Tall, Dark and Deadly (St. Martins) [Mass Market Paperback]

Lorie O'Clare (Author)

Book Description

Series: St. Martins | Publication Date: March 31, 2009

Grace Jordan is leaving her dark past behind. Having traded in her big-city badge for life in the slow lane in Rockville, South Dakota, Grace and her daughter were hoping to make a fresh, clean start. But crime is at-large in small towns, too…and young women keep turning up brutally murdered. Before she knows it, Grace has got a serial murder case on her hands—and the infuriatingly seductive FBI agent Justin Reece by her side.

Grace did not come to Rockville looking for romance. But she can’t deny the chemistry between her and Justin—no matter how much she might want to. Meanwhile, things keep heating up as more women turn up dead, and a disturbing new pattern points to a killer who seems to be sending a message for Grace alone. But how could he know such secret, scandalous details about her life? Unless he happens to be someone from the past she would kill to forget…

 

Editorial Reviews

Review

“The best book I’ve read this year!”—New York Times bestselling author Lora Leigh

"O'clare writes edgy suspense with tough-as-nails characters who endure more than most can imagine and they come out stronger on the other side." --Romantic Times BOOKreviews on Tall, Dark and Deadly

"a gripping novel." -- A Romance Review

"Ms. O'Clare has written a gritty, dangerous and sexy story. The action starts on the first page and doesn't let up until the last. Tall, Dark and Deadly is a page turner packed with sensuality and suspense. You won't want to miss this one." --Fallen Angel Reviews

“O’Clare [writes] page-turners filled with well-developed characters and sparkling, sharp-witted dialogue…and attraction so strong you can feel it!”—Romantic Times BOOKreviews

From the Back Cover

First in a brand-new series from award-winning author Lorie O’Clare—a sexy, thrilling novel about a female cop, an FBI agent, and a whole world of trouble in-between…

WHEN YOU CAN’T FIGHT A KILLER DESIRE

Grace Jordan is leaving her dark past behind. Having traded in her big-city badge for life in the slow lane in Rockville, South Dakota, Grace and her daughter were hoping to make a fresh, clean start. But crime is at-large in small towns, too…and young women keep turning up brutally murdered. Before she knows it, Grace has got a serial murder case on her hands—and the infuriatingly seductive FBI agent Justin Reece by her side.

SURRENDER IS THE ONLY OPTION…

Grace did not come to Rockville looking for romance. But she can’t deny the chemistry between her and Justin—no matter how much she might want to. Meanwhile, things keep heating up as more women turn up dead, and a disturbing new pattern points to a killer who seems to be sending a message for Grace alone. But how could he know such secret, scandalous details about her life? Unless he happens to be someone from the past she would kill to forget…

“O’Clare [writes] page-turners filled with well-developed characters and sparkling, sharp-witted dialogue…and attraction so strong you can feel it!”—Romantic Times BOOKreviews

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks; First Edition edition (March 31, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312943415
• ISBN-13: 978-0312943417
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #361,455 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lorie O'Clare was born in 1965 in San Diego, CA. She's the oldest of three children and for the first part of her life traveled with her family, living in many Midwestern states, Iowa, Missouri, Indiana and finally Kansas. She graduated from high school in 1983 as a junior and began her college life at age 17. She received a double major in English and Political Science in 1991. Although her original intentions were to go on to law school, and she went as far as taking the LSAT, being a lawyer wasn't in the writing for Ms. O'Clare.

The same year she graduated from the Univ. of KS. she also married. Ten months later she gave birth to her first son. Her second son was born in 1994 and her third son in 1996. Although she wanted a daughter, this was also a plan of hers that would never happen. Six months after her third son was born she had a hysterectomy.

Her marriage lasted ten years with an amiable parting. During those years, Lorie began reading every romance she could get her hands on. Times were hard and she went through every romance novel her library had, then found very cheap book clubs and received new romance novels in the mail each month. The Internet also entered Lorie's life during this time and she made on line friends with similar interests to hers.

Lorie continued with her passion for reading, merging into other genres when she was convinced she'd read every published romance novel out there. While reading she often experienced the sensation that she could have made the story better. She began writing, purely for her own satisfaction. In those early years, when her boys were young and she was newly divorced, Lorie wrote eight full length novels. All but one of those novels would later be published.

