Customer Reviews

White Lies (Silhouette Special Edition No. 452)

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book was one of Linda Howard's best! Right from the start I felt a strong interest and bond with Steve. Although he was near death and couldn't remember his name, his strength and character were so compelling that it was like you really knew him or wished you had. And Jay, she has all the qualities of an intelligent, strong, and loving heroine as she quietly fights to help a man, she barely knows, survive and love again. This is a book that stays with you, and personally I've read it at least 6 times, and I didn't want to put it down any of those times! I got so involved in the story that I laughed and cried right along with Jay and Steve. This is one of the sequels to Diamond Bay, as was Midnight Rainbow and Heartbreaker, and they were all well written, without any lulls in the action. It made me wish for more when they ended. Thank goodness for sequels!

One of Linda Howards best! I read it in one day simply because I could not put it down. I think it had a great start and an even better ending. Jay is approached by two men the very day she loses her job and is asked to identify her ex-spouse who was a victim of an explosion. The chemistry between them sizzles even before they know what the other looks like. It wasn't love at first sight as the first sight wasn't there for either of them. It only got better. It's a fast paced book you won't regret reading. The best thing about LH books is that none of her books are based on constant fighting between the main characters until the end when all works out. Her books make you feel good throughout... except Sarah's Child which I didn't really like because of the female character without a backbone.

This was a cute story. It's your basic Linda Howard story line. (You know the one -- strong woman with a few issues and of course she can't find a man to save her life. Then enter hunky man with his own set of emotional issues.) Still the story flowed and I would recommend it to any contemporary romance fan in for a quick read. The story is basically about a burned out "workaholic woman" who is informed by the FBI that her husband was in a terrible accident. The story continues with the scenario of "is he really her husband?" "and just how far will she go to protect this man who may or may not be her husband?" Do not want to give too much away, but you get the gist of the story line. Still I enjoyed the novel - very quick and enjoyable read.

I was prepared not to enjoy this book, which was described by some reviewers as being predictable and ho-hum. Additionally, suspenseful thrillers usually give me nightmares, so this isn't my usual genre. Well, I was in for a pleasant surprise! Besides being remarkably well-written, this book was more of a romantic spy drama than nightmarish. The two main characters were strong, likable people who I really grew to care for as though they were my own friends. I was spellbound, constantly second-guessing myself trying to decide who Steve really was, whether or not Frank was on their side or the enemy, what the nature of their secretative operation was, what was Steve's role in it, and how this would all play out in the end and resolve itself. I'm not very familiar with this author's other works, but I found her style to be realistic and captured my interest. I most especially liked the way she transmitted Steve's thoughts and reactions to Jay while he was still in the coma, as well as Jay's deep attraction and connection towards him in that soulmate sort-of way.

Linda Howard is undoubtedly one incredible writer who sculpts her characters to finesse - and White Lies is no exception. Jay Granger is a compelling character who is strong and independent, reluctantly drawn into a web of turmoil when her erstwhile "husband" returns abruptly. Streaked by amnesia, the man lying in her bed claims to be her husband but what lies beneath is a conspiracy that will threaten to explode. However, Steve falls unexpectedly in love with Jay and his protective instincts drive him to riveting passion with Jay - and both of them are tangled in a web of passion that is under threat by white lies....

Linda Howard is sheer escapism and a real treat for romance fanatics. Her brand of searing passion and perfect heroes makes her books unique - which is why the trilogy (Midnight Rainbow and Diamond Bay) is that much a sensation. Ms. Howard never loses steam and the emotional intrigue envelops in the exciting story. This is Linda Howard at her best and definitely not to be missed.

