Customer Reviews

Slow Burn

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

Slow Burn by Julie Garwood is a compelling story of mystery and romance.

Kate MacKenna has had a near miss on her life when a bomb goes off at a charity event she is attending. She is drawn out of town when her friend Jordan has a medical crisis. While there she falls into the arms of Dylan Buchanan, Jordan's brother. This is a complication she thinks she doesn't need.

After another near miss with another explosion Dylan comes to town to get to the bottom of who wants to harm Kate.

Dylan a detective is on leave after being injured on the job. He tells himself that he is looking after Kate at his sisters request but he comes to realize its always been Kate for him.

Getting to the bottom of these accidents is further complicated when it comes to light that Kate has inherited a boatload of money.

Dylan and Kate's romance is loaded with wit, charm and oozing sex appeal. The I Love You scene still makes me smile. The intrigue in this story is intense and heart pounding.

Julie Garwood has written another exceptional story. Can't wait for the next tale.

Julie Garwood is an automatic buy for me and has been for years. When she first started penning romantic suspense I was afraid that her beautiful voice so apparent in her historical romances would be lost. Well, her voice has changed probably due to her change in genre but she still has managed to create vivid characters that are not only likeable but also entertaining.

Someone wants Kate MacKenna dead. So far they've tried to blow her up twice in two different but nasty explosions, and they've tried to run her down. The big question is why? She's not rich, (she has recently just found out that she and her sisters are in danger of loosing their house due to a bank loan their mother took out to cover her hospital expenses) not beautiful in her mind, and she lives a real simple life. Oh, she has friends and she has a burning crush on her best friends brother Dylan. This is a big problem as she can't love Dylan and the fact that this handsome police detective is willing to put his life on the line for her only complicates things. Specially as she does need a knight in shining armor to keep her safe.

Dylan has a thing for "Pickle" and his feelings for her are growing by leaps and bounds. When his sister Jordan asks him to fly down to keep her safe he does but he has no idea that Kate really is in trouble and that the person who wants her dead won't stop until she is. Will Dylan be able to keep her safe?

Dylan and Kate were wonderful protagonists! I've loved the Buchanan Family series from the get-go. This story is no exception. Although I miss the historical romances that this author used to write, her romantic suspense still entertains. Ms. Garwood is a wonderful addition to the romantic suspense genre.

Official Reviewer for Romance Designs

Entrepreneur Kate McKenna has survived not one but two bombings, as well as a near fatal hit and run. She and her two sisters have just discovered that their mother, who died a year earlier, mortgaged Kate's business and soon they will lose their home, as well as Kate's livelihood if they cannot come up with a balloon payment. She travels to Boston to see her best friend and former college roommate, Jordan, who is undergoing surgery. While in Boston, Kate has a one night stand with Jordan's sexy brother, Dylan.

When Kate reveals to Jordan all the bad luck that has come her way, Jordan becomes concerned and asks that Dylan to travel to South Carolina to look after Kate. Dylan is still is upset with Kate for taking off without saying goodbye, but goes down there anyhow. While the two decide to keep it platonic, she is summoned to a Savannah, Georgia law office for the reading of her uncle's will. When it's discovered that Kate will inherit the bulk of the estate, there are a whole lot more suspects to sift through.

Garwood mixes humor with suspense and romance to come up with a knockout mystery about a woman who suddenly finds herself the victim of a mad bomber. Dylan and Kate ooze chemistry and Garwood gives them some great bantering dialogue. Dylan's way of telling her he loves her is priceless. I often guess who the baddie is, but this one had me baffled right up to the revelation.

Based on her historical romances, Julie Garwood ranks among my favorite authors. Her contemporary works, however, have never quite delivered the thrill and enchantment of her historicals. For some reason, her contemporary characters never come to life, instead remaining distantly glued to the page. And while some of her contemporary stories have been entertaining despite this defect, Slow Burn is utterly forgettable. I finished reading it three days ago, and I had to stop just now and think hard to recall the storyline. The plot is unsurprising and her characters -- while not unappealing -- remain entirely two-dimensional. I don't mean to imply this book is bad. It's fine. It's just not up to the quality of the Julie Garwood I remember. Wait for the paperback.

Ok, Garwood tells us over and over how much Kate desires Dylan, and Dylan is clearly concerned for Kate. However, they are repetitive characters who don't grow. Besides, Kate goes from having a one-night stand with Dylan to being rude to him. She thinks he cat's about - though she claims she "understands" he must sleep around because he is an attractive man, it doesn't reflect well on either of their characters. Especially since they are together.

Also, Kate is ridiculously, masochistically self-sacrificing, not telling her sisters that their relatives might want her dead. She seems unable to communicate and connect with anyone, burdening herself with every problem. * SPOILER ALERT * And, she wants to get back at her horrible relatives, but she won't spend any of the money she inherits from their side of the family on her mother's enormous debts. It's one thing to make a statement, another to be financially retarded. Perhaps because she overdoes the self-righteous self sacrificing, she is passive-aggressive to her relatives and to Dylan.

I was looking at this book in a bookstore when two women came by and told me how wonderful it was, what a great read it was. So I bought it because I like Garwood's historicals. Well, I could hardly finish the book, I was so bored with it. The writing was choppy and had no flow to it. The characters and their dialogue were dull and frankly, I didn't see where it was such a good read. The only reason I made myself finish it was because I spent $8.00 on it.

Kate MacKenna can thank her wonder bra for her life being spared when a bomb went off at a party being thrown by Carl Bertolli. She had snuck into the shrubs to dispose of it when the blast went off. She wasn't injured badly, but the hits just kept coming when she was released from the hospital, and found out that her company was in jeopardy due to loans her deceased mother had put in motion. Not only her company was at risk, but also her own name due to the name recognition. The next hit came when her best friend Jordan Buchanan called, and asked her to come because she was having surgery.

Kate dropped everything to be with Jordan, and as it turned out, Jordan was going to be fine. No one in her family knew what was going on, so Kate was surprised when her brother Dylan showed up. He knew about Jordan's condition, and knew Kate needed him, so he gave her his shoulder. What should have been a friendly gesture soon turned to out of control passion. They were agreed that it was just for one night, but he didn't leave her thoughts even when she headed home. Kate hadn't been home more than a few minutes when someone tried to run her down at the airport. When she received a call from a contractor demanding to meet her at the warehouse she was considering renting, she was sitting out front when it exploded.

When Dylan showed up on Kate's doorstep, she was shocked. Dylan was on leave from the Boston police department after being shot, but he was concerned by all the near misses plaguing Kate. He contacted the local PD, and learned these were deemed deliberate attempts. He wouldn't admit to himself why, but he wasn't leaving until he found out who was threatening Kate. They didn't have to wait long to find out what was behind the attempts because Kate found out she had just inherited 80 million from her recently deceased uncle. When Kate is abducted, Dylan is rushing against time to rescue her.

This is my first book by this author, and I really enjoyed it. Dylan and Kate are priceless together, and the years of friendship/torment really added to their dynamics. Well-written characters, and an interesting suspenseful story made this a good read.

SLOW BURN - Julie Garwood

Ballantine Books

ISBN: 0-345-45384-0

September 2005

Romantic Suspense

Silver Springs, South Carolina

Kate MacKenna is a young woman on the fast track to success. Having just finished getting her masters degree, she's ready to take her company to the top. Everything thing seems to be working out. She's moved back home to Silver Springs; her oldest sister Kiera is in her last year of medical school, and, Isabel, her baby sister, is getting ready to start her first year of college. However, things start to go bad and, once they do, everything goes downhill -- fast. First she's nearly killed in an explosion, then she learns that prior to her death, her mother hocked everything Kate owns, and then some. When her best friend, Jordan Buchanan, gets some disturbing information from her doctor and needs surgery, Kate rushes to Boston to be by her side. That would have been fine, if Dylan Buchanan hadn't shown up just when she was near the end of her rope and then had the nerve to let her seduce him. She's determined to go back home heart-whole and figure out what to do about the financial disaster she is facing; unfortunately, she no sooner gets home than she is nearly killed again, twice. Maybe she's got really bad karma -- or maybe someone wants her dead. Whatever the case, when Dylan finds out about the trouble she's in, nothing will keep him away.

Boston Police Detective Dylan Buchanan is on leave after being shot on the job. Kate sat by his bedside in the hospital, and while she doesn't know it, he's aware she was there and hasn't been able to stop thinking about her. When she shows up in Boston, Dylan makes the most of the situation and "let's" her seduce him. But when he wakes up the next morning to find she is gone, old love-em and leave-em Dylan is more than just a little bit put out. When Jordan asks him to find out who is after Kate, Dylan agrees, even if it's only to give her a piece of his mind. However, when he arrives in Silver Springs, Dylan quickly realizes that it's not Jordan's overactive imagination; someone is out to get rid of Kate. Now it's Dylan's job to figure out who is after her and why, and convince the silly woman she's in love with him, while keeping her alive.

What neither Dylan nor Kate knows is that a long lost relative has changed his will, leaving Kate as the major beneficiary of his massive estate; in other words, her curmudgeon great-uncle has painted a bulls-eye on Kate.

