REVIEW: Without a Word by EC Sheedy

Jane B Reviews/ B Reviews Category/ Book Reviews E.C.-Sheedy, romantic-suspense

Dear Ms. Sheedy:

At the start of this book, neither the female nor the male protagonist is very likeable and I thought to myself that a real redemption was going to have to take place for this book to work. Ultimately, the suspense was such that I could give myself over to the story without caring for the individual characters.

Camryin Bruce is obssessed with having a child. Her obsession leads to the demise of her marriage as her husband becomes more of a fertility experiment than a partner. Camryn acknowledges she is at fault and while she lets her husband go, her dream of being a mother is not diminished.

Dan Lambert married Holly Grantman, a spoiled rich girl, in a weak moment. Holly's playgirl status doesn't end just because he put a ring on her finger. She's cheated and cheating on him, but he loves his stepdaughter Kylie and needs to repair his relationship with Holly or lose the one thing that matters.

Dan and Camryn's problems are solved when Holly is killed while out jogging. Cam is named the guardian in Holly's will and Dan baldly tells Cam that he'll do anything to remain close to Kylie. Dan and Cam appear devoted to Kylie and eventually work together to try to solve the mystery of Holly's murder in order to prevent another murder from happening. Dan’s character grew more sympathetic upon the revelations of his marriage to Holly and his clear devotion to his child.

There are several suspects in the story and the real killer of Holly Grantman is a shocker. This is a suspense book whose ending is truly a surprise. There is more than one villian in the story and each villian's motivations actually made twisted sense.

The romance aspect of the story was fairly weak. While I believed that Cam and Dan could be sexually attracted to each other, I doubted that they were really in love at the close of the book. I also felt that the issue of Cam's obsession with being a mother was conveniently solved by Kylie. Cam had never once considered adoption and therefore, her fanatical desire was more with carrying the child than being a mother. The strong suspense, however, made up for those flaws and this is a definite read for those who love a good thriller in the vein of Sandra Brown or Karen Robards. This is my first Sheedy but it won't be my last. B.

Best regards,

Jane