Light in Shadow (Krentz, Jayne Ann. Whispering Springs Novel.)

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Summary: LOTS OF TWISTS, TURNS AND TREMBLING IN THIS TALE!
Review: Accomplished voice performer Joyce Bean keeps listeners' pulses pounding as she gives a thrill packed reading to Jayne Ann Krentz's latest first rate mystery.

Zoe Luce is a top notch interior decorator in the Arizona town of Whispering Springs. Krentz fans know that's not all Zoe is. She's also gifted with psychic powers - she knows immediately if she goes into a room where a crime has occurred. Did someone do in his/her spouse? The very walls let Zoe know it.

She is currently assisting recently divorced clients to redo their homes, all the better to begin a new life. However, could it be that her newest client, Davis Mason, murdered his ex-wife? She's convinced that he did, and to bring the dirty deed to light she hires private investigator Ethan Truax.

Ethan takes more than a shine to Zoe, and the feeling's mutual. But Zoe has a few secrets of her own, which Ethan soon discovers.

The path of their love isn't running smoothly at all - in fact, the more Ethan pokes around the more he endangers both of them.

Lots of twists, turns, and trembling in this one!

- Gail Cooke

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Summary: Terrific Romantic Suspense
Review: Crafty romantic suspense writer Jayne Ann Krentz is back again, this time with a tale chock full of greed, deceit, and unlikely romance. Interior designer Zoe Luce is quietly living her life in Whispering Springs, Arizona when a client asks her to redesign the master bedroom of his residence. But Zoe sometimes feels things that others don't, and the walls in this room "scream" that something terrible happened there.

Deciding to hire a P.I. to trace the whereabouts of the client's ex-wife, Zoe hires Ethan Truax, who just took over his uncle's one-man P.I. business. Two more unlikely lovebirds would be hard to find, but Ms. Krentz credibly shows that while they are physically attracted to one another, their underlying integrity is what makes their relationship click.

And finding the locale of the missing ex-wife is just the beginning of this suspenseful novel, as Zoe hires Ethan to discover who is blackmailing her to prevent them from revealing that she changed her name after she and friend Arcadia Ames escaped from the rest facility, Candle Lake Manor. Committed to the Manor by her deceased husband's family, Zoe is intent on staying free until she can expose her brother-in-law's role in her husband's death at the next board meeting.

With believable romance, spellbinding suspense, and several intertwined plotlines, this latest from author Jayne Ann Krentz is one of her best yet.

Rating:
Summary: I liked it but ...
Review: I love Jayne Ann Krentz's books, own virtually all of them (under all her names), and reread them regularly, like visiting favorite old friends. That said, I found this one just a tad disappointing. Her characters are always likeable, but I found Ethan somewhat less compelling than some of her other male protagonists, his character not so clearly written. Don't get me wrong, I want to think he's wonderful, it just didn't come across to me as clearly as some of her other characters. I wanted him to leap off the page. I was also disappointed that the relationship between Ethan and Zoe was left hanging, as it was with Lavinia and Tobias in the two Lake-March Amanda Quick books. I assume Ethan and Zoe will be back for further adventures (since this is called a Whispering Springs story, implying there will be others), so perhaps Krentz doesn't want to remove dramatic tension by solidifying their relationship too quickly, but if J.D. Robb can do it with Eve Dallas and Rourke, why can't Krentz do it with her main characters? After all, one of the elements of fantasy in the romance genre is the satisfying feeling you get when two characters you like figure out that they are essential to one another and no one else will do. When the commitment is lukewarm (even though that happens in real life), some of the air goes out of the balloon. There are plenty of contemporary novels out there with imperfect and uncertain relationships; that's not what I read romance for.

I also thought the solution(s) to the murders came out of nowhere. I would have liked there to be a few more hints so that I could really go along for the ride.

Even a disappointing work by Krentz is better than most of the other romances or romantic suspense out there, so don't hesitate to read this one. But I will continue to look for a little more in the next book.

Rating:
Summary: She's Back!
Review: I took a gamble and bought Light in Shadow without reading the reviews first. I hit the jack pot for this is vintage Krentz. Now that I have read the book and the reviews...a backward approach....I am delighted that the readers are again charmed by Ms Krentz's signature style. I too, have been disappointed in her recent works but all is forgiven with this charming tale. The story line grabs your interest from the first sentence, the plot twists and intrigues keep you on your toes and the interesting support characters are the icing on the cake.

My response to the negative reviews regarding Zoe and Ethan is I definitely felt the spark and liked the other sly hints of sparks with the other characters....rather interesting. I also disagree that one husband should mirror another. Life experiences alone can change the relationship needs of an individual. I liked the fact that both characters were strong enough to stand up to one another but not so much so that every scene became a battle of the sexes. The dry humor exhibited by both was a delight. Now all I need to make the literary world right is for this level of writing to carry over to Amanda Quick novels.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Guilty Pleasure
Review: Jayne Ann Krenz's Light in Shadow is a wonderful guilty pleasure, a romantic thriller that is well-done and compelling. The story of Zoe Luce, an interior designer with a hidden past is light fun reading. I definitely will read Truth or Dare, the sequel to this novel. I am sure it will be as much fun to read as this one. Enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty good, but something was missing
Review: Overall this is a good book, just not up to JAK standards. Zoe Luce is an interior designer who hears the walls scream. If something bad has happened in a room, for example a murder, she can strongly feel it. She's in Whispering Springs, Arizona hiding from her past. Ethan Truax is private investigator new in town. He's had 3 failed marriages, his older brother was murdered, and his business wasleft bankrupt. He recently arrived in Whispering Springs to be closer to his sister-in-law and nephews. His first client: Zoe. I would say sparks started to fly, only they didn't. In the first few chapters, I felt I missed something. After meeting each for the first time the reader is unaware of what they are thinking or feeling. Then it seems to jump to Zoe and Ethan having the hots for each other. This is unlike JAK's usual style. In addition, I think the ending rushed, leaving me feel that I had been left hanging. The killer was obivous, if a little out there.
Maybe the next book will be better.