Rating: 
Summary: Deadly Desire
Review: I LOVE Brenda Joyce's "Deadly" series. I've become "attached" to her main characters and I hope that #5 is not too far away and that she continues with the series for a long time.
Rating: 
Summary: The Fourth Book Lost Me!
Review: I love this series. I really do. But you just don't know how frustrated I was that after buying all four books, there is no resolution to the series. Everything is still left up in the air, and according to Ms. Joyce's Web site, there is no guarantee that she'll be able to continue with the series. (She has no contract as of yet with her publisher to write anymore of the Deadly series.) I was a little angry about that. I have been trusting her all the way, but this book really bugged me. And with one book coming out every month, the publisher and the author gave the illusion that the series would wrap up by the last book. Shame on both of them.Now to the book itself: The mystery that opens in this book goes unsolved. Multiple characters are introduced and then left dangling with no explanation. Even the love story that was so compelling in the other three books jarringly goes off course and another hero is substituted. The story line with the sister is just stagnet. I won't spoil what happens, but I wish I had stopped at book number three. I know lots of people have loved this book, so I may be the odd woman out, but I felt compelled to write this review. I hope Ms. Joyce can get her publisher to let her at least write one more book to wrap this story up. I feel really disappointed that the series wasn't planned better.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but too many errors.
Review: I loved the story and the characters. However, Ms. Joyce and/or her editors should have proofread this book better. There are noticeably more than the average number of typos (some constituting real words which leave you confused for a few moments until you figure out what she really meant to say). Also, a few story consistency errors - example: one man's wife's grandfather is referred to as the woman's grandfather and then a sentence or two later, he's referred to as the man's father-in-law (should be "grandfather-in-law"). In addition, the tendancy for people to be incredibly over-politically correct really annoys me, but even being of German descent, I was offended by Ms. Joyce's choice for the Indian character's last name as "Savage" - not that it isn't a legitimate surname, but I think it shows obvious insensitivity and poor judgment on her part to use it for that character.
Rating:
Summary: heroine is a tad overwrought
Review: I might have given it more stars if the heroine were more intelligent and less overwrought. I did enjoy reading it, but Fran seems too obsessed with Bragg to think coherently. She disapproves of her brother-in-law's fidelity but yet she can kiss/make out with Bragg. I find it unbelieveable that she could have forgetten to tell Bragg about his wife's impending return to NY since it has consumed her mind for several days. I was growing tired of her lies whenever anyone implied she was interested in Hart, whom I preferred to Bragg. (At least he isn't married!) I also thought she could have wounded Craddock before he captured her because he didn't seem to have a gun at that point.
Rating:
Summary: couldn't put it down....
Review: I read Deadly Affairs and Deadly Desire back-to-back. I started reading this at 7am and finished it at 2pm (cleaning the house in between) I had to know the outcome!! Deadly Desire picks up right where Deadly Affairs ends. The romance between Bragg and Francesca heats up and we meet Braggs family, as well as the infamous Mrs. Bragg, Rick's Wife. Ms.Joyce raises the stakes with several delicious twists in the plot..in fact, I find it difficult to believe that this is the final book in the Francesca Cahill series. Ms. Joyce has once again left much of the plot hanging at the end of this 4th book..with much indication that there MUST be at least a 5th book to wrap it all up!!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent but you must read the whole series.....
Review: i read Deadly Desires first and realised during it that there were 3 other books written already in the series. i loved the book-particularly because i found the characters and their lives so engrossing. i've since read the rest of the series and a lot of things in Deadly desire fell more completely in place. The heroine Francesca Cahill is admirable, young and gutsy. It was a surprise to me to find that there are actually two heroes and that Francesca may end up with either one of them. I strongly favour Hart Calder who is half brother to Rick Bragg, the man that Francesca fancies herself in love with at the moment. Throughtout this book there is a compelling and ever increasing chemistry between Francesca and Hart but currently there is no strong evidence to suggest which one of the two Francesca will end up with. whoevever Brenda Joyce eventually pairs Francesca with will no doubt leave many readers disappointed as both heroes are popular. i suspect that some readers may not like the fact that the heroine is attracted to two different men .she is convinced that she is in love with Rick but he is married already although estranged from his wife. It has to be kept in mind that Deadly Desire is the latest in a series and to enjoy it one will have to want to read the rest of the series otherwise too many questions are left unanswered which 'one of readers' might find unsatisfactory.
Rating:
Summary: heroine is a tad overwrought
Review: I received one of Brenda Joyce's Deadly series novels as a gift and upon reading it (Deadly Affair) I promptly went in search of the rest of the series. I have now read all four and enjoyed them thoroughly. My only real complaint though is that it is certainly time to heat up the romance issues for Francesa. I also wonder if Francesa has the guts to admit to herself that Calder is really her destiny. Rick isn't as honorable as he appears for he would not have enticed an innocent knowing he was already married albiet miserably. The subplots are fascinating and I hope we get answers in future publications to the Connie/Montrose issue (they both seem to have secrets) as well as the rest of the characters in this series. I'm definately hooked but will be sorely disappointed if there are not enough loose ends tied up in the next book.
