Customer Reviews

Sharp Edges

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Deep Waters and Absolutely, Positively converted me into a Jayne Ann Krentz fan and I went on to read her earlier work after those two books, including her Regency romances under the pseudonym Amanda Quick. Her trademarks are intelligent, independent heroines and brooding heroes with dark histories. They usually have names that you don't normally tag to romantic heroes and heroines, like Gideon, Molly and Harry.

In this story, it's Cyrus, a private detective, and Eugenia, a Museum Director. The death of a glass collector on Frog Cove Island bring the two together on official missions that hide their real motives: Eugenia to investigate the death of her artist friend (who was also one of the collector's many girlfriends) and Cyrus to hunt down an ancient artifact that was stolen under his security watch three years ago. Their initial suspicion of each other plays against strong physical attraction, but while there is heat and sexual tension, there's no sense of inevitability that these two characters deserve each other and should fall headlong into each other's arms. The main characters are disappointingly flat and the love scenes seem contrived. Krentz tries too hard to make the characters outwardly different that they end up as stereotypes - the sleek, sophisticated Museum Director and the strong, silent detective with the too-colorful shirts. The novel's redeeming features are the snappy dialogue and the quirky secondary characters.

If you want to start on a Krentz romance, I'd strongly recommend Absolutely, Positively, Grand Passion or Deep Waters. While Sharp Edges is still a good read, it won't warm you up on cold nights.

I was excited about this book, because the beginning of it (published behind Deep Waters) seems to be a return to JAK's (and AQ's) normal style, which I think is great. (I do vastly prefer the Quick stories). But I was sad to discover that although this is a pretty good book, it still seems that you are watching the story through a dark, cloudly glass. Her earlier stories made you feel right in the thick of things. I don't care about the "formula" angle of these plots, the formula works great for me. I do want to care more about the characters, however. Ms. Krentz is still about the best Romance writer around. The sad part is that she could be (and has been) so much better! Please slow down. I would pay double for book I wanted to read many times over. None of the recent ones have qualified.

I liked this plot. I think JAK even managed to surprise w/who was the bad guy in the end. It had some good twists and turns. The male/female leads were typical, but I like that. I don't want her to change up how she writes her leads. This was published in 1998. It's a good read.

The story starts with a prologue 3 years earlier as Colfax & March Security need to deliver a 4th century glass art cup to their client. Cyrus Chandler Colfax hooked up with his partner of 6 months, Damien March, as Damien had high-powered corporate and individual contacts but he is not sure he trusts him. Cyrus wants his wife Katy to be happy. As Cyrus and his partner Damien are transporting the "Hades cup", suddenly Cyrus is shot from behind. While in the hospital he finds that his partner has taken all of their company's assets including the Hades cup and that his wife Katy is dead, victim of a carjacking.
In the present day we are at the Leabrook Glass Museum where the elderly owner, Tabitha, is trying to convince the museum director, Eugenia Swift to take along Cyrus Colfax on her trip to Frog Cove Island to inventory and catalogue the art collection of the recently deceased art patron, Adam Daventry. Cyrus, a tall well-built man in a bright aloha shirt, does not impress the very classy and elegant Eugenia. Eugenia finally realizes she is not going to get to go on her working vacation without him and gives in especially as on her agenda is finding out what happened to her friend and former employee Nellie Grant who she had introduced to Adam Daventry.
The Glass House where Adam Daventry lived and housed his collection is a very strange place with almost all glass walls and the very first night Eugenia chases a intruder down to the basement where Cyrus finds her and they both find the caretaker of the place dead in the wine cellar of an apparent heart attack.
From this point on more and more clues and suspects enter the picture and make for an intriguing read right to the final denouement!! The romance is also nicely done and as always JAK has plenty of humor as well. This story is a fun read and very interesting for the information on glass art as well.

In this story by Jayne Ann Krentz I think that the Audio version (3 hr abridged) is a bit to abridged. I felt like I was missing part of the story at times! but, the overall story did still ragte a 4.

