Be Very Afraid (Zebra Romantic Suspense) [Mass Market Paperback]

S.K. McClafferty (Author)

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Zebra Books; Regular Print/Single Titl edition (June 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821775758
• ISBN-13: 978-0821775752
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,313,899 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

S. K. McClafferty launched a writing career in 1991 as Selina MacPherson. Seven historical romances later, she branched out into contemporary romantic suspense with her current pseudonym. She has written and published thirteen books and numerous short stories. McClafferty lives in the small, riverside village of Rosston, in the house where she grew up. She enjoys spending time with her dogs and working on her 150-year-old home.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Be VERY afraid!, July 21, 2004

By 

Cynthia L Boyce (Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Be Very Afraid (Zebra Romantic Suspense) (Mass Market Paperback)

By that I mean you should be afraid to spend your money on this book. I HATE giving bad reviews, especially since I'm the first, but that's the way it turns out I guess. I'm not even close to be a picky reader. I tend to give authors the benefit of the doubt and buy into just about anything they dish out...but this was just too awful. I gave it 2 stars instead of 1 just cos I was 1st. Here goes...First of all, the heroine of this story was the MOST selfish,self-centered, not to mention meanest character I've ever read about, and I read a book every day or two easy. She left her 1st hubby after 6 weeks cos she caught him in bed with another woman...OK, I buy that...then she finds out she's pregnant before she even signs the divorce papers. So she moves away in order to not let her ex(a fellow FBI agent)find out about the baby(girl). She then marries an emotional invalid of a man AND lets him adopt her 2-yr-old. Flash forward 6 yrs and she has been working along side her ex for the past few yrs. There's a serial killer out there abducting mostly little girls and burying them alive. The nut becomes infatuated with Liz and decides to kidnap her 8-yr-old Fiona. Her ex(the FBI agent and Fiona's real father)heads the search. He's even the one that eventually digs up the grave and tries to save his ex-wife's daughter, to no avail. So Liz actually lashes out at Jake and refuses to allow him to attend the service...knowing full well he did all he could do to save Fiona and that he is still unaware she's actually his kid too. So her newest hubby goes catatonic on her, she uses Fiona's insurance money to keep him in the best of sanitariums. She moves away and tries to cover her tracks in case the Cemetary Man decides to come at her again. Which is what he does. Meanwhile Jake shows up to try to protect her and she treats him like he's just requested her last kidney.She starts sleeping with him, but out of bed she acts like he has the plague. She starts leading the local sherriff on, and after the ONE and ONLY date they have, the author would have us believe he's totally enraptured by Liz(trust me, she's not that lovable). So this sherriff keeps coming back around and acting like there's a chance Liz MIGHT just change her mind. And the worst part was Liz STILL kept leading the man on-even after she found out she's pregnant(to poor Jake) again. After all she's done to Jake he finds out about Fiona only after finding her birth certificate in a drawer where he's unpacking his underwear. So did she THEN give the guy something to live for and tell him she's expecting...NO!!!! The serial killer drops that bomb on him as he's getting ready to kill him. I was so ANGRY with the whole concept of Liz, I had to make myself finish the book. There were other unbelieveable parts as well. The author threw in insignificant passages throughout the book that had NOTHING to do with the plot, that went no where. I'd be left hanging, thinking "huh?". The book was awful.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Good Book, September 1, 2004

By 

Elaine C McTyer "avid reader" (Dawson, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Be Very Afraid (Zebra Romantic Suspense) (Mass Market Paperback)

I loved this book. It is very unusual for the guy to be the one trying to get his lover back.

Liz had married Jake ten years before. They had only been married a short time, when she caught him in bed with another woman. Something any woman would find hard to forgive. They divorced without his knowing she was pregnant. She married 2 years later and her husband adopted Fiona.

Liz and Jake both worked for the FBI. Eight years later A serial killer called the Cemetary Man killed Fiona to get to Liz. Jake had been the lead detective and he was the one who found Fiona and had to tell Liz her daughter was dead. HE didn't know it was his daughter too. However, after finding Fiona he couldn't forget her and had put all his efforts into finding the killer.

Unfortunately, the killer was only interested in challaging Liz and until he found her again, which took him 2 years, he didn't kill again. Jake's profile of the killer told him that the killer was on the search for Liz.

Liz disappeared after the killing, her husband lost his mind and wound up in a sanaterium. Still hiding from life, Liz is divorced and alone. But the Cemetary Man has found her. Just as Jake has found her. By this time Jake is suffering from burnout. his determination to catch this killer, to protect Liz has caused His superior and psychiatrist to force him to take time off.

Having found her Jake knows the killer is close and the killings start again. Jake loves Liz but he feels she hates him and has every right to.

The story of two lost people who need each other, is well written and the different slant on the romance adds to the suspense as the killer stalks Liz.

I enjoyed the book and the clash of personalities who have matured over the years. The suspense was well done and the secondary characters were very well defined.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Be Very Wary - - - of this book, August 5, 2004

By 

P. L Scott - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Be Very Afraid (Zebra Romantic Suspense) (Mass Market Paperback)

I agree totally with Cynthia (first reviewer). These are some of the most one dimensional characters I've ever read. Parts of the story where vaguely interesting and could have developed into a reasonable mystery - but you had to slog through the main characters' constant reminiscences to get there. It would have been a welcome relief if the serial killer had knocked off Liz and Jake about one third the way through.