Dear Author: Romance Book Reviews, Author Interviews, and Commentary

The winners of the Karen Rose, Scream for Me, Giveaway are listed below:

I have 20!! copies of this great hardcover to giveaway. Drop a comment and let me know why you are interested in reading this book.

Dear Ms. Rose:

Congratulations on going hardcover. It’s a tough time to make the move, what with the cratering economy and all. Even before it cost be $10 to drive from home to work and back again everyday, I always held hardcover books to a higher standard. After all, at the increased price, the book had to be 3 times as good as other books because of the foregone opportunity cost. (e.g. I could buy 3 paperbacks at the price of 1 hardcover). While Scream for Me isn’t a perfect book, I’d still rather read it than three other romantic suspenses on the market.

Before I talk about what I liked (which was most everything, particularly the romance), I’ll state what I thought was the major flaw of the story. This book is part two of a set of three stories. The first is Die For Me and without having read it, I do wonder whether readers will be lost. …

Dear Ms. Rose:

This may be a week of talking about under appreciated gems. You consistently put out strong suspense stories with an qually strong romance. I also appreciate the thematic approach to have your books.

Die for Me’s theme was families–the families that we create and the families we are born with. Regardless of what you feel about your family, their actions can reflect on you.

Vito Ciccotelli, a detective from Philadelphia, comes from a large family. His parents are still alive. His brothers are very close, at least one of them has lived with him at one time or another. Vita has always believed that he would have a family as well. Vito is unafraid of love. To some extent he embraces it and what it would mean for the creation of his own family.

Sophie Johannsen, an archeologist, has a family is one that she created and was, in part, created for her. Her mother figure is her grandmother, a former famous opera singer. Her father figure is her uncle by marriage. Her view …

Dear Ms. Rose:

Having read four of your six releases, I feel confident in saying that you consistently deliver a good suspense with a believable romance. You regularly villianize certain professionals (defense lawyers and journalists), but your provocative themes along with strong characterizations make for a non stop reading adventure.

Tess Ciccotelli is a psychiatrist with a promising practice until her patients start killing themselves. What is worse is that her patients seemed to be driven to kill themselves by Dr. Tess herself. Evidence from the crime scenes show hallucinegetic drugs with her finger prints on it; her voice is recorded as taunting the victims. Dr. Tess becomes the prime suspect and her life begins to fall apart as the press villifies her and the licensing board begins to review her competency.

Aidan Regan is convinced that Dr. Tess is at fault for the murders of her patients and sets out to prove it. In the course of the investigation, Aiden’s thinking is changed and he begins to not only believe that Tess is a victim, but he begins to care for her. This makes the real killer all …

Dear Ms. Rose:

Geez, I must have my head in the sand/dirt/whatever to have only just now started reading you. Apparently you won the 2005 RITA Award for Best Romantic Suspense. Having read this book, I can see why. This is a taut, on the edge of your seat kind of suspense with a really well done romance that never seemed to be overtaken by the suspense.

Kristen Mayhew is Assistant State Attorney who prosecutes alot of sexual crimes. She’s got a high winning percentage and like most lawyers not named Gerry Spence, she loses them too. A kind person has taken it upon himself to avenge her losses by killing the criminals who have gotten off on technicalities. He sends her evidence of his crime and addresses letters to her that sympathize with her losses.

Complicating the matter is an overzealous and unscrupulous reporter and the gang members of some victims and the mob-like father of a victim both of whom believe that Kristen must know the killer. All three endanger Kristen’s life in one way or another.

Abe Reagan is a man who suffered …