Customer Reviews

Catch a Shadow (Berkley Sensation)

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In Atlanta as the hit and run victim is dying he pleads with emergency medic technician Kirke Palmer to deliver an envelope to someone named Mitch Edwards. Reluctantly she agrees to this death bed wish. However, she may have reconsidered her granting the final favor if she knew the trouble she lands in from a corrupt lethal former CIA operative.

In 2000 when the South American special op mission failed, Jake Kelly thought he was the sole survivor. He took the fall for the incident though he is unsure what he could have done different and spent time in jail. Now he is free only to receive a call from Del Cox, who allegedly died during that last deadly mission. He rushes to Atlanta to find Del dead and he soon meets Kirke whose letter might clarify what really happened on the day his life was ruined. He vows to keep her safe, but soon realizes the advantage of having a paramedic at his side.

Kirke is a terrific damsel in distress as she learns no good deed goes unpunished when she tries to carry out the death bed wish; she also carries the story line with her. Readers will join her and Jake as they tour Atlanta trying to stay one step ahead of their deadly enemies while seeking who inside leaked his fatal mission.

Harriet Klausner

Paramedic Kirke Palmer takes an envelop from a hit and run victim and promises him to give it to Mitch Edwards. Thus, begins a cat and mouse chase throughout the United States. Kirke has gone against department rules but feels she must honor the victim's wishes. Enter Jake Kelly, an ex-felon who is on the run, but can Kirke trust him. A cast of characters, including a parrot that has an amazing vocabulary. Add to the suspense pot, a bad guy that seems to never go away and knows everything. If you want an exciting story with a satisfying ending, along with a dash of romance, try this one.

I didn't think this book belonged to the romantic suspense genre as the protagonists hardly got to say much more than a sentence or two to each other for a third of the book. Everything moved slowly despite the promise of danger and suspense. And I mean EVERYTHING. There was hardly any attention given to the romance so that if the back blurb didn't tell me they were characters in a romance, I never would have guessed.

Nothing really happens on the suspense level except for the usual attempts on the heroine and her friend's life. All the while, Jake is monitoring the situation, there is NO intimacy between him and Kirke, no hint of a romance either. The only way the reader knows they will end up in bed with each other is because the author has the heroine doing her internal monologue about her reaction to Jake. Jake, on the other hand, finally makes a move at page 199 of page 300 and kisses Kirke. Mind you, before this, there is absolutely no flirting, no witty come ons to give anyone the idea these two will fall in love. When there's only one third of the book more to go and there's been NO romance, I can't see how the author is going to rush the until-now platonic interaction into an intimate one. If Ms Potter had spent a little time building up a sexual attraction between Jake and Kirke then set it aside to move on to the suspense bedore returning to work on the romance, that would have been fine. Probably even great. But no, their relationship is lacking in sexual attraction, chemistry, romance etc. but through no fault of their own. It's the author that did not give them the page space to develop it. Poor things.

So To Catch A Shadow is an odd book as far as Romantic Suspense goes. It might have been saved if it had been put under the Suspense genre but even then, there is hardly any suspense or mystery so suspense fans would likely object. As a Romantic Suspense? I really don't think so. Not when two thirds of a 300-page book, Kirke and Jake have not had any intimate interaction and I suddenly find Jake giving her a kiss, undressing her and putting her to bed then pulling up the covers. So I thought, okay, let's move on to the villains or the suspense part but nada. The book insists on revolving around the non-existent romance between Jake and Kirke so I'm stumped as to what the author is trying to do.

3 1/2 *

No spoilers...

I like how Patricia Potter develops a unique and intriguing plot. I also like the fact that even though one of her characters (Jake) is an ex-military special operations operative, he is fallable and ever so much more human. Kirke, is a great character. She is thrust into a situation where she simply has to go with her gut to back a promise made to a dying man at great possible cost to herself and her career. She is unjaded, strong yet feminine, innocent, naive but intelligent, and gutsy. She takes charge of her decisions and is an asset to Jake.

This is not a mystery thriller as there is no mystery other than how the characters will solve the dilemna they have been thrown into. The romance is secondary to the plot and very believable. Jack and Kirke both see things they admire in the other to cause them to fall in love. And when people are on the run from bad guys they can not stop and have sex all the time because they are realistically hurt, tired, and vigilant to their circumstances.

I am looking forward to reading more of Potter's books.

Happy Reading!

Ms Potter has always been a favorite of mine, and she didn't disappoint with this novel. The characters were interesting and believable. A very enjoyable read for me.

I always enjoy a Patricia Potter book and this one was no exception. It held my attention, the characters were good and the plot kept me reading until late hours! It is another winner.