In 1998, Lorie took the push from her on line friends and tried publishing her first novel, a children's story called Dolls Of Tashan. She printed manuscripts on her word processor and mailed them out as often as she could afford the postage. The rejection letters were painful but she kept every one of them, first in one spiral notebook, then eventually adding another, and finally a third. In 2003, Lorie published her first book with a very small epublisher called Amber Quill Press. The book wasn't her children's story but a romance novel. To this day she has not published Dolls of Tashan, the first book she ever wrote.

Later that same year, a good friend encouraged Lorie to try writing erotic romance. Lorie had a completed novel ready to submit. Instead of sending it to her current epublisher, she submitted it to a larger epublisher called Ellora's Cave. Although this was an erotic romance publisher and Lorie's novel was a simple romance, with little more than a chaste kiss, Ellora's Cave contracted the book and assigned an editor who taught Lorie how to write erotic romance. The book contracted was In Her Blood, a werewolf novel. Her new editor suggested she write a short story and turn the werewolves into a series. Lorie did this and her first book published with Ellora's Cave was Pack Law in October, 2003.

Today Lorie O'Clare has published over 60 books. She still writes for Ellora's Cave. In 2008 she sold her first book to St. Martins, which took her name into mass market publishing. Today Lorie has two books out with St. Martins with six more scheduled to release over the next couple of years. She also sold a book to Kensington Press in 2008. Currently she has two books out with Kensington and plans to continue writing for them as well.

Lorie writes full time, lives with her teenage boys, her two dogs, Dude, her Boston Terrier, and Lady, her Beagle. She also has two American Short hair cats, Ernie and Tigger. She plans on writing until she dies. "There is nothing more fulfilling than creating a new world and walking through it with the people who live there," she says, as her fingernails tap away at the keyboard.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars If I could give this a Negative Star, I would, April 23, 2009

By 

ReviewersEars (Maine) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tall, Dark and Deadly (St. Martins) (Mass Market Paperback)

I haven't read any other books by this author and I'm afraid I won't read any others. I was tricked by the sexy cover and "The best book I've read this year!" comment by Lora Leigh. Lora honey, it's a good thing it's only April because you have GOT to read a few more books if this one is the best you could do.

Suffice it to say I was shocked to see the length of titles that came up when I searched her out by name. I've got to believe her other books have been better because based on this book, I have no idea how she's getting published.

I don't want to hurt her feelings, but this was a horrible, sloppy effort. Her forward said something about having struggled when writing this one. Well, it's obvious. And someone - anyone - who proofread it should've done a better job. They should've told her to just give it up.

I can't even finish the book. I want to, I'm trying to, but I'm so busy rewriting it in my head (and trying desperately to follow the plot) that I'm exhausted with it. The concept is good, she just couldn't figure out how to follow through.

It seems like a sixteen year old girl wrote this book. The choice of words, the placement of those words within a sentence...Ugh...I could go on and on. I can suspend belief with the best of them, but when a woman who was horrifically abused wouldn't act the way this woman did. The man she might ultimately be attracted to wouldn't say the things he said.

Plot-wise, I agree with other reviewers. It's a shambles. It's a good thing I don't have the book in front of me because I would end up pulling out quotes only to tear them to shreds. That would be a waste of time and mean-spirited.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars 2.5 stars. Pretty good for romantic suspense, if you don't mind some holes, loose ends and illogical thinking., April 8, 2009

By 

Jane (Chicago, IL, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tall, Dark and Deadly (St. Martins) (Mass Market Paperback)

STORY BRIEF:
Grace was kidnapped at age 18 by Master. He kept her locked in a mansion for 5 years as a sex slave prisoner until she set it on fire, saw him burn, and escaped. While there, she was humiliated, tortured and shared with others. She later became a homicide detective. She moves to Rockville, S. Dakota, to work as a police detective. As soon as she arrives, a serial killer begins raping, torturing and killing women in Rockville, using the same methods used by Master. The FBI sends agent Justin to help Grace solve the killings. Grace and Justin are attracted to each other.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
I wouldn't say the book kept me awake, but when I did wake during the night the torture scenes were in my mind. The suspense is definitely there. The characters are pretty good. I liked that Grace's character was an excellent detective, and through much of the story she was. But she did two things that bothered me because they were not what a good detective would do, and they hindered the investigation. The first was that Grace kept secrets from Justin. As she noticed similarities between the current killer and Master, she didn't tell him. He was her partner and should have been told. I'm not sure why she didn't tell him, but it was something to do with reliving bad memories. Page 315 sort of answers this as follows. "Going on record, confirming her past that she'd so successfully wiped off her record and kept any employer from ever knowing about, was about to rear its ugly head." "Her testimony might help bust (two bad guys), but it would also destroy her." So she doesn't tell him. I'm shaking my head over this, she's trying to solve a case, yet she hides information. Although she did tell him some things later. The second thing that bothered me is in Spoilers below.

