When I Wake [Mass Market Paperback]

Rachel Lee (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2000

When her father tells her of the ancient mask that her mother died searching for, archaeologist Veronica Coleridge takes up the quest, with the expert help of a business owner named Dugan. Veronica and Dugan become caught in a maelstrom at sea and learn that far more than an ancient mask is at stake--and only their love and trust can save them.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Life is good for archeologist Veronica Coleridge, until a car accident damages her hearing, kills her unborn child and destroys her marriage. She sinks into a profound depression, broken only by her need to continue her late mother's quest to find a rare tribal mask lost in the wreck of a Spanish ship centuries before. Veronica goes to Key West and hires a boat and diving help from Dugan Gallagher, a dropout from the business fast lane who is now content to run a modest dive company and enjoy la dolce vita. Reluctant to give up three months to what looks like a fruitless quest, Dugan nevertheless agrees to the plan, spurred by a protectiveness he doesn't quite understand. After several months of mingled boredom and sexual tension, the two discover the treasure they're seekingAonly to find out that another, more sinister collector wants it, and is prepared to stop at nothing to get it. Though crucial detailsAthe cause of Veronica's hearing loss, the tribe from which the mask comesAare too thinly explained, Lee (Before I Sleep) pleasantly evokes both the joys and the perils of life in and off of the Keys. The book is energized by the evocation of the frustrations of the heroine's hearing lossAmaterial with an unusual edge for an otherwise traditional, even tame, novel of romantic suspense. (Nov.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Warner Books; 1st edition (November 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446606553
• ISBN-13: 978-0446606554
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.8 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,715,550 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Romantic Suspense, November 15, 2000

By 

Frat Çng "Firochromis" (Ankara, Turkey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: When I Wake (Mass Market Paperback)

Veronica Coleridge is deaf. Recently deaf. She has lost her husband, her child, her hearing. Veronica hates being deaf, she is still in deep depression over her loss and there is no hope -- her deafness is not going to go away -- her loss of a child she does not talk about.

Her father is dying. He has cancer. To pull Veronica out of her debilitating depression he offers her new information about her mother, about how she died, what she was looking for, information which sparks Veronica into organizing a sea-going archeological dig in the waters off Key West, in Florida, searching for a three hundred year old storm mask, an icon of her ancestors, an passion, an obsession that killed her mother, that threatens to similarly absorb Veronica.

As part of her salvage team she hires Dugan Gallagher, a one time big city businessman, gone troppo. This man kids himself he lives to have a good time. He hates to get wet, loves to sail, has no intention of doing it tough. Or so he says. Trouble is everything he touches turns out okay. Better than okay.

There are bad guys out there. The suspects include folk Dugan has hired. Someone has to protect Veronica from whoever is after the treasure, and from herself.

The idea for this Rachel Lee's WHEN I WAKE romantic suspense is solid. However, the heroine stays self indulgent for too long, the hero comes to care too late. After his initial important appearance Veronica's father disappears stage left and returns too briefly. Villains, who promise much in the beginning, do little but fizzle in the end. Particularly disappointing is the second villain who appears only in evil whispers and whose motivations, intentions, outcomes, even at the end, are never made known.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great romantic suspense, October 31, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: When I Wake (Mass Market Paperback)

In Tampa, archeologist Orin Coleridge is not afraid to die except he worries about his beloved daughter Veronica wasting away to nothing. He is lost for ideas about how to help his child regain her spirit that she lost after the accident that cost Veronica her hearing, followed by her spouse Larry Hauser deserting her. Desperate Orin hears the voice of his deceased spouse for the first time in a quarter of a century. She advises him to tell Veronica about "The Mask of the Storm Mother," the artifact that led to the death of Orin's wife.

An outraged Veronica becomes obsessed with completing her mother's dream. She and her father hire a reluctant former stockbroker, Dugan Gallagher, a diver who hates the water. As Veronica and Dugan spend several months together in close proximity, they fall in love. However, neither one trusts relationships as both have been burned in the past. There also remains the danger from money- consumed Emilio Zaragura who will do anything to attain the mask for himself.

WHEN I WAKE is an exciting romantic suspense novel that stars two wonderful, lead characters and a strong support cast. The story line is loaded with action as several players turn the search for the mask into a personal quest that makes them risk everything including love to appease their personal demons. This makes the characters seem genuine and turns Rachel Lee's novel into a strong statement on what drives an individual.

Harriet Klausner

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, December 19, 2000

By 

R. Rousseau "ReenieSR" (DALLAS, TEXAS United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: When I Wake (Mass Market Paperback)

I was very interested in this story after reading the description and some of the reviews. However, I found the overall experience to be disappointing.

The description of the heroine's frustration with her deafness was interesting and very realistic, but the storyline was very patchy--with huge holes in it.

The actual "treasure" hunts were very episodic, with no details beyond..."the murky water", etc.....the villains were never fully developed, and after reading the final solution to the suspense, I could only say, "Duh, What happened?"

I have read other of Rachel Lee/Sue Civil-Brown's books and enjoyed them. But I cannot recommend this book.