10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely Wonderful!, November 22, 1999
This review is from: Secret Weekend (Paperback)
Wow, this book was good. It had suspense, action, and it really probes into the mind of a crazed man, who vows to get revenge on Audrey Goh after the past he has experienced with Audrey's father. There is also another group after Audrey, a group of Chinese Mafia men who will stop at nothing to get what they want. This book is absolutely mesmerizing! I have read all 3 books that Thom Racina has written and this one is one of my favorite. Also it gives you a little hint that there might be a sequel coming. Keep up the great work Thom!
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
MARRY ME OR ELSE, September 5, 2002
This review is from: Secret Weekend (Paperback)
Once in a while you come across a book that is so painstakingly bad it's like one of those cheesy old sci-fi movies---you can't help but like it. Racina is such a "cinematic" writer, in that his books feel like made for tv or straight to video movies. But, that's okay, as long as they're entertaining.
This one is a hoot! Some of the dialogue and the descriptive narrative is a riot. I remember one section where one of the characters, Ben, is said to "chortle." Who in the world uses the word chortle? And the characters are some of the most shallow I've read in some time.
Audrey Goh is supposed to be so beautiful she stops clocks..but she's also a tease, and rather a self-centered one at that. She kidnaps her boyfriend, Mark, and whisks him off for a secret weekend in a maximum security apartment complex she is building. And all, just to get him to propose. In addition, she is pregnant. Her best friend, Bobbie, your typical "dumb blonde" warns her that Mark is not worth it.
Earlier in the book, we find that someone wants revenge on Audrey and her family for causing the suicide of his father and subsequent death of his mother, too. So he waits ten years and lo and behold, he's back to carry out his revenge.
I was kind of surprised at the identity of the revenge-filled lover; the inclusion of a "Rear Window" peeping Tom is also misleading, but that's okay, cause it does keep you guessing. But then the plot really soars into mayhem. A Chinese couple wants to buy an apartment in the complex; turns out they aren't who they say they are; then an elderly Chinese couple gets mercilessly killed; and we find out that somehow (and I still haven't figured out yet how), a bomb is placed in the safe, set to go off at 1:00 a.m. on Saturday morning.
An unlikely, but courageous, hero emerges and the race is on to save the damsel in distress. It's suspenseful, but still I found myself smiling at the predicaments our heroes get in during the big chase climax....and then the killer is taken care of, but you won't believe what happens, even though if you've seen any "Halloween" movies, you can guess.
What a hoot! But it's fun, quizzical, and a good read. If you like to find another guilty pleasure, "Secret Weekend" is worth it!
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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
It's so bad, it's laughable, February 3, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Secret Weekend (Paperback)
First of all, the story drags and drags. It seems like the stalker has "impure" thoughts about Audrey every other page, which gets awfully boring. Also, the characters are written like stick figures from a bad straight-to-video movie. I love this genre of book -- but this one just doesn't cut it. I was so bored, I ended up reading the ending about 1/3rd of the way through the book so I could get it over with. Don't waste your money.
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