This story packs a hefty punch. Howard takes a concept that could have become hokey and unbelievable and not only makes it startingly appealing but also incredibly sexy. Her hero's passionate devotion to Jay is so intense it'll steal your breath away. With his dark dangerous demeanour and passionate intensity, "Steve" is a Howard man through and through. This is a third installment in Howard's spy romance trilogy (the other two titles are Midnight Rainbow and Diamond Bay -- there is also reference to the characters from this trilogy in Heartbreaker) and it is by far the best. Howard's romances are always high-charge reads and this one is no exception. I dare you to try to put it down after you've started reading. And you'll find it equally hard to resist reading and re-reading this book in the months, weeks, even days that follow its completion. If you like Linda Howard and her noble savage heroes than you will adore White Lies.

Having read Howard's Kiss Me While I Sleep and thoroughly enjoying it (see review of 10/11/05), I chose another Howard novel thinking I would like it as well. All I can say is Linda Howard has grown a great deal as an author since White Lies was first published in 1988. KMWIS had a good balance of intrigue and romance, its intimate scenes were well written and titillating, and its plotlines were tied up nicely at the end. Not so with this one.

WL started out nicely. I got into it right away when Janet Jean "Jay" Granger is asked to identify a man in a hospital by two FBI agents who knock on the door of her New York apartment. She'd just been fired from her job as an executive at a prestigious investment-banking firm and is reeling from that news when these fellows show up and tell her an amazing story...well, as much as they want to tell her in order to get her to agree to go with them. Jay is given a song-and-dance routine about why she is needed to identify the man. The man they're talking about has been seriously injured in an explosion and is covered with casts and bandages so there's little to see in order to make a visual identification. He's also in a coma. She spends weeks at the man's bedside easing him into consciousness, all the while believing him to be her ex-husband, Steve Crossfield. But is he?

The suspense during the first half of the book is excellent and kept my full attention. Then "Steve" gains consciousness and things go downhill from there. I don't want to discuss the hitches I found in the storyline because I don't want to spoil the story for another reader (and I notice from other reviews that many liked this book a lot). For me, it became a series of scenarios where "Steve" endeavors to get into Jay's pants whenever and wherever HE felt like it. I ended up not liking him much. The end was abrupt with little explanation and little revelation about the details of the explosion that had injured "Steve" in the first place. It was as if the stealth and intrigue in the story was there only to serve as a background for marathon sex. I wanted more details about the political intrigue that was set up at the beginning of the story. Had Howard balanced such detail with a growing and intense emotional involvement between her two major characters, I would've loved this book.

When I review a book, I give one star for the author having written it in the first place and another star for the book having been published. From there the stars get added as I find the book satisfying to read and notice how well plotlines are tied up at the end of the story. Based on such criteria, this book gets three stars.

Carolyn Rowe Hill

This book was a blast. It is a quick read and alot of fun. The action surrounding the love story is great. Jay is an emotionally grounded heroin and her ex-husband is everything she didn't expect, so the foundation is shaken a bit.

The suspense added into the story keeps you on the edge of your seat at all times. You never know whats gonna happen next. The love formed betweeen them is as strong as can be and what every person hopes for in their life.

This is truely prime Linda Howard story telling and is definately worth reading. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

I would go as far as to say that this is my favorite book (but then again they all seem to take that title), LH or not. I can't even explain how well the plot and storyline was. I read it in under 12 hours because I just could not put the book down. I had to know what was going to happen next.

White Lies is very suspensefull. very well written. very loveable. The characters are my favorite of all LH books, especially through the alphabet thing.

I would recommend this book to absolutely anyone.

Linda Howard has obviously developed greatly as an author since this book's original publishing in 1988.

I liked the concept of the story. Jay is a woman who is devoted to her work and little else. She was married once, to the adventurous (yet wishy-washy) Steve, and thinks of him very little...until the FBI shows up to announce that Steve is critically injured, and that Jay is needed to identify her comatose former husband. As Steve recovers his strength but not his memory, Jay begins to fall in love all over again-with his bravery and spirit, and eventually with his intensity and desire. He is nothing like the Steve she used to know...so who exactly IS he now?

I was compelled and fascinated with the development of the story, even though it doesn't contain the raw sexuality and character interest of Howard's later works. This book is okay, and you'll enjoy it for a light read on a Sunday afternoon!