Superstition [Hardcover]

Karen Robards (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 26, 2005

Sparks fly between a police chief and a reporter who are thrown together when a brutal killer comes out of hiding after fifteen years.

Pawleys Island, South Carolina. Sunny, idyllic, and picture perfect, until a tabloid news program airs a splashy segment about the community's only unsolved murder-the grisly stabbing of teenager Tara Mitchell and the subsequent disappearance of her two best friends, both thought to be long dead. In the years since the murders, several families have moved into the mansion where the crime occurred, each claiming that the dead girls still haunt the house. Beautiful redheaded reporter Nicole Sullivan, sensing the story that could be her big break, arranges for her mother, a renowned psychic, to contact the three victims via a live séance on the show Twenty-four Hours Investigates.

But something goes terribly wrong during the segment, and a young woman is murdered in the exact same manner as Tara Mitchell was fifteen years earlier. Pressured by her producers to get the inside story, Nicole is ordered to continue to investigate. As an attraction grows between Nicole and police chief Joe Franconi, another identical murder occurs, along with a menacing note warning that the original killer is back to claim three more lives. The body count rises, and so does the danger to Nicole, who is attacked, barely escaping with her life. She and Joe are forced to join forces as it becomes clear that the killer has set his sights on Nicole as his next victim.

Tightly plotted and deeply suspenseful, Superstition is Karen Robards's most captivating work yet.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Combining elements of a Southern gothic, a cozy comedy, a sexy romance and a serial killer thriller, this new offering from Robards (Bait, etc.) tries to be too many things at once, and the result is a mishmash of familiar devices and recycled characters. One such is Joe Franconi, a big city cop turned police chief for small Pawleys Island, S.C. With his "washboard abs" and painful past, Joe is the average tortured hero, and sexy TV reporter Nicky Sullivan is his natural counterpart. Nicky, with the help of her psychic mother, intends to revisit the scene of a 15-year-old unsolved murder, but Mayor Vince Capra will do anything—even enlist the local police—to keep the program from airing. With no legal ground to stand on, Joe fails to stop the filming, but he's conveniently on hand to rescue Nicky when she stumbles on a fresh murder victim and nearly becomes one herself. Has the killer from 15 years ago resurfaced, or is a new killer on the loose? Joe and Nicky spend as much time arguing over who will solve the case as they do staring "hotly" at one another, but ironically, neither succeeds in solving anything. Though the book has its suspenseful moments (and its amusing ones, which primarily involve a pig named Cleo), its final twist feels manufactured simply to bring hero and heroine together. Agent, Robert Gottlieb. (Apr.)

From Booklist

When Nicky Sullivan starts looking for a story for her failing investigative news program, she thinks about her childhood home on Pawleys Island, South Carolina, remembering the unsolved deaths of three teenagers that occurred there 15 years ago, and turns to the local psychic, her mother Leonora James, for help. The only problem is that her mother, who agreed to a live broadcast, is having problems with her ability to communicate with the dead, and Nicky is worried that the show will be a bust rather than a ratings booster. But Leonora comes through with a riveting reading that instigates a new murder that mimics the previous murders and places Nicky in danger. Instead of hiding, Nicky comes back to the island to cover the investigation and butts heads with the chief of police, Joe Franconi. Joe is a former vice cop from New Jersey who was forced to resign, ending up in the sleepy southern town with an inexperienced department now responsible for searching for what appears to be a serial killer. As the two lead their separate investigations, Joe and Nicky become increasingly attracted to one another. This is another winner from the popular and prolific Robards, who delivers a great romantic thriller filled with interesting characters in a classic edge-of-the-seat read. Patty Engelmann
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 418 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult (April 26, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399152806
• ISBN-13: 978-0399152801
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #177,778 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Karen Robards is the bestselling author of twenty-seven novels. The winner of six Silver Pen awards for favorite romance novelist, as well as numerous other awards, she lives in Louisville, Kentucky, with her husband, Doug, and their sons Peter, Christopher, and Jack. She says, "I read, I write, and I chase children. That's my life."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Cleo the pork eating pig steals the show!, July 7, 2005

