Customer Reviews

Shades Of The Past: Lords of Midnight

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed Ms. Kirkwood's A SLIP IN TIME and was (not so) patiently awaiting her next novel. SHADES OF THE PAST did not disappoint my expectations. This is a well written book, where the characters are interesting to read about although only fairly well developed. That would probably be my biggest criticism of the book, I would have liked to have seen a little more depth to the characters. Our hero is tormented by his previous marriages. He is a bit moody, but I really didn't feel his torment. There does not seem to be a lot of interaction between our hero and heroine, (because our hero keeps running away), yet they are sexually and mentally attracted to one another. If you have so little contact, how can a relationship grow? It seems like they are forever avoiding one another, yet have fallen in love. I would have liked to have seen more communication. The secondary characters give a great boost to the story. Good sister/bad sister, rambunctious brother, interested nephew, eccentric nanny, and corrupt constable, all make for attention grabbing reading.

I found reading about early photography, how it was done, with each step carefully explained, both helpful and informative. With the addition of the paranormal, this book covers just about all the bases. I did feel that our ghost might have been a little too helpful, not leaving much of the mystery for our hero and heroine to solve. Do not look for a twisting turning plot, I figured the "whodoneit" fairly early on, though there are a few surprises in store.

I was expecting so much more. It should have been a great book. The two main characters did have a lot of thought and feeling to them but it took over half the book to get them together. The first half she was trying for tension, but they only had a few conversations and not very long at that. When they did get together it was over done. They were instantly in love , as though they had been for quite a while. And the way they then spoke to one another. Darling this dearest that. It just didn't feel right. Mostly because there wasn't much interaction between them before they got together. I think the story itself was interesting in the fact there was a little mystery. Who the ghost was and who stole the jewels. Over all not a good book. Boring

After reading Kathleen Kirkwood's A SLIP IN TIME, I could not wait for her next book. SHADES OF THE PAST did not disappoint. In this novel, the author blends history, mystery and romance with an artist's hand, creating the most enthralling love story I have read all year.

This is clearly a remarkable book by a remarkable author!

I write a litle and would be delighted to have the command of reader that Ms. Davis displays. (i.e. it is a page-turner) Within its genre, (it almost qualifies as scientific-murder-historical-romance-novel) I can only recall one other like it.

My comments include these two points:

A) If Evelyn Davis were named, say Dean Koontz, (i.e., famous) this book would become a hot seller.

B) On the negative side, to qualify as a novel, a writer must have some significant character development.

It may have a continous spectrum as "Picture of Dorian Gray" or it may be buried in flasbacks, asides, or sidebars (I call them "segways") but it must be present

In this book, Evelyn Davis (or Anita Gordon) is clearly drawing from a well that she has not shared with the reader.

What next? Look forward to a sequal with more character development, even if plot-entombed as in "Leatherstocking Tales"

Bernie Lumbert from Kingman, AZ

Dec. 7, 1999