Whispers at Midnight

January 13, 2003
Like the junkyard mongrel who plays a pivotal role in the plot, this latest by the prolific Robards is a mix of breeds: Southern gothic, suspense and rough-and-tumble romance. It is sweltering summer when recently divorced spitfire Carly Linton returns to smalltown Benton, Ga., to open a bed and breakfast in the Victorian mansion she has inherited from her grandmother. She, her pet cat Hugo and her formidable business partner, world-class cook Sandra, arrive on a rainy midnight to find the electricity off and evidence of a prowler. When Carly runs screaming away, she is pinned to the ground by hunky Sheriff Matt Converse, who just happens to be in the area. Matt was Carly's hero in high school, but he treated her the way he treated his three younger sisters—until prom night, when he succumbed to her wiles and regretted it. He ignored her thereafter and 12 years later she hasn't forgiven him, though she still finds him irresistibly attractive. Persistent harassment by the prowler, who seems to be a stalker, lands Carly a police escort. With Matt following her everywhere, she is mostly safe from violent attack, but must endure Matt's less-than-romantic attentions ("She wasn't the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. Hell, she wasn't even the most beautiful woman he'd ever fucked"). The appearance of a stray dog dubbed Annie provides comic relief and also yields clues to the stalker's identity—it seems Carly's not the first woman he's targeted. Robards is a lively storyteller, but some readers may be taken aback by Carly and Matt's earthy courtship ("Carly was visited by a moment of extreme thankfulness that... she'd had her breasts enhanced") and the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink plotting. 6-city author tour.

August 12, 2002
After her divorce, Carly moves back home, where she hopes to act up a little by seducing bad boy-turned-sheriff Matt. But then it appears that someone is after her, and she needs Matt for other, more pressing reasons.

Copyright 2002 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2003
Carly Linton is returning to Benton, Georgia, to open a bed-and-breakfast in the house her grandmother left her. She hasn't been back since she was 18, and now, with a failed marriage behind her, she returns to start over again at the only home she ever had after her mother deserted her when she was eight and her stern grandmother took her out of the county orphanage a few days later. Her only friend was the outcast Matt Converse, on whom she had a tremendous crush and to whom she gave her virginity after the prom only to have him ignore her afterward. When she arrives, she finds that Matt is now the town sheriff, busy checking out her old and now very spooky house. Their reunion sets off sparks of hostility, and maybe something else, and not only does Carly's welcome home include the very someone she hoped to avoid but also a burglar, and something even more ominous--someone is watching her. Matt is determined to be her protector, but Carly can't figure out who her enemy is. Meanwhile, she and Matt rediscover each other with such sizzle that when they get together, the reader feels the heat, making the latest by the ever-prolific and pleasing Robards a great book to keep readers warm on a cold winter's night.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)