SLOW BURN is classic Julie Garwood. Unforgettable characters, witty dialogue and romance to melt the heart make SLOW BURN a joy to read. There is a plethora of suspects in this romantic suspense, and several villains to choose from. The secondary characters, particularly Jordan, Kiera, and Isabel are wonderful additions and add depth to both Kate and Dylan's personalities as they interact with each other. As with most of Ms. Garwood's novels, I'm looking forward to more stories about the Buchanan brothers, as well as Jordan Buchanan and Kate's sisters, Isabel and Kiera. Hopefully, Ms. Garwood has stories planned for all of them!

Fast paced, SLOW BURN grabs the readers with the first page. The charming characters fill the pages with warmth and humor. The relationships between the main players are engaging. For a novel with just the right amount of mystery, suspense, and romance, grab a copy of SLOW BURN. I highly recommend it.

Terrie Figueroa

The first chapter of this book tells you the whole story. You know who is the victim and who probably will be the killer.

The story is slow with very little fire. The romance is tepid, to say the least. Not much sexual tension at all. And some of the plot was just stupid. No one says I don't want it to 80 million dollars, without alittle thought. That part just made me mad because up until then I was trying to get into the book and believe the story. That just stopped it for me and made the rest of the book very pathetic.

I was very disappointed. Where was the suspense, where was the mystery, where were the sparks between our lovers? No where!! This is a bland mishmash of unbelievable, trite, revelations. Do not waste your time or money.

When will Julie Garwood get back to writing the wonderful, funny, empathic, novels she used to write. Give us another THE BRIDE, THE WEDDING, PRINCE CHARMING, SAVING GRACE, RANSOM, HONORS SPLENDER OR FOR THE ROSES. Her recent foray into Romantic Thrillers or Suspense have been a great disappointment to me. I don't know about her other fans, but I hope she gives us a new historical soon.

I have loved these mysteries that Ms. Garwood writes such as Mercy and Murder List and others involving one of the Buchanan brothers and now their sister, Jordan, is also involved.

In the small town of Silver Springs, South Carolina, Kate MacKenna has come back from finishing her graduate degree to work more on her business. She is an entrepreneur who started her business in high school partnered with her mother. She created scented candles, arrangements, soaps and lotions with very special and unusual scents. She receives a message to come early to a party in Charlotte given by Carl Bertolli, a friend and supporter of hers, who is opening a gallery on his estate to display a new female artist, Cinnamon. As she walks up from parking her car near the gates to the large tent where some her of products will be displayed, Carl calls her and she tells him she is there so he asks her to take care of a couple things. She goes to the food tent and sees all is in order and that her products are on a table. She straightens them walks around again to check on things and comes back in the food tent to see that a large floral basket is now by her display. Kate figures that looks fine and finally decides she is just WAY too uncomfortable in the "Wonderbra" her sisters persuaded her to wear. She goes to the ladies room but it is being cleaned so she wanders just past the food tent to a dense area of tree and bush and removes the bra. Just as she is about to come out, a huge explosion knocks her unconscious. Kate awakes in the hospital with her sisters and a concussion! Nate, a Charlotte police officer, questions her about what she might have seen.

Kate goes home the next day and a large packetof bills and legal documents is waiting for her from her late mother's (and her) accountant including a huge loan that was apparently taken out by her mother and is due in 3 weeks with a huge balloon payment of $300,000!! Kate is devastated but she is a bounce-back type of woman. While she is considering her options, her best friend, Jordan Buchanan calls and asks Kate to come up to Boston as she needs her support for a biopsy on a lump in her breast.

Kate and her sisters agree she should go and relax to get over her concussion so she takes the earliest flight up. After much waiting and worrying, the doctors tells Jordan that the lump was benign so she is fine but Jordan had an allergic reaction to the anesthesia and need to stay in the hospital overnight. Kate goes back to Jordan's apartment that is the same they shared in college together and gets into boxers and t-shirt for bed. Who should come over but Jordan's handsome and annoying brother, police detective Dylan. Dylan is still on leave recovering from an almost fatal gun shot would. Somehow in spilling her troubles and eating the pizza and beer that Dylan brought, Kate ends up sleeping with him. She heads back to South Carolina two days later without seeing him again.

On arriving in Charlotte, she heads to her car in the airport lot and is nearly run over. She gets a voice mail on her cell phone to meet the construction boss who is to help her renovate a warehouse she wants to use for her business and if she hadn't ducked in her car seat when she arrives there and the warehouse exploded, she again might have been killed!!

Kate's friend Jordan senses things are not good and that in spite of what Kate says this is NOT just bad luck so she sends Dylan down to guard Kate and help investigate who is trying to kill her. To further complicate matters Kate learns that her great uncle on her father's side whose family abandoned her dad and refused to acknowledge him after he married her mom has left her at least $80 million dollars. And of course, there are the male cousins who desperately need that money!

Many dangers and adventures with some humor and romance before all is happily and surprisingly resolved!