By 

Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Superstition (Hardcover)

Nicky Sullivan is a cub reporter and correspondent for the "24-Hour Investigates" news magazine (think 48-Hours), and is out to prove herself so she can attain her goal of co-host on a New York based morning news program. Sometimes her ambition clouds her judgment and sense of safety. In her hometown of Pawleys Island, South Carolina, a grisly unsolved mystery still haunts the residents. With the help of her psychic mother, she plans a live on-air seance to bring the dead teens back to solve the crime on national television. The problem is her psychic mom is blocked. But the show must go on, despite protestations of the town mayor and harried new police chief, Joe Franconi. Joe has his own set of issues, including discussions with a long-dead friend, Brian. Soon, another murder with the same MO occurs, and it looks like Nicky is another of the intended victims.

From the moment they meet, Joe is attracted to Nicky. She, on the other hand is quite surly since no one gets in her way of the story, even to the detriment of an on-going police investigation. Joe does his best to protect her, but she won't have it - she has to be at the crux of the action. He'd have been better off letting the killer take care of her. I never really felt like the connection was there on her end - she seemed to be using him to further her career, so the romance was lukewarm. Joe has a checkered past, which threatens his new position in the wrong hands (i.e., an ambitious reporter).

The story meanders for quite some time, then tosses in lots of last minute plot twists, and an implausible turn of events that makes you go "huh?" to end the story abruptly. The most interesting characters were Joe and Cleo the pork-eating pig (the scene where they are caught on camera is hysterical). The writing is clunky, the plot boring and drawn out, and the psychic aspects just overused. I wasn't too impressed - I expect a bit more from a Karen Robards thriller.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars UH-OH, May 19, 2005

By 

Elaine C McTyer "avid reader" (Dawson, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Superstition (Hardcover)

Nicole Sullivan is a host for a show similar to one on Court TV. She returns to her home island to investigate a 15 year old murder. She is hoping to revive a dying career. Her mother is a psychic and she wants to televise her mother trying to contact the spirits in the murder house.

Joe Franconi is the Police Chief of the Island. HE is a burnt out cop who got wounded when a bust went bad. He does not expect a murder to happen on his little island. He and Nicky seem to get together very quickly.

This sounds like a good plot, but beware, Nicky is a media vulture, out for the fame. And Joe is just burnt out. I wait a year for each new Karen Robards book and I was disappointed. The first 350 pages try to get you to empathize with the main characters, the last 65 you get all the action and explaination and let say it was not worth it.

With everyone seeing ghosts and old or possibly new murderers doing their best to kill Nicky, she is struggling for her 15 minutes of fame to catch the notice of a Morning News Show looking for a co-host. Joe is trying to live with a ghost he keeps seeing from his last bust. There was a great potential here for a great book. But the ending is so simple and straight forward ( even with two murderers ) that you just feel let down.

I could have had better feelings for the book if our two main characters had a little more character or integrity. The fact that they both got their best outcome was beside the point. I have been able to find something in everyone of Karen's previous characters. But Nicky was a total selfish fish. This one did not do it for me. Like I always say different strokes for different folks, so you may like it. But these are my thoughts and I hate to pay so much for a book and be let down. How about you?

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, not great, June 28, 2006

By 

Digigirl (Sugar Land, TX) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Superstition (Mass Market Paperback)

It took me a bit of time to get into this book, as the author has a tendency to get a bit wordy and extensive on some less than critical descriptions at the beginning, but after a while, I started to feel closer to the characters and get more into the story. Once the story really gets going, the action picks up and you begin to get drawn in much more. I will agree with other reviewers that Joe and Cleo the pig are the most interested characters in the book. While this was not the best Karen Robards novel I've read, it was still good enough to keep me going through to the end and feel basically satisfied.