Customer Reviews

Shadows All Around Her

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

 

 

I picked up this book at the grocery store, not expecting it to be anything remarkable because I'd never heard of the author, and the plot summary sounded a little strange.

I was in for quite a surprise. I read the entire thing in one night. I typically stick with historical romance, but this was a great contemporary. The characters were fun, and I could see how the romance would develop...it didn't seem forced or contrived at all. I haven't read much having to do with the supernatural or paranormal, but I thought it was well executed in this book. Enough "magic" to make the plot interesting, but not so much that it became silly.

Also, I loved how this author used specifics. Others might say it was a lot of "name dropping" and reference to pop culture, but I found it enjoyable considering most authors shy away from such specifics. Normally I have a hard time relating to characters in romances because I can't see them as "true to life," but here it was easy to identify with the protagonists.

My only complaint was that there were a couple plot strands that weren't seen all the way through to completion. I won't say what for risk of ruining the plot for others, but after I finished the book I realized that there were a couple points she never went back to, or that she didn't pay quite enough attention to. Still, this wasn't enough to knock it down from a 5 star rating...

I just got my copy of Shadows All Around Her, and it's golden! Mulvany's previous outing (Run No More) was excellent, and the new book is even better! The characters are likable and have the depth to make them real. The plot is tricky, but not so convoluted as to leave the reader confused. There is a marvelous sophistication to Mulvany's works. Too many writers assume readers are obtuse - this story, however, is smart and allows the reader to be, too. This is paranormal romantic suspense at its finest, and it shouldn't be missed!

Janus the head of security for the Mediterranean Sea island monarchy Calix, informs his agent Dominic Fortune that someone is stealing artifacts from the palace library. Of most concern is that American medieval literature Professor Erskine Grant has obtained a copy of a sacred Calixian document. Dominic is to retrieve it from Grant who is in Edinburgh attending a forum.

Dominic finds Erskine dead and another visiting professor Magnus Armstrong missing. Magnus' stepdaughter Math Professor Caitlin O'Shaugnessy received a package from Magnus for her birthday. When she learns he is missing, accompanied by her closest friend Bree Thatcher, she flies to Scotland where Dominic meets her at the airport. As he tries to keep her safe from several attempts to abduct her, Caitlin begins realizing that she possesses the missing manuscript sent to her by Magnus. She also knows she loves her protector who reciprocates her feelings, but first must solve the case of the seventeenth century manuscript in order to rescue Magnus from a villain who seems invincible.

SHADOWS ALL AROUND HER is a fantastic romantic suspense thriller with fantasy and horror elements that enhance the delightful story line. Readers will root for the lead couple to rescue the tortured Magnus from a clever adversary pulling everyone's strings. Romance readers will enjoy the relationship between Dominick and Caitlin as well as that between Bree and another protection expert. Still the plot is loaded with intrigue from the beginning to the final chaos theory twists that will have the audience seeking more works from talented Catherine Mulvany.

Harriet Klausner

I would not call this a romance novel. It is primarily mystery and suspense with some paranormal magic and a little sex for garnish. If you're looking for love and sex in the style of romance novels, you don't want this. As a suspense mystery, it was pretty good.

I guess this book was okay. I just don't like books were the heroine's sexual excapades color my opinion of her. The plot of having her having sex with a married man was a big turn off. If a woman is that dumb ( and she made a lot of mistakes in her love life), then I really don't want to read about her. It colored my opinion of her and not in a good way. Great hero-not a great heroine.