Customer Reviews

Shaker Run (Mira)

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
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Kate Marburn learned to protect herself carefully after the horrible disgrace that her ex-husband left behind. While he absconded with millions, Kate was left to face charges of fraud in court, plunging from Toledo's elite society to scandal. Her ex-husband also left behind a suicide note but no body, and a daughter whom Kate loves as if the teenager were her own. Making a new start as the rose gardener on the estate of Sarah Denbigh, a wealthy widow, Kate enjoys her new quite life.

Unfortunately, Kate again plunges into the murky world of lawsuits and fear when Sara dies under mysterious circumstances. Subsequently, Shaker Run, a village originally owned by the Shakers and now restored offers Kate a position as their rosarian. There she meets Jack Kilcourse, an expert on Shaker furniture and a gifted furniture builder. Jack's kisses are as dark as they are delicious. Despite not revealing anything about his past or hidden pain, Jack proves entirely too alluring. Little do Kate or Jack suspect the dangerous criminal element that will threaten both of their lives.

SHAKER RUN provides an intriguing look into America past, and while the creative license lends its own shading to the facts, the sparkling originality of the background proves tempting and fascinating. Shakers, as the author clearly states in her note, did not use hallucinogenic drugs, but the shading of history provides a remarkable background for fraud and murder. SHAKER RUN has a couple of distracting weaknesses. Despite defrauding his clients for millions, we never clearly learn what the antihero did with his money, or why he wants Kate's money. In addition, the daughter truly got on my nerves and I wanted to throttle her selfish ways. Nevertheless, SHAKER RUN is enormously entertaining and engaging. Highly recommended.

Two years ago Katherine and Mike Marburn were new kids swimming in the elite social pool of Toledo. That crumbled when the SEC decided Mike committed fraud. He swindled clients out of millions, vanished, leaving behind a suicide note, but no corpse. The furor reigned on Katherine who also was left with Mike's daughter from a previous marriage.

Kate takes a job as companion to the elderly Sarah Denbigh. However when Sarah mysteriously dies, the police feel Kate killed her because the senior citizen changed her will and left everything to Kate rather than her two own children. In the midst of her second public furor, Kate accepts a job at historical Shaker Run where she meets Jack Kilcourse. She quickly realizes that something is not right with her co-workers and soon turns to Jake, a person she is beginning to fall in love with, for help.

SHAKER RUN provides an engaging look at an interesting segment of American History. The story line is loaded with action, but a meander or two too many makes it difficult at times to follow. The lead characters are warm and will hook the reader early on, but Sarah's children especially her daughter is just too obnoxious to be real. Still, fans will enjoy Karen Harper's romantic suspense because Kate and Jack make wonderful romantic guides escorting the audience into a piece of Americana.

Harriet Klausner

I was fascinated by the details of Shaker life--the customs, the lifestyle, the furniture. What spoiled it all was the unrealistic dialog of the characters. Their words were not realistic speech; the dialog was there to convey meaning, but one would never hear people speak in such a way. There was no discernible difference between the characters' speech. So often after a good author has a book sell well, she/he rushes to get the next one on the market without tending to the details that made the first one good. I fear this is what happened here. Too bad. I feel cheated, and probably won't buy anything by this author again.

Kate is too perfect and all the circumstances are too contrived in this silly boring mystery. There was no suspense to carry the reader along, no mood was effected, no dimension to any of the characters. This book goes back to the library shelves mostly unread.

Shaker Run By Karen Harper

I needed to take a break from the other books I am reading and I picked up this paperback novel my daughter in law gave me. I really enjoyed it. This is the kind of book you start on a whim and in the middle of it you just can't put it down till your done.

It was about a lady, Kate Marburn, who finds a wonderful job as a rosarian, rose gardener, on a lovely estate owned by Sarah Denbigh. Sarah quickly becomes more then an employee or friend; she becomes the mother Kate hasn't had since she was a toddler. Sarah and Kate share the love for roses and Shaker furniture. Sarah helps Kate get over a terrible divorce from Mike who swindled most of the people in her town, his faked death, allegations that Kate killed him and mending Erin, Mikes teenage daughter, heart after Mike left them. Kate thinks she has finally gotten over the whole ordeal, enjoys the beautiful rose gardens, sees Erin mend, helps her step daughter enroll in college, and then rids herself of those paranoid feelings that she is being followed and watched. Every thing is coming up roses you could say.

That is until Sarah mysteriously dies during a party at her home. The police think she was killed, Sarah's children think Kate might have something to do with Sarah's death, Kate inherits all of Sarah's Shaker furniture, and then Kate starts to feel those old paranoid feelings again. Kate escapes to Shaker Run, a historical Shaker village, where she is in charge of bringing back the vast antique rose the Shakers used to make rose water. Things are not completely right at the peaceful village and a mysterious black car begins to follow Kate around.

Kate meets Jack Kilcourse, a furniture maker, and together they solve the mystery at Shaker Run, the black car, Sarah's death, a trail of fake Shaker furniture, and Erin's new animosity for her step-mom. As the back of the book says "Kate's dream job just might become her worst nightmare...."

Enjoy.