Customer Reviews

Running Scared

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

Being a long time fan of Ms. Lowell's I have been slightly disappointed with the Rarities series. While the ultimate plot of this book is okay, I feel that classic Lowell characterization is lacking. Ms. Lowell is generally very good at drawing readers into a story but, once drawn in, there is nothing to hold your attention to this story. I greatly missed her usual in-depth approach to writing about characters. I felt that in this story she was merely telling a story. Using the characters as simple vessels instead of attempting to bring them to life. For example, I would have liked to learn more about what made Shane and Risa unique as individuals. That more indepth characterization combined with the over all plot would have made a much better novel.

I have long been a devoted reader of Elizabeth Lowell books, and especially loved her intrigue and romance series on the Donovan family. Unfortunately, "Running Scared" was a major disappointment to this loyal fan.

At least two-thirds of the book was devoted to describing the base thoughts and actions of several low-class criminals. The main characters in the book were virtually ignored. I barely felt that I knew them when the book was completed, and could hardly bring myself to care how their relationship turned out since it was treated as an inconvenient side-line in a story riddled with malignant cynicism and devoid of true meaning.

This book lacks the sensual discovery, mutual passion, devoted love, honor, and beauty that has marked Ms. Lowell's stories in the past, and replaces it with cold and calculated lust that seems easily slaked although it "suddenly" turns to commitment later in the book, with no believable foreshadowing or explaination as to why.

Give "Running Scared" a big miss and instead read her Donovan series for the kind of romance, intelligence and action that will keep you reading into the wee hours of the morning. Ms. Lowell should dump her current series and instead finish out books for the remaining two Donovan brothers.

Elizabeth Lowell's books seem uneven to me. I loved the Donovan books, the mediaeval trilogy, and the western historical novels. I think Tell Me No Lies is the best thing she's ever written. The Rarities series has just not compared to those in my opinion. The characters are sketchy and not appealing. I'm annoyed by the gratuitous references to the Donovans (and to the mediaeval trilogy in Moving Target).

I loved the well developed characters in many of her other books. In contrast, the characters in this book can be summed up in stereotypical phrases -- she overcame a troubled childhood, he's rich and needs love. Sex seems to be the entire relationship between the hero and heroine -- there's no emotional connection.

I also missed the large volume of background information that many of her books have. I learned a lot about jade, amber, pearls, chinese bronzes, mining tourmaline, etc. in other books she's written. I only learned a little about Celtic gold and Vegas casinos in Running Scared.

Also, the magical aspects of the treasure don't make sense. It's evil for some people and no problem for others. Touching it terrifies one character, sends another into a murderous rampage, and only causes a tingle for two others. It also seems like a waste to link the treasure with Merlin and then go nowhere with the connection.

I'm glad I borrowed it from the library instead of buying it in hardcover.

I enjoyed Elizabeth Lowell's first entry in the Rarities Series with Moving Target, and of course wanted to read the second novel, Running Scared. I knew the protagonists would be Risa and Shane and that further added to my curiousity as they seemed really interesting in Moving Target. However, in reading the book, I found that Ms. Lowell did not do them justice. I found that most of the book centered more on the bad guys then the lead couple. You never really see their romance blossom until almost the middle of the book. I found there was very little characterization for the hero, Shane. You never really see what it is that makes him tick, why he was falling for Risa, or anything more except for the superficial. Risa was a little more fleshed out but on the whole I felt these two characters were left out in the cold. There is even a paranormal element in the book concerning Risa and Shane that simply was not elaborated on! Unlike Moving Target, where the evidence of paranormal and history is felt strongly throughout the book, and the growth between the couple is much stronger. More focus was needed on the romance in order to make the book more enjoyable.

However, as usual, Ms. Lowell does her research and the information on Celtic gold and Druids was interesting. Even the mystery was ok, even though a little too neat. The appearance of old characters from older books was really welcome.

All in all, I just think she should have balanced it out more, like she did with the first book in the series. Hopefully we will see more of this couple in the next book and see how there relationship has progressed. Definitely not her best, but I still look forward to Rarities #3.

Elizabeth Lowell has written some of my favorite books, including her gem series, i.e., "Amber Beach," "Jade Island," "Pearl Cove." After "Moving Target," the first of the Rarities Unlimited series, I had hoped to continue reading more of Ms. Lowell's exciting, original plots filled with interesting information about gemology, ancient lore, authenticating antique jewelry, etc.. I was also hoping to read more about the fabulous characters that staff Rarities. So, I actually went out and paid full price for a copy of "Running Scared" and dug in for a rainy spring day read.

What a disappointment!! This is most definitely not up to par for an Elizabeth Lowell novel. My first thought, after about 50 pages, was that perhaps Ms. Lowell was pressured to meet a strict deadline...or that she had promised too much with this series, and the well went dry. The background research is there, as always. Her detail on Druid gold, the antiquities market and authentication, is meticulous. However, her characters are cardboard. There is little life in them. Risa Sheridan and Shane Tannahill are like collages of former characters, pieced together without much rhyme or reason - a bad paste job! Her secondary characters from Rarities are not nearly as interesting as they were in "Moving Target." She did not develop them any further in this sequel. The villains are flat, comic book characters. The hackneyed, formulaic plot barely held my interest, and I held in there longer than I should have.

