, or will Rick and Lane Chandler, the concierge owner find the culprit in time?

Is it worth buying?

No! Not unless you like long, drawn out plots that take the entire book to get to the point of the story by overwriting and going into far more details than needed to support the plot. Too much needless wording. The suspense falls below short and just drags.

Be careful of reading reviews by the top reviewers on Amazon. They seldom write anything bad about an author's works when they should be telling the readers exactly what they want to know. If we wanted a book review, we would read one. What readers need to know is if they should spend their hard earned money on a book that may just get thrown in the trash or that they never will finish because it isn't worth their precious time. Just one opinion, but there it is.

I have ready a great many Suzanne Forster books over the years and most of them have been edgy and too dark. This is the best book by her that I have ever read. The characters are not too dark and twisted. It has a great, complicated plot, some humor and a lot of action. It's a keeper.

First you take a service business and all their employees. Then add all the clients that the service business serves, add a few bad guys and of course, a knight in tarnished armor and what a whopper of a book. But just when you think it's all straight someone new comes in with all their back story. When you think the book ends, it's only a false ending because they come up with other characters and experiences. Kinda like a Las Vegas buffet and good I suppose if you're really in a jam. I guess like when you don't gamble and you are sitting pool side in Las Vegas. The book will keep you awake, alert and barely entertained. Wait for the Used book sale otherwise.

In Los Angeles, the rich and famous go to Lane Chandler to discreetly handle their whims and desires. Lane's firm THE PRIVATE CONCIERGE has earned a superior reputation for subtly and tastefully taking care of the legal needs of the elite.

However someone must have either hacked into her client database or is a TPC employee because in a short time customers have been exposed to scandal and one is murdered in a scandalous way. LAPD investigates the homicide suspecting another TPC client Ned Talbert. His friend former cop Rick Bayless thinks otherwise and begins to investigate starting with TPC and its owner whom he recognizes as arresting back in 1993 when she was the juvenile Lucy Cox. She was innocent then and innocent now, but being innocent means nothing when it comes to the criminal system where money and power enable Lady Justice to look away. Although she loathes cooperating with the man who forced her to change her name, Lane has no choice as Rick is her only hope to end the reign of terror.

This is a fascinating investigative romantic suspense as the beleaguered heroine knows her options are limited to working with a man she detests though to her chagrin is attracted to him. The story line is action-packed from the opening salvo and never slows down as the predator assaults TPC with insider knowledge. Nick is a unique protagonist who regrets what he did fifteen years ago as he falls in love with Lane; however what makes him refreshing (pun intended) is he a slob who leaves dirty plates on the floor for a mouse to clean. Fans will enjoy Suzanne Forster entertaining tale.

Harriet Klausner