There were also some unexplained events that bothered me (in Spoilers below).

DATA:
Story length: 379 pages. Swearing language: strong. Sexual language: strong. Number of sex scenes: 8. Total number of sex scene pages: 29. Setting: Rockville, S. Dakota. Copyright: 2009. Genre: romantic suspense.

CAUTION SPOILERS:

To escape Master, Grace set the home on fire and claims she watched Master burn. However, Master did not burn, and he escaped. Authorities said no burned bodies were found. Through most of the story Grace is adamant when she tells people she saw Master burn to death, and there is no doubt in her mind that he is dead. But she is wrong. What kind of thinking is this to believe something so false? Her self deception just gave the bad guy freedom to do more bad things. The authorities could have pursued or captured him right after the fire if she'd been honest. I also wish the author would have clarified exactly how both Grace and Master escaped the fire with no burns to either of them. I assume fire fighters broke down a door with an axe, which allowed Grace to get out. (Master had kept all doors key locked to keep her prisoner.)

Someone is a partner with Master who just happens to live in Rockville. Why did Grace move to Rockville, causing her to be around this person? The author never explained this. Was it truly a coincidence or did that person have something to do with getting her hired? The author also doesn't explain why Master waited 10 years before going after Grace, and when he does, why is he or his buddy killing other girls nearby first? In fact, by the end of the book, I wasn't sure who raped, tortured and killed the other girls. Was it one or both of them? I also was confused and wanted more information about the connections, motivations, and activities among the bad guys.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Tall, Dark and Offensive, June 15, 2009

By 

KayBell (Edmonton, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tall, Dark and Deadly (St. Martins) (Mass Market Paperback)

I have read Ms. O'Clare's earlier work and it was easy and fun reading. I was intrigued to see her expand her writing into a longer, more complicated story line. However, after page 200 I skipped to the end to confirm who I thought was involved with the crime and promptly came to write my first review for Amazon.
I have a high threshold for accepting different interpretations of characters and plot but I was actually offended by what Ms. O'Clare created in Tall, Dark and Deadly. Simply put her "alpha" male hero was abusive. Lots of romance authors like to develop a hero that is controlling and tough but with redeeming qualities - many push the envelop and make me cringe at how domineering these men can be. However, I not only cringed but got angry wanting Ms. O'Clare to apologize to her readers.
This was a seasoned FBI agent? He comes to town. Knows about the heroine's tragic past. Meets her and within minutes tries to take control of her life and have sex with her. Really? REALLY? To put it plainly, he's creepy.
Ms. O'Clare had the bones of a good suspense novel. The story of the crime could have actually worked if she had a good editor that pointed out some of the flaws in the development of the investigation. However, so much more needed to be done to fix the problem with characterization. Like I said, this book offended me with how much time this FBI agent (Reece) spent trying to force Grace (heroine) to do what he wanted her to do (have sex, move in with him etc.) that I think she would have solved the case sooner if he hadn't shown up to interfere so negatively in her life. He was so unprofessional that I'm sure any real agent would shudder at his deportment. Plus, so many times Agent Reece said how strong and brilliant Grace was but then turned around and in an abusive way coerces her to do something she is really not comfortable doing - treating her like a frail victim. Words without actions to back them are empty and Reece really didn't seem like he truly respected Grace to be an adult who could do her job.
In the beginning, I really got the feeling that Grace had it together and was really strong but by the end she was like a lost girl who is so happy that she is now being "taken care of" by a hot, alpha FBI agent who is now arranging her life. Yuk! (I won't even rant about her "loving" uncle who treats Grace like she's sixteen.)