Customer Reviews

See No Evil

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I picked up my first Allison Brennan book from a sale on paperbacks at Amazon, and am now quickly going thru all I can find. She has a deep insight into a world which many do not, and that comes to play in examining the "what-if" one of these guys was really a serial killer - how would that play? She examines the darker side of BDSM, but not from that world, from the life of a serial killer who uses some of its methods for not fun, but evil and torture. She also, like Jonathan Kellerman in his Alex Delaware novels, examines the psychological side of the killer, showing that not everything is as cut-and-dried as newspaper reports would like to make us think. Some of what she writes is very scary because power plays can be very scary, and the killers she creates for her stories know how to play these games with their victims. 'Fear No Evil' is probably my favorite, but you will see through her "xxxx no evil" books that the main character changes and is related somehow to the other stories, but another person somewhere else is taking the lead. Very interesting effect. "SEE NO EVIL" is the story of a girl whose status-symbol mother marries a "sick" judge who quickly forces the girl to become his victim, in a way that she is unable to escape. An online group, suggested by her therapist, allows her to exorcise some of the thoughts she has, including how she pictures him dying. Is it deja vu? Already you know he dies in such a fashion...but who pulled it off? And what do the online group and the therapist have to do with this? And why doesn't her mother believe in her innocence? Her aunt, related through her father, steps in to try to find proof of her niece's innocence and ends up hiring as PI a man who she almost forced out of his last career as a police detective. His brothers play various roles as well, and have been seen in other of Allison Brennan's books, making me want to hunt them all down and find the single ones...not extraordinary men, pretty down-to-earth, but definitely in the 'git-er-done' category of taking care of business and each other, even when not talking to each other for years (but that might be another book). And another plot underlines the main one of absolving her niece. Worth the read, but make sure you have time to finish it the day you start it; work will have to wait once you get started on one of her books, and this is one of her best as well!

I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was very well thought out and planned. I liked that she put in numerous twists and turns. It was a new concept of murder that I hadn't read before. It kept me interested in what was going on and thinking about who was really behind it all. I enjoyed the Kincaid family and Julia's interactions. I loved how it showed them working through things and what they were thinking. It was interesting to see how they handled the police with Emily and her mental state. I wasn't sure I would like this trilogy after the first book since it wasn't as strong as this one. However this book more than made up for it. I can't wait to read the final book in the Evil trilogy. I would highly recommend this book.

I thought this was another great book in a very good series. I was a little concerned after reading The Kill. It moved a little slow for me. But wow! See No Evil is right back on the mark. It moves quickly with enough suspense to make it hard to put down. I thought the romance was a little off...she thinks black and white, he's angry and betrayed (by her)...for people to change their life views and get over something thought to be so hurtful that fast and fall in love is a little to much for me thus the 4 stars instead of 5. I still highly recommend this book to anyone who likes Mariah Stewart or Kay Hooper. I can't wait for the next one!

This book was fantastic. I read it in one night because I could not put it down. I was especially pleased because I had no idea until the end who the bad guy was. I really like books that keep me guessing.

Allison Brennan is a writer I found quite by accident but it was one of the best accidental finds I have ever made. This 2nd book in her trilogy is wonderful. It keeps you guessing until the end while the suspence builds nonstop. It blends an enthralling tale of obsession, mystery, suspence, and romance perfectly. A++++++++++++

Julia Chandler is an Assistant District Attorney who is investigating the murder of her niece's step-father. She will have to do it outside of her office for her niece is the one suspected of the murder. Julia has always believed in the law as black and white now she must face the fact that there is a gray layer of justice. And she will use every tool at her disposal to save her niece.

Conner Kincaid is the brother of Carina Kincaid of SPEAK NO EVIL, he and Julia have an aquaintance that is not of the friendly kind. She is directly responsible for his leaving his job as a detective at the police dept. She forced him to testify against some of his fellow policemen. Only his caring for Emily, her niece, allows her to get him to help her save emily. Conner is now one of the best PI's in the city. And for Emily, Julia wants only the best.

