The Chase

Rating:
Summary: Great read
Review: I really enjoyed this book! The characters were perfectly matched and the device that BJ uses by taking us back in time is simply wonderful! Though I must say I did get more caught up in the love story that happened between Rachel and Eddy then Claire and Ian! Though Claire and Ian had more potential, but they didnt have enough time to dicover or explore there true depth! The only reason I gave this book 4 stars is because my 5 stars is reserved for the Deadly series!
Thanks Brenda for another Great book!

Rating:
Summary: Tedious Claire
Review: I too wondered who would bother to be around Claire, as detective. She was tediously strident and annoying. There just wasn't enough romance building time between she and Ian and it wasn't believable that he could fall for her given her behavior. I felt it was a waste of money and am mad at myself for buying it.

Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time
Review: I've enjoyed other books by this author, but I think she's had a recent brain transplant, because this book is awful. It was trite, predictable, implausible, and boooooring. Very disappointing; I'm angry that I wasted my money on it.

Rating:
Summary: Good Grief!!
Review: Is Claire supposed to be likeable,clever and witty? I found her to be petulant, manipulative and intrusive. Why would a man who works for the FBI agree to engage her as a 'partner'; one attached with not just white glue, but Krazy Glue!
I especially winced at the part where Ian and Claire were being pursued by a man in a black BMW,when he caught up with them and got out of the car, it turned into a Mercedes! OOPS! Where was the editor on that one?? Or was there a ferry-god-mother on the loose?? o-well, what the heck, they are both German made vehicles.
The story line gains a smidgen of strength when BJ introduces Rachel and tells the story within the story. However; the depiction of 'true love' occuring within the amount of contact that Eddy and Rachel had was less believable than a Hollywood movie romance. I think they had one 'official' date before they married; and that was spent rolling in the hay and Rachel offering up her virginity to a virtual stranger!
The morning after they married and broke into Elgin's slum apartment,Rachel was appalled at a 'look' she had never before seen on Eddy's face. If the marriage had lasted, I am afraid Rachel would have been in for a lot of little surprises. But thank goodness it is all fiction; which leaves me wondering why BJ couldn't have done a more believable job since the only limitation to the story was her imagination.
This was my first Brenda Joyce book and my last....


Rating:
Summary: The Chase
Review: OMIGOD! THE CHASE is the best thing Brenda Joyce has ever written. Terrific suspense, fantastic plot, and the greatest ever characters that step right off the pages and knock you for a loop. I couldn't put it down until I finished it. Ms. Joyce has some of the best hooks beginning and ending each chapter that almost give you whip lash with each surprising encounter with clues, danger and cliffhangers as Claire Hayden and Ian Marshall are chasing after the man who murdered her husband. He is a man whose heinous crimes go back to World War II. Ian works for a special source that investigates war crimes. He is very good at what he does, and Claire is determined to be his partner and hangs onto him like Krazy Glue. Claire is a fantastic character that I think readers will love and admire for her gutsy spirit and determination. She's a glam-queen, a bedside mama, and one hell of a woman!

There are two story lines, one in present time in the USA, and the other during World War II set in England. This adds a lot to the story and certainly keeps the reader's interest. Ian and Claire are wonderful together too and the repartee between them will have you laughing it is so witty and sharp-the perfect foil for the coiled tension of whirlwind car chases and narrow escapes. The riveting characters, and the twists and turns are unbelievably effective and carry the story along at breakneck speed. The whole story is well put together and one that will appeal to both men and women.

"Brenda Joyce is awesome, magnificent, and she has a flair for giving her readers the knock out stories that keep you up all night reading. The Chase especially appeals to all the senses, it's very emotionally charged with edge of your seat action, and sensuous love scenes that are unforgettable. All in all, The Chase has all the right stuff in spades! Excellent writing by a skilled and talented storyteller who knows her characters inside and out! Brava!"

...

Rating:
Summary: Joyce cuts to The Chase with breakneck speed
Review: Sprawling has always been the trademark in Joyce's contemporary novels as in her gothic thriller House of Dreams (2001). Only this time round her scope has widened with sheer ambition to juggle both romance and suspense to a perfect pitch.

