Customer Reviews

And Then You Die...

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(26)

 

 

I made the mistake of picking up this book to read over a long weekend. The title caught my eye and the concept seemed promising, but once I actually got into the story I was very disappointed.

Too many of the major plot points are entirely unbelievable. For instance, a child who the protagonist encounters abandoned in a village becomes a singular focus and driving element--even though the protagonist barely spends any time with her and hithertofore has not been the motherly type. Over and over again the CIA frontman gives into her unreasonable and irrational demands, to the point that one starts to root for the bad guys. To anyone with a high school biology class under the belt, the science is preposterous and completely unbelievable. Much effort is put forth to develop an "antidote" (actually an antibody) to anthrax. Cipro, anyone?

The writing is also very stilted, often awful, and at times laughable. Too many times to count a character "smiles sardonically" or "speaks jerkily". At times the plot turns are so poorly described it is difficult to judge just what the heck is going on. And, ultimately, the characters behave so irrationally one does not really care.

I would only recommend reading this if you need perspective on how bad books can really be. Otherwise, look elsewhere.

What a waste of time! I got this on audio for a long trip and had to stop and rent a replacement. Bess is so annoying you want to slap her (she's reminds me of Kate Scarlatta's obnoxious niece), Kaldalk is one-dimensional and unrealistic, the author's research is sloppy, the plot is trite, etc, etc. Thank goodness it was from the library and I didn't spend any money on this pitiful effort.

This book should have never been printed. Very poor characters and plot, annoyingly unbelievable. Oh sure, the CIA would let Bess direct the action and dictate their behavior. I wanted to slap some sense into her. She was obnoxious, stupid and reckless. Bodies fall all around her because of her self-centered obsession. She stupidly minimizes her importance as a walking antidote for a deadly biological agent and jeopardizes her own life and that of many others for an infant of three days acquaintance. I've never before encountered a character, the heroine, who I wanted to see killed because she was so bad. I wanted to scream several times at the stupid plotting, characters and dialogue and regret spending money on this nonsense. I won't be reading another Iris book.

If youv'e ever read Iris Johansen before, you should just skip this one. I thought it started off great, but then it just died. We're asked to believe that a hard CIA agent, who would sock a woman in the jaw to get the bad guy, would then become a virtual slave to her every whim.
In spite of the fact that the whole second half of the book, she is a target of a mad man,she's calling all the shots and he's obeying! Give me a break!
Though this is a poor showing, I am still a fan of Ms. Johansens suspense novels.

Want to read a good suspense novel by her, get "Ugly Duckling".

I love Iris Johansen. I am hunting for her old Loveswepts because I enjoy each and every one of her books. She's capable, within a few paragraphs, to pull you into a story and make difficult people come alive in such a way that you care for them.

Not here. These people remain distant and in a way cold. Bess, the heroine, is constantly demanding unreasonable things and getting her way. She's hurt by the whole situation, but that doesn't make her unreasonableness right, and there's just not enough depth to make it realistic. Kaldak, the hero, works on the intellectual level, but not on the emotional one. The supporting characters are, at least for Johansen, formulaic.

I really liked the idea for a thriller, it is an excellent plot, but it would need more meat on those bones to "pull you in", to make you feel and believe. I wasn't afraid for the heroine, I didn't share her sudden need to go to bed with the hero, I didn't hate the villain (although he was truly bad).

I hope Iris Johansen will get better with her next book, both her last two thrillers and her romances were good (although I would have preferred more relationship in the thrillers, I regretted her switch from romance) - I am definitely going to wait for the paperback with her next novel, this quality is not worth the money for a hardcover.

Ok, so the main characters have some baggage, and the CIA assasin seems to be a little limp in the spine department when it comes to the heroine of the tale, it is still a wonderfully written book that kept me turning pages in spite of the somewhat unbelievable characters. C'mon people, it's fiction, what do we expect? You have to give wiggle room for creative license. You enter the book with Bess Grady snapping pictures at a massacre in Danzar. It sickens her to the point of a nervous break down. She decided to take a 'safe' assignment shooting a vacation article in the small town of Tenajo, Mexico. She ends up toppling head over heals into the middle of a plot to wreak havoc and disaster on the US. She lands up to her neck in trouble, but proves her mettle again and again with the help of one shady individual by the name of Kaldak who one minute is second in command of the terrorist faction, and the next is dragging her, unwilling and fighting all the way, back to safety. There are several unexpected twists and turns, and you aren't quite sure what to expect each time you turn the page. I am generally not a fan of drama based on real life. I lean more towards fantasy, thriller, and horror when I wander through a book store. But, based on this book, I would be very willing to read more of Johansen's work.

I was in the mood for an fast entertaining read, and this book filled the bill. Actually, I read it years ago, and recently re-read it. It's suspenseful with a nice touch of romance. I am not going to argue with other posters who say the characters were not fleshed out or the plot was unbelievable. I enjoyed the story and the resourcefulness of the characters, and the constant sense of impending danger. I wasn't looking for a literary exploration of the human condition, just a fun read with likable characters and a fast-paced plot, and this is it.

I have read hundreds of mystery/thriller books and rarely have given up on a book half-way through - which I did with this one. I could not stand the self-centered, argumentative main character, Bess Grady. Neither she or the plot were believable - even for a work of fiction.

I read romances because, well, because I find them relaxing and they bring a smile to my face. This book totally failed to do that, and I swear my blood pressure rose to danger levels while I read it. I absolutely detested the 'heroine'. I presume that her actions were supposed to be self-sacrificing and noble, but in truth they were the ultimate height of selfiness (willing to sacrifice whomever it takes if need be to get her way). I thought she was one-dimensional, unkind, disagreeable, unsympathetic, and totally self absorbed...kinda what you'd expect in the antagonist of a novel, not the protagonist. I couldn't get past my dislike of the main character to determine whether I found the rest of the story engrossing or not...

I loved her other books, so I bought the hardcover when it came out. It was so bad that I actually wrote a letter to the publisher. I'm convinced they hired a ghost writer - this can't be the same author -- there is no convincing plot, the dialogue is laughable, the characters are unbelievable. And I'm really wondering about the people who thought this was a good book...