Under Suspicion [Mass Market Paperback]

Rachel Lee (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2001

Museum curator Anna Lundgren's career takes off with the success of the opening of her first exhibition. But elation turns to horror when the theft of an ancient Mayan jade dagger and the murder of a guard bring the police. Anna becomes the main suspect, and when her only ally, Detective Gil Garcia, starts to doubt her, Anna must find who took the dagger and killed the guard.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Lee (A January Chill, etc.) is known for her romantic suspense novels, but this dry effort is short on romance and long on tedious technical detail. When a guard is killed and a Mexican dagger is stolen from a museum in Tampa, Fla., police detectives Clarence Tebbins and Gil Garcia team up to track down the culprit. The evidence implicates beautiful museum curator Anna Lundgren, but Gil and Tebbins soon realize that she may be a target, especially in light of her family's history with the dagger and its supposed curse. Whoever touches the jaguar-headed jade dagger is doomed, along with their descendents, to "die by fire in the jaws of the jaguar," and shortly after Anna's father discovered the dagger, an earthquake claimed his life. Instead of pinning down the killer's motive, however, Gil and Tebbins spend most of the novel trying to figure out how he bypassed the museum's high-tech security system. Anna's computer whiz twin sister finally determines how the system was circumvented, but the knowledge brings them only a small step closer to finding the killer. Although Gil and Anna are well-drawn characters, Lee (aka Sue Civil-Brown) puts little effort into developing their relationship. Readers will be disappointed by the novel's outrageous plot, lack of romantic tension and all too demented villain.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Rachel Lee is a master of romantic suspense." -- -Romantic Times

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Forever; mass market edition (October 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446609625
• ISBN-13: 978-0446609623
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.9 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,944,808 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not a keeper., October 30, 2001

By 

Patti (Doylestown, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Under Suspicion (Mass Market Paperback)

I bought this book on impulse as I was leaving a bookstore since I've often been recommended her books by Amazon. I have regretted that impulse ever since. I hated the story and the romance was nonexistent. What actually drew these people together? Their attraction to each other is barely mentioned, yet we're supposed to believe he would risk his job by getting involved with her? I don't think so. Also, I thought the killer would be someone shocking, but (and don't read this if you're going to make the mistake of buying this book) it was just some part-time student that she didn't even know. Big deal. The whole story was weird. I like having historical facts, but there was just too much detail behind the dagger. I rarely will not finish a book, but I found myself skipping pages and finally just read the last page. Anyone want a free book? If not, this one is going in the trash!! I'll be hard pressed to buy another Rachel Lee book, even if it gets 5 stars.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mystery with a Touch of Romance, October 21, 2001

By 

Sheri Melnick (Enola, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Under Suspicion (Mass Market Paperback)

Museum curator Anna Lundgren is excited about the new Mayan exhibit-she is hoping that the newest acquisition will be a success. However, she becomes a little disturbed when a local reporter, Reed Howell, dredges up Pocal's Curse, a curse on the exhibited jade dagger discovered at an ancient burial site. Howell also suggests that the curse could follow Anna, as her father was killed in an earthquake sixteen years ago near the burial site where he was working.

With the murder of museum security guard Eddy Malacek and the theft of the jade dagger, suspicion falls on Anna. Clarence Tebbins, Tampa P.D., and Gil Garcia, St. Pete P.D., begin working the investigation. As clues consistently point to Anna, she becomes the prime suspect. Even when Gil discovers someone running away from Anna's home, he and Tebbins believe that she may be working with an accomplice. Their continued suspicion of Anna sometimes borders on the absurd, especially when she suffers a knife wound after being attacked.

The continuing mystery surrounding the disappearance of the dagger, heavily guarded by a top-notch security system, adds another element to this read. And the appearance of Nancy, Anna's identical twin, is especially appealing when the two agree to switch identities in an effort to unbalance the murderer and thief. The reader is left with the ultimate question-can the killer be found before he decides to end the curse in the only way he knows how, by extracting the beating heart of the descendants of the one who initiated the curse, a.k.a. Nancy and Anna Lundgren?

Ancient artifacts, a mysterious museum theft, and spooky curses definitely add to the allure of this novel. Never knowing where the killer will turn up next, the reader is kept glued to the spine tingling pages. While the mystery is more than adequate, the romance between Gil and Anna is rather short-changed considering that this novel is billed as a romance. Readers wanting the scales tipped in favor of mystery over romance will not be disappointed.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars No Romance, October 19, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Under Suspicion (Mass Market Paperback)

I generally like Rachel Lee's suspense-romance stories. This one, however, was sadly lacking in romance. There was hardly any interaction between the main characters. They never developed a relationship. The mystery was good but there was no time spent developing a love story between the cop and the suspect. I was very disappointed.