Customer Reviews

The Texas Ranger

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

As an avid Diana Palmer fan, I rushed to get this book, and sat down with it as soon as it arrived, only to be a bit disappointed. This is not the easy read as her other titles are. The story seems to drag, and the characters Marc and Josette have so much potential in the beginning, only to fade by the middle of the book. This just didn't capture my attention, and can I please ask Palmer to stop the virgin, who can't physically have sex without an operation, theme because it is getting a little redundant.

I, like I tend to do, picked up my first diana palmer book on a whim and fell in love. Her provactive style that focused not so much on sex but instead on the intimacies and sexual tension of two people was refreshing. If I had to wade through one more erotica novel in the guise of romance I was going to jump off the roof. Now, that said, I have to say this book fell far short of my expectations.

The story of Jossette Langley who had her life torn apart TWICE by the same man is forced to work with him on a murder case. Marc Brannon was a cop who got the boy off who tried to rape Jossette when she was 15 and then had her life torn apart in another trial. But it's a romance so they still fall in love! I just sat there wondering why she was even giving him the time of day after all the havoc he had caused in her life.

Even after reading the reviews for this book i decided to give it a try because I live in West Texas and liked her book "diamond spur" because it was set in Texas. It's hard to relate to places you've never been or get into a "wintry New England" scene when it's winter here but in the 70's. But even the location couldn't string this book along.

My major complaint is that this is book is a sequel to atleast one other book, "lord of the desert" and possibly several other books from her Jacobsville series. I have no problem with books that are series but there is NO mention whatsoever of this being a sequel. I had to do some digging to find out about the prequels to this book.

That in itself is forgivable but the entire first half of the book is references to these earlier works. I was lost and in the end had to simply try to muddle my way through these rememberence scenes of people and places that are mentioned as if you, the reader, already have intimate knowledge of them.

The book was also entirely to predictable. The author drops so many clues that I knew who the murdered was by the second chapter and felt like Marc and Jossette had to be simpletons not to figure it out. I could have let this pass if the love story had been up to par to take the slake but it wasn't. There are a few scenes but they too are littered with references to other characters from earlier books and one scene is simply there to set up a forthcoming book. It made me feel like I was watching a commercial for the new Diana Palmer book.

Overall I finished this book but more than once I found myself saying "yeah right!" From Josette needing an operation to be intimate (something I found odd. It seemed like an annoyingly obviously way to keep the heroine a virgin.) to Josette letting Marc back into her life after he had wrecked it over and over to the pitiful murder "mystery" which was really no mystery, this was a disappointment.

I've read most of Diana Palmer's books. I must admit I liked her earlier books better, although Lord Of The Desert was pretty entertaining. But The Texas Rangers isn't worth reading. The book starts slow and gets slower. By the time the heroine and hero meet, the author had lost me. She went into too much explanation at the beginning and then kept repeating herself, turning a book that held promise into something that was slow repetitive and boring.

I was expecting Diana Palmer's usual enthralling works, but this one just, well, [stunk]. One of it's supposedly high points was the murder mystery involving the two main characters, but being able to guess the murderer the minute the character was introduced really ruined the book. And the fact that the supposed Texas Ranger and legal assistant couldn't figure it out was immensly frustrating-how could these people be so stupid, and how could the publisher think that we wouldn't figure it out? It was so obvious! Plus, the relationship between the two characters was a large stretch-I just was not at all convinced that a real life relationship would work out in the future, especially considering what a horrible past they had. All in all, I'd say that due to the predictability of the "mystery" and the unlikely nature of the "romance," Ms. Palmer disappoints big time, and I wasted my 6 bucks buying this book, so my advice is to not waste yours and to look somewhere else for entertainment.

I love Diana Palmer's books and have read them all but this one has too many inconsistencies.

The story concerns Texas Ranger Marc Brannon and Josette Langley, who have been acquainted since Marc was a young police officer and Josette was a 15 year old who accused a politician's son of attempted rape. Marc testifies in the accused's behalf and the case is dismissed.

Marc and Josette meet again many years later in San Antonio the year before Josette graduates from college. They become very good friends and Josette falls in love with Marc. On graduation night Marc takes Josie to his apartment and tries to make love to her but finds he cannot penetrate her hymen. He is devastated as he realizes that Josie was innocent in the case when she was 15 and he is devastated, says horrible things to her, then leaves to join the FBI. A murder occurs shortly afterwards wherein Josie is a witness and her testimony is destroyed because of the outcome of the trial when she was 15.

Two years later Josette, who works as a junior investigator for Simon Hart, the Texas State Attorney General, and Marc , who has returned to the Texas Rangers,are thrown together to investigate the death of Dale Jennings, the person who was convicted in the death of Henry Garner, the same trial in which Josette was a witness. As the story goes back and forth, it is implied that Marc left to join the FBI after the rape trial, then the story indicates that he left after the infortunate incident 2 years before and you are never sure when he did join the FBI. This occurs several times in the story.

More murders occur, a Texas crime boss, is involved as well as Bibb Webb and others. The search is on for a missing ledger which would show who was responsible for the Garner death and provide evidence on the crime boss, Marsh. The ending is predictable.

Another descripancy is the fact that early on in the story, it is noted that Josette has brought only a black and navy suit with her. Then during the story, at the same location, she wears, beige, and peach. Huh? Where did she get those clothes. I don't think anyone proof read this book, hence the discrepancies.

