Taken [Paperback]

Barbara Freethy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 6, 2006

From the award-winning USA Today bestselling author of DON'T SAY A WORD

When her husband disappears on their wedding night, Kayla fears that she's been an easy mark for deception. Then she meets Nick, a stranger who also crossed paths with Kayla's husband. Together Kayla and Nick embark on a journey to uncover the secrets of their pasts-and the motives of a brilliant con man who's out to get them.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bestselling novelist Barbara Freethy (Don't Say a Word) has another crowd-pleasing page-turner in the first of a tricky romantic suspense series. After a whirlwind courtship, San Francisco artist Kayla is about to fulfill her dream of marrying Mr. Right and starting a family—but on the wedding night, her dream man abandons her. Meanwhile, engineer Nick Granville returns home to San Francisco after a few months working in Africa to find his house lived in and his bank accounts plundered. Turns out these two strangers were duped by the same man: handsome, blond, smooth-talking Evan Chadwick. Unable to get the attention of the SFPD, the two marks take it upon themselves to track down Evan and get back what's theirs. As the clues accumulate, so do the smoldering glances between broad-shouldered Nick and curvy Kayla, but Freethy's sex scenes have a reportorial feel that may leave readers cold. Evan's cat and mouse game, however, should hook suspense fans and carry them into the next volume—as Evan says, "the game will be over when I say it's over," and this is just his first play. (June)
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Review

Sheer hold-your-breath suspense (Karen Robards) fabulous page-turning combination of romance and intrigue. (Kristin Hannah) Strong and compelling prose. (Publishers Weekly)

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Signet; Regular Print/Single Titl edition (June 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451218736
• ISBN-13: 978-0451218735
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #617,810 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Ending? What Ending!, June 9, 2006

By 

MaryGrace Meloche (Ontario, Canada.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Taken (Paperback)

This is my first trip into the world of Barbara Freethy, so I am NOT familiar with this author's normal writing style. However, here Freethy did leave me in a state of total bewilderment! I was stunned! Why? Barbara Freethy's TAKEN doesn't have an ending! I actually turned to a blank page, looking for more! Did I mention the word bewilderment? At the end of this book, I was totally bewildered! I was the one who was TAKEN!

Would the real Nick Granville please stand up? Or so Kayla Sheridan wanted to shout. Kayla Sheridan had been royally wounded! On her wedding night the man she married had forsaken, abandoned, and deserted her. Why? There were no neat, tidy answers. Her husband had just walked out! Once taken, twice cautious! So now - who was this guy claiming to be Nick Granville - claiming to be the real Nick Granville?

Nick Granville came home to discover his life in chaos. He returned from his business trip to discover a victimized apartment, ravaged finances, and a newly-acquired wife! What had happened? There were no neat, tidy answers. There was just Kayla Sheridan Granville. Only Kayla had the key and he, the real Nick Granville, would make sure she twisted it.

Fifty years is a long time to hold secrets and Kayla's grandmother had secrets. Fifty years ago, childhood friends experienced life together. Childhood friends who shared life, love, and happiness and went on to share greed, lust, and disaster. Kayla's grandmother, a mysterious watch, and unfriendly relationships delay the truth. Yet, Kayla and Nick are determined.

Barbara Freethy does a nice job teasing with this whodunit. Deliberately, the author taunts with shattered information . . . and the pages turn. Was TAKEN an intriguing mystery? Absolutely! However, the ending is the mystery! Hint - a sequel? Positively. Did I feel victimized? Absolutely! I am in the here and now! And although I don't mind some sequel "elbow room," I don't want to be left behind . . . waiting! No! I want completion. With its unsatisfactory ending, TAKEN is disappointing!
Grade: C

MaryGrace Meloche.
Reviewed for Romance Designs.
This review is based on an Advanced Reading Copy.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another winner from Freethy, August 19, 2006

By 

bbvector, LORE Reading Group (Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Taken (Paperback)

Stained glass artist Kayla Sheridan fell in love with and married a man she'd only known for three weeks. He disappeared on their wedding night. A few weeks later she found a stranger living in her husband's home.

Nick Granville is a bridge engineer who'd just spent three months working in Africa. Nick came home to find someone had been living in his home and spending his money - Nick `s identity had been stolen. The con man who stole it, Evan Chadwick, had married Kayla, using Nick's name. Nick has a history with Evan and it looks like Evan is out to get even.

On her "wedding" night, Kayla gave her husband her grandfather's pocket watch. Looks like that's all Evan wanted from her. Now Kayla and Nick need to figure out why. They are one step behind Evan and his scheme involving four pocket watches and a 50 year old heist.

Interesting and fast-paced story. I liked Kayla's grandmother and her secrets. It bothered me that Nick and Kayla had sex at inappropriate times; they're being conned and threatened and they grope and get naked?!! Hmm. It also bothered me that Nick didn't spend any time repairing his credit or fixing the mess Evan put him in. (I know, I know, this is fictional romantic suspense and I'm being too real.) Still those are minor problems and I'm looking forward to the sequel, PLAYED, which will be out October 2006.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars lots of twists and turns, December 3, 2008

By 

D. K. Stokes - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Taken (Paperback)

Barbara Freethy has fast become one of my favorite romantic suspense authors. The books are full of twists and turns and a multitude of threads, which she handles deftly, weaving them all together to make a believable and satisfying conclusion. I've been slowly collecting her backlist.

In Taken, a young woman's decision to take a chance on love has disastrous consequences when her brand-new husband goes out for ice... and never comes back. Weeks later, she goes past his house, and finds another man living there, claiming to have the same name.

A con artist, the FBI, a decades-old robbery and jailbreak, a 12-year-old grudge, people with hidden pasts and shadowy presents... and two people trying to unravel it all while becoming inextricably entwined with each other.

Good book. I recommend it.