I am tempted to give Elizabeth Lowell a free pass on this...as she has given me so much reading pleasure in the past. But then I remember that I paid good money for that past pleasure, and so I wind up feeling cheated with "Running Scared."

When Elizabeth Lowell is really on, her romances and romantic suspense are excellent. This one does not live up to that standard. What I found most irritating about this one was that it left me thinking: Why would any woman of depth want Shane? He's good looking and rich, but where is the texture, the richness of personality? This is a guy, who if he decides he wants to go to bed with you, lives up to his moral code of not mixing business and pleasure by firing you without notice and without regard to your skills and value in your job.

I'm glad I read this one out of the library. Don't rush to buy it.

I was expecting another excellent entry in the world of Rarities and the Donovan clan. After I finished the book I didn't feel the urge to go back and check out the high points that I usually feel.

The books Running Scared follows, Moving Target and the Donovan books Amber Beach through Midnight in Ruby Bayou, all fit what I would call the 'suspenseful romance' category. A large part of the plot is the romance and a second large part is the suspenseful problem.

However in Running Scared the romance is not a fully developed romance. Instead of seeing two people become attracted, encounter conflicts that stand in the way of their attraction, overcome these romantic conflicts and commit to each other - I saw Risa and Shane, who always resisted their attraction because she worked for him, until in this book, shrug, there are reasons to give in to the attraction and put aside the boss/employee problem.

I would really have liked to know more about how and why Risa loved her job more than she wanted to chance getting together with her boss. I would also have liked to know more about Shane too. (All I ended up knowing about Shane was that he was the son of a rich SOB and was good with computers. Compare that to Ruby Bayou, whose hero was raised so poor that he hunted swamp varmints for food, dealt with a set of stepfathers until his mother sent him off to 'find his father', learned how to fly and run guns, lost his brother, and was ashamed of his lack of education.)

But the book spends so much time concentrating on the actions of other characters that I feel as if the romance is between two secondary characters - they start off thinking they can't get together, then the important stuff happens, and suddenly they're together. Sort of a little romance for flavor in a book about something completely different.

Well, if this wasn't a suspenseful romance perhaps it was romantic suspense. Maybe the plots, intended crime, and so on were supposed to be the interesting part of the book. (It is called a novel of suspense on the cover.)

I found the suspense to be lacking as well. A large part of the book is spent watching Risa's old friend Cherelle and her two loser buddies as they try to get rich off an amazing treasure trove of Celtic gold they acquire (after Cherelle almost accidentally kills the previous owner fairly early in the book). The other dangerous people in the book are a bunch of casino owners who long for the Mafia days when Shane wouldn't have been able to run the most profitable casino around without sharing the wealth.

These villains are pathetic compared to Ms. Lowell's earlier villains. I particularly remember the Russian Mafiya hit man from Ruby Bayou whose actions are merely hinted at here and there but always another victim popping up killed by a knife. There is no mystery involved in reading several chapters of Cherelle dealing with her not-so-smart untrustworthy buddies and popping into Risa's life to figure out how to make the most money off her golden windfall. I ended up wondering if Cherelle was supposed to be one of the main characters in some unusual twist - so much time was spent on her and her two friends.

Overall I wish Ms. Lowell had told her publisher 'I need to do a major rewrite' and either cut the book down to a suspenseful short story or spent the time to fill in all the good stuff that she usually puts into one of her books. I only recommend it as a readable book that doesn't compare to Elizabeth Lowell's best work at all.

I almost decided not to purchase Running Scared after having read the previous reviews. However, I bought it at a discount and thought what the heck -- am glad I did. I read and collect approximately 60 series, most of them mysteries. I consider Lowell's Rarities/Donovan series to be romance/suspense and would not expect the entire book to be based on one couple's relationship. If you want strictly romance, stick to her other books (which I don't read). I like how Running Scared raced back and forth between all of the characters. I didn't care for either Shane or Risa in the previous book -- they seemed sleazy and cold. However, you learn more about them and their backgrounds in Running Scared and how they each fought their way up from a bad childhood to get where they are today. They both fight the feelings they have for each other (it's not just sex) until Risa's life is threatened which finally brings them together. From then on, although their relationship isn't always smooth, they know they belong together. I only have about 3 more chapters to finish this book and I guess I am in the minority, but it's my favorite of the Rarities Series.

"Running scared" is another manifestation of a trend I seem to see more and more : an author going "mainstream" and loosing the "thing" that made me fall in love with their writing.
Ms. Lowell wrote some of my all time favorite romances. But in "Running Scared" we are getting to know even the unsavory secondary characters (and believe me, they do have no redeeming qualities) better than the leading couple. Scenes between the hero and heroine are scarce and the nature of their attraction remains a mystery. This book neither works as a romance nor as a suspense story. I was not overly enchanted with the first book of the "Rarities" series and with this new entry I can only hope that it soon comes to an end. I hate to be forced to give up on another author I once loved.

I strongly felt that Elizabeth Lowell was only walking through this book for a paycheck. The sordid characters were stock, without any redeeming or quirky qualities that fleshed them out into human beings. The main characters were also stock - yet another brilliant and beautiful heroine, yet another brilliant and handsome hero. There was no real passion in this book, no in depth relationship between them. Lowell comes across as burned out and bored. I found that I was burned out and bored as I read this. I know this is a rather scathing review, but part of the reason I feel this strongly is that I think Lowell can do much better and has. I hope she will again in the future.