Within a day, Claire Hayden discovers her marriage to successful Sans Francisco attorney David becoming diluted and meets his enigmatic friend Ian Marshall who sparks her suppressed desires. Her husband is slashed in the throat after his birthday party presided by herself - and suspects sprout hideously including her art-collector father Jean Leon along with close friends William and Elizabeth. Even the lurking Ian Marshall is not spared either from her paranoia...

After this point, The Chase begins relentlessly with pulsating suspense where Claire teams up with Ian as a Nazi Hunter to link the murder of David to a German spy Elgan. The story interweaves from the contemporary to 1935 North Wales to connect a poignant sub-romance plot on Elgan's cousin Rachel with Ian's uncle Eddy. Murder, deceit and espionage spearhead Joyce's venture into WW2 with vivid portrayal of the historic Holocaust. Joyce has painstakingly created the ghoulish atmosphere through anti-Jewish sentiments, rampant air-raids and battles and accurate descriptions of armaments in RAF like Spinfire.

While the plot may be over-reaching and in different time-period, Joyce stays focused in her development of central characters and romance. Claire and Ian display palpable chemistry as the investigating duo; Rachel and Eddy as star-crossed lovers in WW2 with doomed fate resonates with tenderness. Equally good is the suspense that jolts you with twists and hooks to make readers plunge to the next chapter - and the rousing epilogue finishes the chase to a climactic showdown to unmask the killer and link the Caroubet portrait to the murder.

No less gripping is the car-chase sequence and sprayed bullets. The jugular action catapults the taut thriller to breakneck speed, fusing the dark mystery and multi-generational romance seamlessly. The Chase will leave you breathless - with awe - for Joyce is at her electrifying best.

Rating:
Summary: Strong romantic suspense
Review: They are having marital troubles, but still Claire Hayden throws a fortieth birthday bash for her spouse David though he told her he preferred nothing. While he gets dressed for the party, he tells her that he screwed up big time and she sees the fear in his eyes. He refuses to elaborate and she wonders when they stopped communicating. Later in the evening, Claire thinks David overindulged and is passed out somewhere. She finds him sleeping it off on a terrace chair until she gets closer and sees his throat has been sliced open.

Claire turns to David's cryptic friend Ian Marshall for answers and perhaps closure. Ian explains that the killer used a World War II era knife and is probably a former Nazi spy in hiding who has murdered with this MO before. She also learns that Ian is a Nazi hunter and insists she join him on THE CHASE of her husband's killer.

Fans of romantic suspense with the emphasis on the thrill will rejoice with THE CHASE, an action-packed tale told through two story lines that ultimately merge into one powerhouse theme. The plots take place in the present with the lead protagonists seeking a murderer and in World War II providing the background that leads to today's events. Readers will delight with the pair's investigation and want to see them on a future Nazi hunt. Brenda Joyce purveys a strong novel that will bring the highly regarded author many accolades from fans and reviewers.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Rivoting
Review: This is the first book I have read by this author and absolutely loved it. I love the depth of the storyline plus the romance I like mixed in with the mysteries I read. I will definitely be looking for more books to read by this author. I am, however puzzled on which "series" I should read since I liked this one. I don't want to go into a series with different characters until I finish these if it is a series. I went to the website but haven't received an answer.

Rating:
Summary: I could not believe how bad this book was!
Review: This is the first Brenda Joyce book that I have read, and if this typical of her writing style it will also be the last. When I read the backcover description of the story it sounded like something I would really enjoy - I could not have been more mistaken. The plot had promise, but the writing was awful. The book was full of mistakes and contradictions. The "witty banter" between Claire and Ian was supposed to make Claire seem charming (I think), but instead made her seem moronic. The fact that all Claire had to do to distract Ian from his intended plan was flash him a huge smile made him seem like a complete pushover. What a waste of time!

Rating:
Summary: A disappointing read
Review: This is the first Brenda Joyce novel I have read and I will probably not read another. I am a huge fan of Nora Roberts, Linda Howard, Elizabeth Lowell, Jayne Ann Krentz and Catherine Coulter so obviously enjoy books of this genre. I was looking forward to a new discovery (for me) but I found Claire, the protagonist, to be extremely annoying and thoroughly unlikeable and kept hoping that Ian Marshall would be successfull in his attempts to get rid of her. Their relationship felt contrived and implausible. Definitely not a book I would recommend.

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