BUT having said that I have certainly read worse. So let's do bad stuff-good stuff. This is a contemporary texas ranger 'mystery' set in cyber america. The 'hero' is a rodeo/fast draw legend who also has a ranch on the side. He is brought in to investigate a murder case and the investigator assigned to him is an ex-girlfriend. However, in their past 'relationship' he has treated her badly and in fact ruined her life.She has gone thru hell because of it but is still drawn to him. (Unfortunately that happens all the time where women are drawn to guys who don't treat them well.) Well here they are trying to collaborate professionally. She's bright, he's bright and putting their heads tog they do some policework. Unfortunatley the book soon goes into redunancy....he's sorry he hurt her and tried to get her in bed......For heavens sake! He has the sensitivity of a llama! The girl was raped at 15. The guy gets off because Mr. texas ranger testifies for the guy implying that she is lying. at 28, they meet again. Despite her 'rape victim' history he seduces her deliberatly and practically rapes her a 2nd time...until he realizes she's a virgin and he's been wrong about her. And then in his 'shock' he resorts to verbal abuse.The girl spends her life ostracized. Her parents die broken hearted because of all the scandal. Now 2 yrs later Mr. "I'm sorry" is trying to seduce her again. OK...so to further test the reality factor, he says he hasn't slept with any woman since her...a 2 yr abstinance...yeah right. And of course, with little adieu, our heroine takes him back.

The good stuff....well, I love a man in uniform...and the visual of a texas ranger, hat, boots, star, etc....is pretty sexy. And our heroine starts out naive but shows us what survival and dignity is all about. The dialogue is witty. The surrounding characters are great. And I like the reference to the "lawless" ranger and christa that I had previously read. Of course I had already read part of the sequel about cash grier too. And I do like trilogies with re-curring info on characters.

It's your call.................

This has to be one of the worst books I have ever read...Diana Palmer needs to buy a Descriptionary so she can broaden her terminology and quit using the same words in different ways...You can only have so many 'wicked smiles', 'smiling wickedly', and 'he said with a wicked grin.' By the time you are a quarter of a way through the book you have already put two and two together and know who the bad guys are...Maybe I need to move to Texas and become a Ranger because the very CLUELESS Marc Barron and his girlfriend that works for the State Attorney couldn't figure it out until the woman was in front of him pointing a gun....DUH!...Maybe if the Ranger spent more time trying to work the case instead of dipping his wick into his former girlfriend every 3 pages then it would have saved everyone a lot of time and maybe some of the characters in the book would still be alive and well...He more or less sexually assaults his former girlfriend every chance he gets, when she says no he says yes (can you say rape?)and then makes comments that scream SEXUAL HARRASSMENT LAWSUIT FROM HELL...The characters aren't very well written, the former girlfriend is far more forgiving than the Virgin Mary at the Crucifixion...I would love to meet a woman like her that forgave me after I treated her like the main character did....Bypass this book, don't waste your time on it...A soap opera is more intelligently put together than this book....Talk about someone typing out garbage just to make a quota...Woof!...I have read better prose on the back of a shampoo bottle while taking a crap...Burn this book if you ever get your hands on it and save the world from this kind of tripe...If I could rate it lower than zero I would be in negative 7 digits...I think you catch my drift...

I read the negative reviews for this novel before I even picked it up to read it myself and must say I was surprised. It was not the dull, dreadful book that many people thought it was. In my opionion the characters were likable and the chemistry between Brannon and Josette was very powerful. As an avid Diana Palmer reader and fan, I will admit this book was not her best, but then again definately not her worst. Overall I would reccommend this book to you!

I found it to be somewhat ironic that they are advertising Diana Palmers Hardcover coming out in '02. Who would ever buy a hardcover after reading this?!!!

There was no proof reading. I don't know how many discrepencies I caught in the story, I lost count after the first 3 chapters, but I am thoroughly sick and tired of "how observant", "his eyes did not miss a thing" coming up 3 times in a paragraph. O.k already, Mark is the most incredibly observant person to have ever been born, and he does not miss a thing. That said describe something else. And to my knowledge silver has always been classified as a gray color, so telling me he has silver gray eyes is redunant. Another thing, if Josette never wears make-up, how can she go up to the hotel room to refresh it?

I am 1/2 way through the book, and this is all I can tell you about it, besides for all the commenting on Marks incredible observations, he apparantly has no clue who the murder is. (you know for sure as soon as you meet her.)

Don't waste your time. For all the remorse Mark feels about accusing Josie of being a liar, he never really quits being much of a jerk, but we are supposed to feel sorry for him, because he has never gotten over her. Who loves a guy who thinks she is lying about being raped?! Sorry, but this one is hard not to rant about.

In a twist of fate, Texas Ranger Marc Brannon meets up with Josette Langley, the woman he has spent the past two years trying to forget. As an investigator in the Texas Attorney Generals Office in Austin, Josette is assigned to work on a possible mob hit case involving multiple jurisdictions. Much to her dismay, she has to go to San Antonio, and her partner in the investigation is Brannon.

Marc is unable to forget that the last time they met, there was a courtroom between them, and Josie was insinuating that Marcs best friend and lieutenant governor, Bib Webb, had a motive for murder. Not to mention the fact that on their last date, Marc walked out on Josie in a huff over issues surrounding their intimacy.

As their investigation brings them into greater danger and closer to the murderer, walls of the past come crumbling down. But will this be enough to give them a chance for the future?

Though the story line has a nice flow, and the dialogue between the main characters is more than adequate, the plot seems to fall a little flat. The hero is always described in the most complementary of terms, while he constantly berates the heroine for her frumpy clothing. Most disappointing, though,is Brannons constant return to the subject of sex and Josette's fear of intimacy in almost every discussion that he has with her. While not Diana Palmers best, THE TEXAS RANGER will not dishearten Palmers true fans.