In this story, personal drama, romance, and the supernatural are poured into one mold, in some ways successfully, in others not so. The famous author Ford Newcombe’s beloved wife dies and leaves him waddling in grief and unable to write. Newcombe meets a young girl Jackie and becomes interested in an incident Jackie tells that happened in a town called Cole Creek. Newcombe moves to Cole Creek to investigate the story, taking Jackie with him as his assistant. There, they discover the truth about the incident and about themselves.

This novel has plenty of plotting in it, but some of the secondary characters' portrayals and the main focus of the story are not convincing. The traits of the characters and the way the characters act do not agree, and their traits feel like masks pasted on characters; however, Ford and Jackie can be considered as strong characters with interesting traits.

On the plus side, the writer uses dramatic irony effectively. Jackie does not recall that she has witnessed the incident as a child, but the reader is in on to her role in the story before Jackie finds out about it.

What is disconcerting, however, is the treatment of the second character Jackie Maxwell's subplot as the main storyline until very close to the end. I believe this is the weakest point in the construction of this novel. When suddenly, after investing a great deal of reading time, the reader finds out that the protagonist Ford Newcombe is the one the devil --antagonist-- is after and Jackie’s story might as well not be told, the reader feels betrayed. If the switch between the real story and the sub-story could be eased in more smoothly, and instead of seizing the entire first chapter, Ford Newcombe’s backstory could be inserted into the novel more slowly, the reader's disappointment could be avoided.

The writer uses the language well, and the descriptions of the settings are vivid and dramatic. The story is narrated from the first person viewpoint of Ford and Jackie in alternating chapters.

passing time, if you have time to kill.

the portrayals of the characters and the trajectory of the story that lost its focus.

Jude Deveraux is a romance writer best known for her medieval romances. She has a few time travel, paranormal, and contemporary romance novels, also. Some of her books are: The Enchanted Land, Forever, Forever and Always, Always, Casa Grande, Remembrance, Legend, An Angel for Emily, The Blessing, Temptation, The Summerhouse, Counterfeit Lady, The Mulberry Tree, First Impressions, Carolina Isle, The Montgomery Family, Middle Ages, The Heiress, Mountain Laurel, The Raider, The Raider, A Knight in Shining Armor, James River Saga, Holly, The Invitation - a book of short stories and several anthologies.

The recommendation for this book will have to depend on the reader's taste. Although, I loved Jane Eyre and a few others, it may be just that I don't like romance novels that seem to have come out of the same mold with different hues.

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Created Dec 12, 2007 at 5:16pm • Submit your own review...