I'll Be Watching You

Taylor Halstead is abused by Gordon Mallory, her cousin's boyfriend; later that evening, after Taylor leaves, Mallory's yacht explodes, killing all the passengers. When Gordon's identical twin, Jonathan, becomes infatuated with Taylor, she thinks he's stalking her. Enter Reed Weston, who becomes Taylor's lover and is Mallory's attorney, and nothing goes right after that. Linda Emond's strong performance keeps up the suspense in this thriller. She portrays both brothers in unemotional tones and realistically conveys Taylor's growing stress at the predicament in which she finds herself. Gordon's parting words--"I'll be watching you"--haunt Taylor and twist the tension in very satisfying ways. M.B.K. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine

December 6, 2004
With red herrings this fishy, how come Kane's brainy heroic lovers don't figure out the psychopathic stalker's identity until almost too late? That's the real enigma in Kane's hardcover romantic suspense debut. When gorgeous psychologist and talk show host Taylor Halstead goes to bed with gorgeous attorney Reed Watson, Kane (Run for Your Life
, etc.) is in her element: "He was naked. She could feel every incredible inch of him, hot and hard and desperate to get inside her." The writer is a pro in the romance department, offering ample tenderness and lubricity, and the details of the talk show world are well researched and convincing. But the suspense plot relies on the predictable and improbable. The book opens with a brutal near-rape scene involving Taylor and her cousin's gorgeous but evil boyfriend, Gordon Mallory. Kane seems to dispose of Gordon (along with Taylor's beloved cousin) in a yacht explosion, only to introduce his egregious identical twin, Jonathan, several pages later. Among other unconvincing developments, the twins turn out to be their rich dad's illegitimate sons and one was repeatedly molested by their stepmother. Who's stalking Taylor? Is it Jonathan? No, it's got to be Gordon, right? But wasn't he dead? Where's he hiding? Thank goodness for the steamy sex, because the answers don't hold water. Agent, Andrea Cirillo.

Andrea Kane's latest is chock full of perfectly gorgeous women and hard-bodied men with chiseled features who engage in wish-fulfilling lovemaking. In a predictable plot, radio psychologist Taylor Halstead is nearly raped by Gordon, her cousin's boyfriend. Interrupted, he promises to finish the job later. Until then, he'll be watching her. That afternoon, Gordon is killed. Taylor feels safe--until the emails start and the stalking begins. Narrator Kathleen McNenny does well differentiating between Gordon and his identical twin brother, Jonathan. She is nicely understated when Taylor meets Reed Watson, a heart-stoppingly handsome, successful attorney. McNenny navigates the steamy sex scenes with aplomb. Unlikely occurrences, smart people acting stupidly, and contrived situations keep this from being first-rate, but it's pleasant enough entertainment for a rainy afternoon. S.J.H. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine