26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not quite classic Quick, April 28, 2000
By A Customer
This latest Quick novel is heavier on intrigue/plot. I was pulled along by the uncertainty of the real identity of the villain, but like other readers, I had seen this plot in action before.
The intrigue plot forms the backbone of this book more than other Quick books. The heroine's dead husband's ghost is supposedly haunting her, she seeks help from the hero for this and other issues. The hero is pursuing a vengeance of his own. Most of the book is spent on one of these two aspects.
The romance aspect of Wicked Widow was curiously played down, I'm not sure why. Their relationship was beleivable, but lacked the 'one true love' feeling I expect from a romance novel. They seemed to be two nice people with awful pasts who make a nice relationship.
The Vanza aspect will probably turn off some people. I found it less annoying in this book than in I Thee Wed, but certainly not as well done as in Deep Waters (writing as Jayne Ann Krentz). In Deep Waters, the psuedo-martial art formed a major part of the hero's character-it gave him an identity and workable approach to life. Although the hero in Wicked Widow is a master of Vanza, and the heroine studied it under her father (and strangly associates every Vanza practicioner with her insane dead husband instead of with her beloved, deceased father), the philosophy seems more a plot devce than a character philosophy.
That said, this Quick book was much better written in my opinion, than the past several. It was beleivable for the most part (except the demises of the hero's revenge plot, which was dropped rather abruptly) and I found myself caught up, wanting to know what happened next.
Also, Quick has supplied some fun secondary characters-she's excellent at them. These characters are as good and fun as early, classic Quick. The new plot had enough twists to it that I still wasn't sure how it would turn out, and the dialogue was snappy.
I wish she would consider trying out a new angle though. I wasn't as frustrated with this book ( I was with her last couple). Wicked Widow provided me with a comfortable and enjoyable couple of hours. I hope she makes some changes though, especially with her character types (maybe the hero could be quirky, spunky, and fun and the heroine could be stoically bent on revenge and honor). It's not that I don't like them so much-it's that she seems bored with them.
I recommend this book to those who enjoy comfortable reads. There are no surprises here, but instead a steady (if not spectacular) enjoyment.
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28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Might be time for a sabbatical, April 18, 2000
The book contained many elements previously visited by the author. The only thing wrong with this is that her fans know for a fact that the author can do a much better job with all of them than she has in her recent works.
Heroine has undeserved reputation: This was fairly well developed in Zinnia (Jayne Castle), but I never felt like the 'the wicked widow' suffered from her reputation, juicy as it was.
Hero plots long and complicated revenge: In this book I felt like the revenge was too long in coming, yet not very complicated. Surely it didn't take him 5 years to come up with a phony-investment con job? Not to mention the way he loses interest before following through. It disturbed me to find him calmly interviewing one of his dead lover's rapists because his new lover's problems have become his priority.
Heroine has prejudices that cause relationship conflict: While the heroine plays lip service to not trusting Vanza types, I never felt like this was truly a barrier between her and the hero. This was much better done in the Gift of Gold/Fire books (Jayne Ann Krentz), and much more humorously done in Zinnia.
I can only assume that the author's getting tired of the same ol' thing. I hope that she finds material that she can be passionate about again.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Reads Like a Scooby Doo Mystery, May 3, 2000
I have been waiting to read this book for a year, so I was quite disappointed that it didn't live up to the expectation I was harboring. For the past few years, Jayne Anne Krentz's historicals (written as Amanda Quick) have been sadly lacking. The heroes are no longer titled, the attraction between the heroes and heroines are no longer so ... I don't know ... what's the word ...primal, maybe? And now Quick is placing more emphasis on the mystery than on the relationship. Even then I'd have given the book a 4 if the mystery didn't read like something straight out of a Scooby Doo show.
Granted, Krentz/Quick is an author I'm more critical of than others because she's so exceptionally talented. Nevertheless, her historicals and contemporaries have both been missing that something special lately that makes it worth paying for a hardcover.
My advice is two-fold: (1) wait for the paperback and switch to her futuristics (under the name Jayne Castle). Her futuristics are still 5+ stars.
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