Customer Reviews

Shattered

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
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I enjoyed this book and it has many interesting plot twists. However, most of the characters with the exception of Holly's brother Harris weren't very well-developed. And Holly was kind of wimpy the way she kept letting Daniel use her as if she were a Barbie doll. But the ending was a surprise and I enjoyed the book overall.

Getting a plum job renovating the elegant resteraunt, Cutty House, leads architect Holly Fairfield into a spider's web. Unknowingly, she has become the pawn of her former lover, Daniel Cutty, in his game of revenge.

Twelve years ago, Daniel's cousin, Ryan, was involved in the death of a young woman they both loved, Nina. Holly's uncanny resemblance to Nina makes her the perfect tool for Daniel to attempt to drive Ryan mad. However, Daniel did not count on Ryan and Holly beginning, against all logic, to fall for one another. Nor did he anticipate the fact that the old murder would now demand justice be paid. Secrets and schemes explode with a chaotic bang that will change all their lives.

*** Though a creepy old mansion is missing, nonetheless, Shattered is definitely a modern gothic. At times, all the plot twists can boggle the mind, but it is still a fascinating read. If you have read the recent articles in Romantic Times concerning how secondary characters can steal the show, you will agree that Holly's brother, Harris, falls into this category. Perhaps he will get the chance to star in his own novel someday. ***

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore.

Divorced and a former rising architectural superstar, Holly Fairfield knows how fast one can fall from grace. To save her collapsed career she has relocated from Seattle to San Francisco where her brother, fresh from being fired from corporate America, joins her. Holly feels she has gotten her break when surprisingly Daniel East hires her to renovate the family's landmark restaurant The Cutty House.

Daniel's uncle, aunt and cousin are stunned when they are introduced to Holly. She later learns that she is the doppelganger of Ryan's deceased fiancée Nina who died a decade ago in an automobile accident with everyone blaming him for her death. As Holly and Ryan fall in love, she believes he still loves Nina, not yet understanding the dysfunctional interrelationships between his family members.

Though the coincidence of a near perfect look alike seems stretched even if everyone has been told they look like so and so, fans will appreciate this thrilling romantic suspense. The story line is interesting as the truth of what happened to Nina begins to surface. A secondary romance augments the prime plot and hopefully will turn fruitful in a sequel, as the seeds of a delightful tale have been planted. Readers will enjoy Olga Bicos' fine tale of destructive family secrets.

It just goes to show that even a seasoned 'professional' can be fooled. There is a price to pay every time you cause any kind of pain (emotional or physical) to another human being. Under the proper perspective, he could easily fit the bill of sinner or saint with his game-show host personality: Mr. Tall, Dark, and Self-Confident with twenty thousand dollars to throw away on an ego trip. Intelligent minds might think he had something to hide.

Things happen. We can lose control of a situation. It's not what we mean or want to happen. It's a game you lost, a prank which went completely out of control run by a cold-blooded lout. Her words to live by had always been: use "finesse." But she had triggered a reaction all out of proportion, and the man would not take any responsibility. Is he a prince among men, her knight in shining armor, or more like bright Hawaiian shirts. In Hawaii, a beast preys on the tour group at night, but Cindy Flores will put them through all the danger and death so that she gets profit from her commerce. Paradise turned out to be a shattering, volcanic existence in emotions as well as in fact, so who cares if she gets hurt. She was completely shattered by the intensity of confabulation when she got close to unlocking the truth about it being bankrupt and just a dummy corporation, turned into ads for the tour group.

You think you're getting away with something. This is one time you will be paying the rest of your life. A guilty conscience can do that. But it takes a conscience to feel any regret for the trouble caused. The egghead champion thinks he is a god.
Love wins out in the end, and her eyes have not lost their sparkle after all. All's well that ends well. This was her fifth suspense novel and received high praises.