Customer Reviews

Stonebrook Cottage

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This again is a continuation of her New England/Texas series and as always has the secretive leading lady(s) and the strong, pushy male. It was a good mystery but you figure early on whodunit but so what... We wanted to see it heat up. Unfortunately, I wish she would have dealt more with Kara and Sam and less of everyone else. Ms. Neggers tends to bring in more & more characters when all I really want to do it hear about all the old ones. Still, I highly recommend it and would keep it along with my favorite "Finding You".

I suppose my major reservation about STONEBROOK COTTAGE is that it's best read after the others in this New England-Texas series; it would stand as a good story on its own, but as usual there are all these characters hanging around from earlier books.

I enjoyed the characters - the children rang true, and it's always fun to 'catch up' on characters from earlier books. The secondary love story between the new governor and a local farmer has a nice, different twist. The hero was very much the alpha male of women's popular fiction intent on getting his own way, but since Neggers counters this with an equally strong heroine equally intent on getting her own way, it works.

It's light summer reading; not the best book I've read this summer, but far from the worst. I haven't yet decided if it will go into the keeper pile.

Kara Galway, an up and coming defense attorney, had recently moved back to Texas from Connecticut. She would be spending time with Jack, her Texas Ranger brother, and his family. Instead, during an art exhibit, she got a call on her cell phone informing her that her good friend and Connecticut governor, Mike Parisi, had died under suspicious circumstances. Kara returned to Connecticut to be with her best friend, Allyson Stockwell, who had become the new governor.

Texas Ranger Sam Temple followed Kara. Sam was Kara's alibi for the night Parisi died. Sam's instincts kept telling him something BIG was happening and he was determined to butt in.

Allyson Stockwell had two children, Henry and Lillian. She feared for their safety because she was being stalked. So Allyson sent them off to camp. However, the kids were hiding a deadly secret. When they realized someone was after them, they ran away from camp to their godmother, Kara.

It was all about to come to a head!

**** Tension runs high in this thriller by Carla Neggers. The author keeps things interesting by having sub-plots and co-characters that the readers cannot help but find intriguing. I hated to see the book end and am looking forward to the next release. ****

Carla Neggers has once again proven she knows how to write great romantic suspense. Her heroine has to juggle her loyalty to her godchildren, their mother, who is also Kara's best friend and Sam Temple, her delicious Texas Ranger. Throw in murder, mayhem and assorted characters, including a delightful police woman named Zoe, and you have a terrific read. Once started I couldn't put it down. You won't either.

This is the first book by Carla Neggers I have read. While I suspected one person as the killer, I was wrong - but not too far off base. The characterizations were good, the story flowed well, and the concept was very believeable. I just ordered four more of her recent books.

STONEBROOK COTTAGE reminds me of why I'm a Carla Neggers fan. I loved the characters, found the mystery intriguing and the resolution totally satisfying. I agree -- it's an excellent summer read.

This is the first book by Carla Neggers that I have read.
I am now trying to find all her previous books as I really enjoyed this one! I highly recommend it as a Very Good Romantic Suspense!!

I had read "The Harbor" by Carla Neggers and liked it, with reservations about the writing style. I liked it mostly for the ambience of the Maine coast. "Stonebrook Cottage," I discovered early on is the prequel to "The Harbor," but without that charm of Maine, or any other charm, for that matter.

There are just too many things wrong with this book. It repeats extraneous information endlessly, e.g., Sam's black eyes. Grammar and syntax are faulty, and there is considerable clutter. Didn't anyone at the publishing company even read the manuscript, much less edit it? The repetitions and language difficulties could have been eliminated and the book shortened by about 50-75 pages.

As in "The Harbor" there are many characters, with odd. hazy connections, referred to by first name, then last name, many pages apart. Again, I had to go back and make a list or I would never have been able to keep them straight. Even with a list, it was difficult. I don't usually have this problem, even with Dostoyevsky or Dickens, so I must fault the author here.

The action has way too many stops and starts. The result is an uneven flow of narration that is irritating. This is another problem that should have been solved by competent editors. A good pruning would have helped.

Now we come to the illogical events and explanations thereof. It is not giving away the plot to say that two missing children of the Connecticut governor's show up on their godmother's doorstep with a ridiculous explanation of why they ran away from a dude ranch and even more ridiculous and impossible evidence. And the godmother, supposedly a brilliant lawyer, no less, buys it whole. She actually follows the children's instructions as if she were no brighter or more experienced than they. That is just one example of what I mean. I would add that the children were completely unconvincing in their actions and dialogue.

Lastly, the ambience that lent charm to "The Harbor" is completely missing in this book. Austin, Texas and Connecticut just don't hack it somehow. And that doesn't leave much for this reader to find entertaining. Too bad. I had hoped for a repeat.

I really like her books. I especially like the way she makes you love the "place" where the action is happening. I really liked Kara, her older brother & family and Stonebrook Cottage. I could see it so clearly even though I have never been there. I also love birds!

Really fun, feel good read that you can lend to a friend.

Larger than life Connecticut Governor Mike Parisi drowns in a freak accident while trying to rescue bluebird in his pool. Bluefield Detective Zoe West wonders why a man who could not swim dived into the pool and was the explosion at a barbecue that almost killed the second in command Allyson Stockwell really an accident. However, Mike's death means that Allyson will finish the term as governor.

Allyson's two children (twelve-year-old Henry and eleven years old Lillian) are at a Texas dude ranch. However, they flee frightened as can be to the home of their mother's best friend attorney Kara Galway, who just came home to Texas after years of practicing law in Connecticut. They persuade Kate to take them to their country home. Kate reluctantly agrees because the kids are so frightened. Now everyone seems to seek the missing children of the new governor of Connecticut, but it is Texas Ranger Sam Temple who finds Kate and the kids. As Sam and Kate fall in love, he vows to keep the three of them safe.

STONEBROOK COTTAGE, the sequel THE CABIN, is an exciting romantic suspense that never eases off the throttle until the final kiss. The key to the action packed story line is the dynamic cast, especially the lead couple and the kids. Carla Neggers continues her climb to the top rung of the sub-genre with her usual non-stop romantic thriller.

Harriet Klausner