Walking After Midnight

TEST

Karen Robards is a very uneven writer. Some of her earlier books are old-fashioned bodice rippers at their worst. In her most recent book, The Senator’s Wife, main character Ronnie Honneker is a selfish, greedy, air-headed, little twit and I’m being kind to describe her in those terms! But in 1995, Ms Robards published Walking After Midnight, an exciting contemporary romance. It is my favorite of her books, and the one I recommend when someone asks for a Karen Robards book.

Summer McAfee was always the rebel in her family. Despite their urging, she refused to go to college. Summer was attractive and wanted to be on her own so she went to modeling school and became a model for lingerie catalogues. Summer made a decent living, but she never reached the heights of a Victoria’s Secret model and then when she was only 25 she became “too old” to model.

Summer came back home, married a local doctor, Lem Rosencrantz, and settled down. But Lem turned out to be controlling and dictatorial. Summer could not please him, even when she became a better home-maker than Martha Stewart. In an effort to get back her model figure and keep Lem from making cracks about her weight, Summer became bulimic. Finally Lem left her for a younger woman. Summer took back her maiden name and turned to the only skill she had – cleaning. Summer started the Daisy Fresh Janitorial Service and has made a success of her business.

One night, Summer is cleaning the Harmon Brother’s Funeral Home when she comes across the battered, naked body of a man that she thinks is a corpse to be prepared for burial. Then the naked man sits up and grabs her by the throat.

The naked man is Steve Calhoun. He was a policeman who had been the center of a terrific scandal. Steve had been having an affair with Deedee, his best friend Mitch’s wife. When Steve broke off the affair, Deedee killed herself. A very steamy tape of Steve and Deedee showed up, made all the tabloids and was featured on Hard Copy. Steve lost his wife, his daughter, his name, his career – everything. Steve suspects that Deedee was murdered, the tape was altered and he was framed for trying to expose corruption in the police department.

Walking After Midnight is an extremely exciting book with almost non-stop action. From the beginning, Steve and Summer are constantly on the run, chased by those who are trying to kill Steve. Steve and Summer begin as adversaries, but soon these two battered people begin to respect each other.

Steve and Summer who make this a memorable book, and neither are particularly attractive at this point in their lives – Steve, for one, is a recovering alcoholic. But both are brave and resourceful and do not flinch at danger. Steve is the kind of man who does not not demand perfection in his woman. He is only too aware of his own flaws and scars and appreciates Summer for her courage and bravery in making her way from cast-off wife to successful businesswoman.

When I first read Walking After Midnight, one thing that struck me as odd, was that Deedee’s ghost made appearances throughout the book. At first, I found the ghost annoying but at the end, ghostly Deedee ties up all the loose ends in a nice neat bow and leaves the reader with a sense of completion. I’ve read Walking After Midnight several times and enjoyed it every time I’ve read it. It is one of my favorite road romances and Summer and Steve are one of my favorite couples.

Reviewed by Ellen Micheletti

Grade: A

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date: 15/11/98

Publication Date: 1995

Recent Comments …

  1. excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.

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