Customer Reviews

Without Warning

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What a thrilling, suspenseful read. I could not put this book down. Our heroine could be our friend or neighbour, and we step right into her shoes. She is psychologically consistent, and easy to empathize with. The place descriptions captured the essence of London and New England so well. I cannot wait for Ms West's next thriller.

Loved this book. Couldnt put it down. Finished it in 2 days. Had had it sitting on my bedside table for months and then couldnt believe I had let it sit there that long. I found myself casting the movie version (Mr. Spielberg?) with Jane Alexander, Michelle Phieffer, .. maybe George Clooney? Or maybe this could be Tom Hanks next Oscar! I was right there in the black London taxi with the narrator, and right there in New England with the accurate descriptions.. baby boomers will love this book- it has it all! When does the sequel come out?????

WITHOUT WARNING is the first book I've read by this author and I enjoyed it. If there's such a thing as a cozy mystery-thriller this is probably it (dead bodies, but no gore; plenty of interest-binding tension but no serious nail-biting). The story is well-paced and the writing is crisp. The author does an excellent job of setting up believable scenes without a lot of wordy description. And there's a whole cast of interesting characters.

The story takes off quickly after Emma Streat's husband is killed in the first chapter by a hit-and-run driver and the new widow has reasons to suspect it might not have been an accident. Emma is a strong, likable character who seems like a real person, although not quite developed enough to fully convince me that a CEO's wife would respond to some of the very threatening situations the way she did. (e.g. when common sense would say run-like-heck, Emma didn't, and I wasn't sure why). But, that's not a serious criticism; I was more than willing to suspend any small disbelief so I could get on with the story.

Eugenia Lovett West is a story-teller with an oddly refreshing "voice". I look forward to reading another book by her.

Emma Streat thinks that getting used to an empty nest is the only adjustment she will be making in her life, but she quickly learns that an international adventure is waiting just around the corner.

Once an opera singer and now married to the CEO of Galbraith Technologies, a leading high-tech company, Emma finds herself caught between despair over the loss of her husband and her home, and a desperate need to track down his killer. A new laser technology being developed within the high-tech weapons field is being coveted by someone determined to use it for the wrong purpose, and they will do anything to get their hands on the project details.

Within weeks of her husband's death, Emma must fight for her own life and travel the globe to follow clues that can help trace the killer. With her newly found crime-solving talent, Emma struggles to bring a murderer to justice and finds a new love interest along the way.

A cast of intriguing characters including Emma's family and friends, and her late husband's co-workers. Each adds flair to the novel and deepens the mystery as the story unfolds. Even O'Hara, Emma's dog, plays an important role as he is the only witness to her husband's murder, and the reason he had gone out for a morning walk.

Written in the style of the main character's scattered thoughts, I felt that the short phrases and sentence fragments in Without Warning were difficult to follow. Emma's thoughts often drift from her current situation to reminiscing about something that happened long ago or to imagining what might happen next-with the potential to temporarily confuse the reader about what is actually occurring in the story. Although most of the characters are well-developed and intriguing, I was disappointed by the lack of emotion displayed by Emma upon finding her deceased husband by the side of the road. Initially in shock, there is not expression of tearfulness until later in the storyline.

Armchair Interview says: Good characters really add to this mystery.