TEST
Bethany Campbell is a three-time RITA winner – twice for her traditional Harlequin Romances, once for single-title romantic suspense – but it’s her books for Harlequin’s Intrigue line that are some of my favorites. I love all four of them for different reasons: Pros and Cons for its clever plot and the banter between its uptight heroine and con artist hero; The Roses of Constant for its amoral antihero and twist ending; Dead Opposites for its creepy atmosphere and isolated winter setting. Child’s Play doesn’t have one thing that jumps out about it, but it may be the strongest overall, perfectly balancing suspense and character.
Rachel Dale and Jay Malone are summer residents at Black Bear Lake in Sangria, Missouri. They have nothing in common. Rachel is a doctoral student in psychology, working on her dissertation. Jay is a professional hockey player, seeking an escape after the death of his wife. They likely never would have met if it weren’t for their young children.
Rachel’s daughter Mercer is bossy and hyperactive. Jay’s son Kip is quiet and fragile. Somehow the two children form a close bond at the play group they both attend. The situation doesn’t sit well with either parent: Jay, who can’t believe his son’s best friend is a girl, nor Rachel, who doesn’t like or approve of Kip’s rough, rude father. Then one day, Thornton, the learning disabled nephew of the woman who runs the play group, tells Mercer and Kip a story about murder and monsters that terrifies them. Rachel and Jay both lodge complaints about the young man scaring their children. They never imagine that his story might be real, or that knowing it would put them and their children in danger.
Campbell was one of the earliest Intrigue authors to blend complex characterizations with her strong mystery plots, and this book exhibits both. The mystery is good. It’s a little more grim and mainstream than the usual series suspense book, demonstrating the voice she would later use in her single-titles. One nice touch is how many chapters end with passages from the killer’s “confession,” offering glimpses into the murderer’s motivation while the mystery slowly unfolds.
But the characters are what remain embedded in my memory. Mercer and Kip are two indelible personalities, as vivid as any adults. Rachel is an interesting heroine, an academic used to thinking things through in a rational way suddenly confronted with events that can’t be dealt with quite too clinically. As with many of Campbell’s couples, she’s the opposite of the hero, cerebral to his raw physicality.
Jay is very much an alpha male, whose rage is always simmering beneath the surface, threatening to burst loose. He’s filled with helpless anger, but no longer has the outlet for it he once had on the ice. First his wife was killed by a drive-by shooter while shopping for pajamas for their son. Then the killer got off with a light sentence, his behavior explained away by psychologists (which naturally adds a layer of conflict to his relationship with Rachel). Now he has to cope with a sensitive son he can’t relate to at all, who seems almost afraid of him. No matter what he tries to do, it always turns out wrong. He brought Kip to Black Bear Lake to get away for the summer, only to realize too late that the isolated setting was all wrong for the boy. He’s a memorable hero, rough and masculine. The line that speaks volumes for me is one he utters to the villain near the end, “Touch my kid and I’ll kill you.” The relationship between father and son is one of the book’s strongest, with a number of poignant scenes.
Campbell strikes a good balance between the suspense element and the characters, who are never lost in the mystery plot. She even manages to carve out distinct personalities for the secondary characters that brings them to vivid life in just a few lines, like poor, tragic Thornton, the unfortunate nose-picking Sean Alan Menander, and his annoying mother. That’s no mean feat for such a short book. One aspect that helps sustain the mood is the dark, gloomy feel that permeates the story. It adds to the poignant tone even in the character moments. Normally scenes with children in jeopardy don’t work for me at all and are the last thing I want to read about. The climax of this story does involve Jay, Rachel and their children being threatened by the killer, but it unfolded in a way that didn’t feel as though the author was exploiting the children’s presence as a cheap way of generating suspense. Instead, it leads to key emotional moments that are very moving. I can’t imagine the story without the climactic scenes. I wouldn’t want to.
Child’s Play is that rare mystery-oriented romance that provides the emotion and complex personalities of a character-driven tale. It’s no knock on the mystery Campbell writes when I say it’s the characters that stick out. I just enjoyed them that much, watching four very different people come together and slowly adjust to one another. The bonds between parent and child and man and woman lead to a number of powerful moments and moving scenes before reaching a happy ending that couldn’t be any sweeter. Anyone looking for an edgy, fast-paced mystery plot and most memorable characters will find them here.
Grade: A
Book Type: Romantic Suspense|Series Romance
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 28/06/04
Publication Date: 1992/09
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Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.