Customer Reviews

Valley of the Shadow

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Move over Susan E Phillips! Here is another female character with wit and a decidedly sharp tongue. Ms. Hughes definitely has a winning style and is sure to please all her readers. I wish authors like this were more prolific. Too many of the known authors' works seem more like computerized versions of their last 10 books, or like someone else is writing them, and poorly at that. Ms. Hughes offers a well developed plot and strong characterization that is very believeable. Her book was definitely fun to read. Can't wait for her next one.

Boy I wish I could think of the fast comebacks Meg did! She cracked me up, never missed a beat. The mystery was a little lacking but the comedy (Meg's mother for example) made up for it. I did have some unanswered questions though. Why did Clay marry Becky? Why did they get divorced and why did he pay her so much to get out of the marriage? How did Meg and Clay leave things between them when she left town? Oh well, guess we never get all the answers but definitely an enjoyable book.

I enjoyed the author's sense of humor, but found it grating after a while. The characters did not seem real to me. Instead, they were overdone and somewhat stereotypical. It felt like the main character was trying too hard to amuse us with her witty take on everything. I hate not to finish a book that I have purchased, but I gave up on it. The storyline definitely had potential, but I wouldn't recommend this for people who prefer more serious suspense novels.

Meg Gentry's husband Roy married her to hide the fact that he was gay from his fellow Atlanta police officers. Meg was unaware of her spouse's sexual preferences until she hired a private eye to obtain evidence of Roy's adultery. The pictures the investigator gave to Meg showed him with another man. Meg's self-esteem and her trust in men both collapsed. To escape her bitter memories, Meg quits her newspaper job and returns to her hometown of Blalock, Tennessee.

Meg obtains a job as the managing editor of the weekly newspaper and reunites with her high school sweetheart, Clay Skinner. Although she once loved him, her need to see the big city and make a name for herself prevented anything serious from developing. Now they have a chance to build the relationship they failed to develop years ago; that is if Meg survives her journalistic snooping into a headline breaking story filled with murder.

Charlotte Hughes spins a very good psychological suspense filled with action, romance, and adventure to appeal to a wide readership. VALLEY OF THE SHADOWS examines the dichotomy of the lifestyles between the townsfolk and the nearby hill people, making Appalachia come vividly alive in the minds of the audience. Although there are too many sub-plots that add nothing to the primary story line, readers will enjoy this exciting southern melodrama.

Harriet Klausner

I really enjoyed this book. Hughes does good work with her characters; they were realistic and believable. Her style really flows. I just read and read until I finished and then I wanted more. I highly recommend it.

I chanced upon these older books written by C. Hughes before she started writing her comedy romance books. I LOVED them! This book was suspenseful and thrilling with a touch of her humor rolled into the plot. Although the book was scary, I still found myself smiling at some of Hughes' slight humor. I do think you would love these and I wish Ms. Hughes would write more of these types of books. I am currently reading Night Kills (another one of her early suspense novels--it is excellent, also) this is such a talented author! I am tempted to write her website begging her to write more like these! Maybe my wish will come true!

I loved this! This has my vote for one of the best books of the year

I loved it! After reading two other books by Charlotte Hughes, I picked this one up and didn't want to put it down until the story ended!

this is a great "light" mystery to read. The charachers are funny & interesting.
this author is witty & entertaining all at once!
loved it. Especially the mystery aspect of the book keeping me entertained without grossing me out!@