Customer Reviews

Something Deadly (Mira)

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Veterinarian Markie Cross loves her living and working on the US Caribbean Island Territory of San Martin. Her dog Kato begins acting strange and many of the canines bark as if they are warning their owners to beware of something evil. Kato makes Markie take him out for a walk and stops at the house of a neighbor Carter Shippey. The healthy man suddenly died, but medical examiner Dr. Declan Quinn finds something strange with the corpse when he examines it. The man's bones dissolved turning to jelly. Not long afterward, his healthy wife succumbs too.

CDC is called in as biohazard level 4 is provoked quarantining the island. No one knows what could have caused the deaths that defy logic. Others die too with only the dogs seemingly aware of what is going on. Soon Kato and Markie connect on some mystical level that allows them to mentally communicate and the human falls in love with her other male companion Declan, but will those be enough to stop a murderess released from beyond the grave.

This tale is more a classic style horror tale, but contains medical thriller and romantic suspense elements that enhance the plot. The story line smoothly changes from a medical enigma into from the grave killer tale. Though the Kato-Markie connection adds a fascinating fantasy element that seems over the edge, readers will find SOMETHING DEADLY an interesting thriller.

Harriet Klausner

This is a rather routine potboiler that dabbles in several genres without really settling on a particular one; it's got romance, suspense, police procedural, medical melodrama, forensics, historical fiction, political intrigue, travelog, restaurant reviews, and most of all, 'Kato the Wonder Wolf', a supporting character who steals the show from his four-legged co-stars! The plot itself meanders along the island, which seems to change its name as if by voodoo magic, from 'San Martin' to 'Santz Martina'(The ghost of Annie must have possessed the proofreader!).
After a promising start, Lee takes the book squarely into supernatural territory, and things get a bit bogged down in a backstory that was probably supposed to evoke Stephen King, but reads more like a rejected 'Scooby Doo' episode.
The working relationship between Markie and Dec proceeds nicely, yet it all seems predictable. Dec's backstory and motivations were well-developed, but Markie's 'abilities' aren't, beyond having an unusual friendship with Kato.
The dog is the best thing about the story, especially when Lee writes several paragraphs from his point of view. She does the same on occasion with other animals,but uses rather stilted 'animal speak' on one occasion.
'Something Deadly' was something more than I expected, and her interest in/love for animals is plain to see, but I'm not sure I'm sold on her ability to make the human characters interesting.

Part supernatural, part thriller, pure mystery, this story is set among the wealthy residents who live on a fictional Caribbean island.

People are suddenly dying; an almost unseen force shreds the life out of several San Martin citizens, leaving their bodies looking like they have been liquefied. At first some sort of Ebola like virus is suspected and one of the island's medical examiner's Declan Quinn fears the worst, but at first he looks for a human cause for the deaths, what he does not know in the beginning is that that the answer to his questions lie not with the humans on the island but with its dogs who have the ability to sense evil when it wafts their way.

Kato is a wolf-husky hybrid owned by the island vet, Markie Cross. More wolf than dog, he and all his other canine brethren on the island sense what the locals have known for a very long time but have chosen to try and forget; The notorious Annie Black, who has been dead for the some 200 years, has returned and she is determined to make up for lost time.

Greedy gold hunters have unwittingly bought Annie back into the human world by daring to search for her treasure, which just happens to be buried on Markie's land.

Only Declan and the Island dogs have a chance of defeating Annie, but in order to do so Declan must take Markie to the very edge of death and hope and pray that he can bring her back before it is too late...

An atmospheric read that is a real page turner, I especially like the spiritual element that the author gives to Kato and the other dogs; it is obvious she has a passion for all things canine.

I just finished reading "Something Deadly" by Rachel Lee and thought it was wonderful. In fact the story was so fast paced with such a fascinating story that I read it in two days. I especially enjoyed the viewpoint of the wolf-hybird dog, Kato. I have two large dogs myself and totally agree with the author's presentation of intelligence and loyalty. I like the fact that Markie and Dec were presented as real people with real emotions and intellect. They weren't cardboard characters that immediately fell in love like so many romances. The supernatural twist was intriguing and well done. I plan to read more books by Rachel Lee and would recommend this book to anyone who has dogs as friends and companions and also enjoys books with supernatural themes.

Markie Cross (a veterinarian) moves to San Martin (sometimes called Santz Martina in the story) so she won't have to euthanize anymore of her patients because their owners can't afford medical care - among other reasons. Declan Quinn moves after burning out as an ER doctor in a big city. Unfortunately, this island isn't as perfect as it may seem. People start dying in painful and horrifying ways that can't be explained. So Dr. Quinn calls in the CDC who quarantine the island. It sounds like a straight forward medical drama/romantic suspense type story right? WRONG... Markie and Declan start to suspect that something might be going on that can't be explained by medical science alone. Perhaps there is something supernatural going on?

What I liked about this story was the connection between Markie and Kato (her half wolf/half husky mix). It was very touching but also very interesting and well written. The author's love of animals comes across very clearly. I also liked the scenes written from Kato's perspective - it was interesting and cleverly done. I also liked the connection between Dawn and her dog Brindle, although it was focused on less. Also, Ms. Lee writes well (although there were editing mistakes) and weaves a good story - there were just parts of it I didn't like this time.

What I didn't like was the supernatural element of this story, and that is weird because normally I enjoy it. It felt forced or just didn't fit right in the story to me, even though it was a major part of the story. I don't know if it is the way the author told it, or the setting but it just didn't click for me. The other thing that bothered me was that it was hinted at that Markie had 'powers' or 'abilities' that were never explored or explained. What's the point then? The other thing that I didn't like was that Markie and Declan don't talk about a lot of what is going on. I just don't know if I really felt them click. I felt like their love story was lukewarm, until the end. I honestly felt like Kato and Markie were closer and better suited which is crazy because he is a dog, but it shows how Declan and Markie just didn't click for me. Also, the ending felt unfinished to me somehow.

If you like stories where animals play a large role or medical suspense with a lot of the supernatural thrown in consider trying this book. Or if you are a fan of Ms. Lee like I am. It is definitely worth reading, just not my favorite.

Like dogs? Love a good thriller? Add an evil spirit and a dash of romance, and you've got _Something Deadly_, by Rachel Lee. Make sure you have plenty of time once you start it...you won't want to put it down.

I just got this book yesterday and I had it finished the same day. Very good and the suspense was really good. I have read a lot of Rachel Lee's books and she is always keeping you glued to the book and you cant put it down.

Dogs howling in unexplained distress all over the island herald the first horrifying death. A middle aged man in seemingly perfect health collapses and dies, his insides liquified. Declan Quinn, the head medical examiner is terrified by this outre event, and feels that it is only the beginning. He's right. Markie Cross, the local vet, is drawn in by her wolf hybrid's strange behavior, and the effect these deaths seem to have on the dogs in the area. Something evil has risen from the grave, something that craves death and revenge. Dec and Markie race against time to stop the ghost of a woman who rivalled Elizabeth Bathory for evilness before she can wipe out the entire island.

**** Ms. Lee keeps her readers on the edge of their seats in this taut drama. The fast pace will hold you captivated until the end. ****

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore, Freelance Reviewer.