Emily is a trust child, when she reaches 18 she will inherit several million dollars. Her mother is a cold-hearted society gold-digger. She married Emily's father for his money and has no time for Emily. Judge Montgomery is the perfect match for her mother. He is a cold, unfeeling child molestor. Emily has told no one about his attack, except to a web page for young people to tell their worse problems and what they want to do about it. The site is called Wishlist. com. Emily had detailed how she would kill the Judge, and that was exactly how he was killed.

I enjoyed the book but I felt that the leading characters were not so fully fleshed out. Conner gave up his hate alittle to easily. While not as good as SPEAK NO EVIL it is still a very good read.

Author Allison Brennan is on a roll as she turns out best sellers one after another. She has great writing talent and it shows! "See No Evil" is a powerful story. It is a page burner and will nothing but continue moving up the best selling lists! A must buy book! She is going to become a huge author - but I think most of us know that she is already there!

This is undoubtedly one of the best---if NOT THE BEST Series I have read in the last year. I am an avid reader....and these books were a page turning read that kept me up each night until I had read all 3 of them. I sincerely hope that the author will write many more. I wish her only the best....

Sandra Maike

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. The plot sounded interesting & I liked the premise. My only problem? The writing just didn't live up to the storyline.

The story surrounds a beautiful DA Julia who must prove her niece's innocence after her stepfather is found horribly murdered in his study. A stepfather whom the niece was being molested by & had plenty of motive to kill. There to help is a figure from Julia's past who holds a grudge and a lot of lust against her, Connor Kinkaid. Moving in the background however is a mysterious group of youths who will stop at nothing to keep their plan moving, even as their shadowy leader pulls their strings.

This story had so many flaws to it. First off, the characters were interesting in theory, but I just couldn't find myself really getting into the main characters. Connor was fine, but Julia just seemed lackluster. The most interesting characters were the ones never fully explored. The other major flaw is the lack of buildup for who the leader is, why he wanted so many people dead, & how he discovered everyone and pulled them together. His real identity isn't even introduced until the last part of the book & didn't really fit with the story. (He showed up before then, but only as the villain. His persona wasn't introduced or anything until the last part of the book.)

For that matter, the reasons & wherefores for the rest of the kids aren't ever really explained either. We're *told* that they're all angsty rich kids who were abused (small spoiler, but not really), but it just never seems enough to really explain why they'd do any of that. In the end Brennan goes for the old standard of "They're crazy, so that's their reasoning". When we finally *do* get the reasons why, they're so farfetched & unsubstantiated that I found it hard to think of it as a real reason or find it very shocking. There just wasn't any buildup for those revelations, so the ending fell flat. While many would find this entertaining enough to keep them occupied, there's just not enough for me to recommend it as a "must read". This is the type of book you pick up when there's nothing else there at the thrift store, not new off the shelves.

2.9/5

This installment in the "Evil" trilogy (Speak No Evil, See No Evil, Fear No Evil) centers around Julia Chandler an assistant district attorney and Conner Kincaid, brother to Carina Kincaid and former police officer. Julia and Chandler have a history and it's not a happy one since it centers on the time when he resigned from the police force. But Julia's niece, Emily, is in trouble and Conner has helped out before as a private eye to help find Emily and Julia needs him now since Emily's stepfather has been murdered and Emily looks like the prime suspect.

Julia, Conner and Conner's brother Dillon work together to sort out some strange happenings in their area and track down the killers to help prove Emily's innocence. On the way to that end, Julia and Conner have to work through their feelings from the past and the feelings that they are currently feeling.

Loaded with suspense with a side of romance, plus characters you really like, See No Evil is a great read from start to finish. EAch time I set this book down, I couldn't wait until I could pick it up next and see what Julia and Conner would do. The mystery is intricately woven and very enjoyable to try and figure out. The crimes and the subject matter are dark and handled very realistically but you don't feel bogged down by the whole plot. These characters will stay with you for awhile as well as the circumstances in which the crimes were committed. Ms. Brennan has another winner on her hands and I'm only sorry I didn't read this earlier!