Whispers at Midnight [Hardcover]

Karen Robards (Author)

Book Description

Series: Robards, Karen | Publication Date: January 1, 2003

From "New York Times" bestselling author Karen Robards, whom "Newsweek" magazine calls "one of the most popular voices in women's fiction," comes a thrilling new novel of romantic suspense set in a sultry small southern town.

Carly Linton is hell-bent on starting over. After a bruising divorce, she moves back to her tiny hometown of Benton, Georgia, to start up a bed-and-breakfast in the old house she inherited from her grandmother. The whole town remembers her as the proverbial good girl, but Carly is tired of being good -- she's ready to walk on the wide side, and she knows exactly where she wants to start.

Matt Converse, the town's former bad boy, is now the local sheriff and a pillar of the community. But he hasn't forgotten his wild days, or the magical night of the senior prom he shared with Carly years ago. When Carly's dog unearths a dead body on her property, Matt is forced to spend time there, and Carly decides to use her newfound wiles to seduce him. But when someone breaks into Carly's house and tries to take her away, Matt is the only person who can protect her from a mysterious enemy who's making it all too clear that Carly should never have come back to Benton.

Richly suspenseful, tightly plotted, and deeply sensual, "Whispers at Midnight" is Karen Robards at her scintillating best.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Like the junkyard mongrel who plays a pivotal role in the plot, this latest by the prolific Robards is a mix of breeds: Southern gothic, suspense and rough-and-tumble romance. It is sweltering summer when recently divorced spitfire Carly Linton returns to smalltown Benton, Ga., to open a bed and breakfast in the Victorian mansion she has inherited from her grandmother. She, her pet cat Hugo and her formidable business partner, world-class cook Sandra, arrive on a rainy midnight to find the electricity off and evidence of a prowler. When Carly runs screaming away, she is pinned to the ground by hunky Sheriff Matt Converse, who just happens to be in the area. Matt was Carly's hero in high school, but he treated her the way he treated his three younger sisters-until prom night, when he succumbed to her wiles and regretted it. He ignored her thereafter and 12 years later she hasn't forgiven him, though she still finds him irresistibly attractive. Persistent harassment by the prowler, who seems to be a stalker, lands Carly a police escort. With Matt following her everywhere, she is mostly safe from violent attack, but must endure Matt's less-than-romantic attentions ("She wasn't the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. Hell, she wasn't even the most beautiful woman he'd ever fucked"). The appearance of a stray dog dubbed Annie provides comic relief and also yields clues to the stalker's identity-it seems Carly's not the first woman he's targeted. Robards is a lively storyteller, but some readers may be taken aback by Carly and Matt's earthy courtship ("Carly was visited by a moment of extreme thankfulness that... she'd had her breasts enhanced") and the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink plotting.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

After her divorce, Carly moves back home, where she hopes to act up a little by seducing bad boy-turned-sheriff Matt. But then it appears that someone is after her, and she needs Matt for other, more pressing reasons.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Atria; First Edition edition (January 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0739431439
• ISBN-13: 978-0739431436
• ASIN: 0743453468
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,511,329 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Karen Robards is the bestselling author of twenty-seven novels. The winner of six Silver Pen awards for favorite romance novelist, as well as numerous other awards, she lives in Louisville, Kentucky, with her husband, Doug, and their sons Peter, Christopher, and Jack. She says, "I read, I write, and I chase children. That's my life."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Predicatble but eventually enjoyable, September 12, 2005

By 

Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Whispers at Midnight (Mass Market Paperback)

Carly Linton left town years ago settling in Chicago runing a restaurant with her lawyer husband John. She's shocked when John announces that he not only is having an affair, but wants a divorce. Let pretty much penniless since he snuck all the assets out of the marriage, the only thing she has left is her childhood home, which was willed to her by her grandmother. She packs up all her belongings, as well as her best friend with the goal of turning said home into a B&B. Upon arrival, she meets up with the boy her took her virginity and broke her heart. Matt Converse, former long-haired, hell-raising, motorcycle-riding bad boy, is now the responsible town sheriff and "mother" to his three younger sisters (but still has that cycle). At first, they are antagonistic, but soon, when a burglar and a possible killer seem to have targeted her, she runs into his open arms. Of course, he makes it plain that he has no intention of a happily ever after that includes a wife, so they agree to a no-strings affair, which soon has both of them wondering what they were thinking, and the rest of the town hot and bothered when they keep catching them in compromising situations.

I typically eat up any story by Karen Robards. "Whispers at Midnight" was a hard one to get into for the first 200 pages or so. The first ten pages encompass a week; the next 190 or so are a span of a couple hours; far too much detail and little action. But once the story gets going, it does not let up. There's little mystery; the killer is kinda obvious, but once you make that hurdle over those first 200 pages, the action really starts heating up, and is non-stop until the last page. One of the highlights of the book is the relationship between Matt and his sisters - he is hopelessly whipped! Maybe a little condensing could have been done (the paperback is nearly 500 pages) to make it a tighter story.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dont Whisper Shout, January 5, 2003

By 

Lisa Roberson (Louisiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Whispers at Midnight (Hardcover)

In Whispers At Midnight Karen Robards takes us on a story of rekindled love, murder mystery, and overcoming your fears, Matt Converse is a community leader and sheriff with a bad boy past whose "I Don't Do Forever" rule is tested when Carly Linton returns to Benton, Georgia to heal from a devastating divorce and open a bed and breakfast.

Carly hasn't forgotten the magic of their prom night or the morning after when Matt withdrew from her life completely. Now the sheriff of Benton, he is a devoted brother, dedicated lawman and devastatingly handsome. Carly has sworn she has learned from her mistakes and promises herself to stay away from Matt. After several attacks on Carly, they are drawn together by necessity to find the person responsible. Can they find the love that was lost twenty years before? Who wants Carly silenced forever? Will their re-found love be strong enough for Matt to say, "For you, I do forever"

In a story with believable characters, we find that you can go back. The story brings two strong independent people together, by then learning to depend on each other. Seeing this seemingly tough man, turn to mush by his sisters was charming. I did feel that we should have seen more of the relationships of the sisters and friends to understand what was going on around the main characters. I would rate this book 4 roses and on the Sensuality Scale-Tangy. Overall a good read.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars enjoyable romantic suspense thriller, January 18, 2003

By 

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

This review is from: Whispers at Midnight (Hardcover)

Following the divorce from her philandering husband, Carly Linton returns to her hometown of Benton, Georgia to open up a bed and breakfast. Her first view of her new home is the buns of her high school sweetheart Scraven County sheriff Matt Converse crawling under her porch.

Matt is looking into the disappearance of Marsha Hughes, whose boyfriend suffers from "raid rage" caused by steroids. The neighbors inform Matt that Marsha and Kevin had a fight, but did she just leave or did he kill her? Fearing for Carly when someone threatens her, Matt vows to keep her safe. As he carries a gun in his hand and a cocked pistol inside his underwear, Matt and Carly share sex and fall in love. However, she begins to recall her depressed memories of rape and sodomy as a child, while an unknown villain gives her the choice of leaving town alive or dying.

Readers who enjoy a romantic suspense thriller in which the hero either just shoots his wad or is in a three-legged state will want to read Karen Robards' latest tale. The story line contains tons of sex, though when Matt slept is a question as he either is investigating, protecting or lovemaking. When Matt and Carly are on stage, the plot is fun as the two argue, fuss, and share sex. However, the "Ding Dong the Donkeyman" villain requires quite a stretch to accept. Still fans of a heated southern romance with an accent on the boudoir rather than the police procedural will take pleasure in Ms. Robards' latest caper.

Harriet Klausner