Eugenia Swift is caught up in a mystery when she goes to catalogue a glass collection for the museum that she works for. Along comes Adam - posing as her assistant but he is really investigating the loss of a valuable glass piece that disappeared from his protection years ago while he was transporting it. Then again Eugenia is not only cataloguing the glass but she is trying to figure out why a fiend of hers has been killed... and she is not even sure that she is really dead.... Both are lead along a merry chase with many different twists and turns and they end up helping each other in the end...

This was my first Krentz novel. I never read romances, but I enjoyed Sharp Edges so much that I have read 10 more Krentz novels since. Krentz's writing style is crisp and easy to read. The stories are about mature, educated women and not starry-eyed, lithe heroines with heaving bosoms. I enjoy the mystery subplot that goes along with each romance.

Two unlikely strangers join together for a common goal brings us to the world of mystery that will give us something new to think about. Ms. Krentz truly shows her ingenuity in this book and she has the readers spellbound with her characters. Imagine two totally oppistes discovering love and finds happieness in each other. It's about time we take a look around us and see the goods in each other to understand that we're actually very much alike after all. I'd recommend this book for anyone who enjoys a good book and expects quality that only Ms. Krentz can deliver. Ms. Krentz holds the strings that tugs at our hearts.

This latest Jayne Krentz offering shows her writing technique at its best. While not my favorite work, I thoroughly enjoyed it for all the qualities her work has always displayed: a fine blend of humor, adventure and romance and wonderful characters in both the main and supporting roles. But what makes this one rate well is the craft she exhibits in the plot development, which is better than in some of the other novels that I find just fun reads. One of the most interesting points which longtime Krentz' readers should pick up on is the parallels between this book and Grand Passion, with a little role reversal thrown in.

Jayne Ann Krentz has created another fabulous romantic suspense Novel! Eugenia's friend, Nellie, had supposedly committed suicide near Frog Cove Island, due to grief over the accidental death of her lover. However, Eugenia did not believe it was suicide. Eugenia suspected murder. When Adam Daventry died he left his entire glass collection to the museum Leabrook. Eugenia went to Daventry's house on Frog Cove Island to catalogue the pieces and look into Nellie's death.

Cyrus Colfax was a private investigator. While delivering a valuable glass piece of art, called the Hades Cup, his partner, Damien March, stole it. Cyrus was shot and left for dead. Cyrus' wife, Katy, knew too much and was killed.

After three years Cyrus had traced the Hades Cup to Frog Cove Island in his search for Damien and revenge. He used Eugenia to get there. Now it was a hunt a long lost glass work of art, before everyone dies.

***Exciting! Krentz is one of my favorite authors! Worth buying in hardback to keep forever.***

On the surface, they could not have been more opposite. Cyrus Colfax Chandler is a country boy, who loves beer, meat and potatoes. Eugenia Swift is an arty intellect, who is a museum director that knows artifacts like no one does. Cyrus realizes that this feisty woman is nothing like the fragile and dependent female who was his deceased wife. He acknowledges that he needs her help if he wants to gain access to Glass House in order to regain the priceless Hades Cup that his former partner stole from him. That was the same man who seduced and ultimately killed his spouse.

Eugenia does not want anything to do with Cyrus even as she is stuck with the man at the insistence of her boss. She ostensibly goes to Glass House to categorize the collection that the Seabrook Glass Museum will inherit. However, she also has a hidden agenda. She travels to Frog Cove Island in hopes of finding out what really happened to her former friend, who allegedly was lost at sea near here. Thus, these two individuals end up confiding in each other and soon work together as a team. Ultimately, they fall in love with one another.

SHARP EDGES is a fun to read romantic suspense that also challenges the reader. The lead characters and their relationship provides the light hearted entertainment needed to cool down the intensive tension-charged story line. Jayne Ann Krentz has produced another winner that deserves to become her latest New York Times bestseller.

Harriet Klausner