Rating:
Summary: Great read!
Review: I think that Brenda Joyce really got a good series going this time with Deadly Desire beng the best so far. I love the relationship between Fran and Calder, they are perfect for each other. The author really kept the tension going and you can sense the intensity of feelings that Fran and Calder have for each other. Though Bragg is supposedly the hero, the way the series is going, Calder surely wins out because though he is highly attracted to Fran, he is in control and will not take advantage of her like how Bragg is doing it with her in the train and car. It seems that Calder deeply cares for and respects Fran. I really hope they end up together. Can't wait for the next of the series to come out.
Rating: 
Summary: $$$ ...
Review: I've enjoyed this author before and invested the bucks for the first three books of this series. That's about all I'll spend to discover the romantic conclusion of the characters (and I resent having to spend THAT much). I was totally disgusted to find there is no romantic conclusion! I may consider the public library for the next book. The author is talented and the mysteries are adequate, but by the 3rd book, it can be tedious. This series is a marketing scheme to milk as much moola out of readers as possible, and with recent events (9/11, corporate scandals...)its a shame and a disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: 3 1/2 stars: not quite what I was expecting but still fun!
Review: I've finally discovered the trick to letting go of several issues/reservations I have about Brenda Joyce's Francesca Cahill novels -- not to treat them as either mystery novels or romance novels, but more as historical novels about the continuing chronicles/saga of the Cahill family and everyone involved with and related to this family. This way, I give up throwing my hands up in despair over the fact that these novels are not really very satisfying mystery novels, and I stop obsessing about why Francesca's antics sometimes upset me so, and am able to just let go and enjoy the events that unfold before my eyes. For I'll admit this series is almost a guilty addiction. Francesca may (in my opinion anyway) be unhealthily engrossed with Police Commissioner Rick Bragg, but I'm dying to know how things will turn out for Sarah Channing (Francesca's about to be sister-in-law). Will she end her engagement with Evan Cahill and move on, hopefully to better things, and perhaps someone more interesting, mature and vital than that idiot Evan? I certainly hope so. Brenda Joyce (I think) seems to hint at such an outcome in this latest Francesca Cahill novel, and I'm thrilled. However on another note, I must own that I'm a little disappointed with "Deadly Desire," because the excerpts from the previous books had led me to believe that "Deadly Desire" would focus more on Sarah. Sadly the mystery of who trashed Sarah's studio and why was sidelined in favour of the subplot involving Bragg's sister, Lucy. Bragg's family are currently in town for a family reunion, and when Francesca meets Bragg's married sister, Lucy, she immediately senses a kindred spirit. Especially when Lucy insists on helping Francesca discover who has trashed Sarah's studio. However their joint investigation never really takes off. Francesca discovers that Lucy is being stalked. At first Lucy refuses to confide in Francesca. The stalking soon escalates to physical threats, and still Lucy refuses to confide in Francesca or to tell her family what's going on. Francesca however is determined to discover what trouble her new friend is in and to help her out no matter what. But even Francesca is unprepared for the sheer malevolence of what happens next. As usual, the bulk of this novel revolves around the several set issues that are affecting the members of the Cahill family: 1) Constance & Neil's falling apart marriage. May I say that I'm a little tired of this stale issue? I wish someone would either lock these two up in a room until they come to an understanding, or else (and I'm leaning towards this solution strongly) really shake them until their brains snap into place? 2) Evan & Sarah's engagement. Neither of them are really thrilled at being engaged to each other. And Evan is such a lightweight fribble. It looks as if (I'm crossing my fingers here) Brenda Joyce may be introducing a new character that may sweep Sarah off her feet. Let's hope these two get unengaged soon, and that Sarah finds happiness first! (petty aren't I?) And finally 3) the Franceca-Bragg-Hart triangle. Who will Francesca finally choose? And will either man be able to live with her decision? Tacked onto these issues is the subplot involving Lucy's troubles. It is a rather interesting subplot that sometimes seem to get lost in the mix. But I've come to expect this from this series, and so was not really flabbergasted this time around! "Deadly Desire" also (finally) introduces us to Bragg's estranged wife, Leigh Anne, as she puts in an appearance and makes her bid to come between Francesca and Bragg, thus adding to the tension as we wonder what on earth will happen next. I can see only one way out of all of this. But that would still leave the complication of Calder Hart (Bragg's half-brother) and Francesca's confused feelings for him. And why are Bragg and Hart constantly at odds with each other anyway? On the whole, I enjoyed "Deadly Desire" a lot more than the other books in the series. Either my approach has changed, or things finally 'gelled' with this book. However I was disappointed that the mystery for which I bought this book didn't really materialize. And that was a letdown. I rate this novel at a very strong 31/2 stars.
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