TEST
Sooner or Later is a suspense novel with a romantic sub-plot and an interesting California setting. I have to admit my blatant bias – both the hero and the villain are alumni of my alma mater, UC Santa Barbara. I always enjoy settings of which I have first hand knowledge, so this was a fun book for me. It was enjoyable in other ways as well; the suspense was strong, and the characters were likable. The characters have occasional lapses of idiocy, but I was able to forgive them enough to enjoy the book.
This is one of those suspense novels where the villain is a known quantity. Right from the beginning, the reader is privy to his violent thoughts and his plans. The suspense lies in wondering where and when he will strike, and when the hapless characters will discover his identity.
The villain is the sociopathic Buck Duveen, who has just been released from the sanitarium where he has spent the last twenty years of his life. Now that he’s out, he is determined to exact revenge on the old woman who put him there, Charlotte (Lottie) Parrish. Buck has killed many times before, and he method is always the same – he strangles his victims and carves a cross in their foreheads. He plans to kill Charlotte in this way, but he has other plans for her grand-daughter, Ellie Duveen (who is also Buck’s half-sister). Buck has always been fascinated with Ellie, and he wants to have her for his own – then perhaps kill her as well.
Ellie was raised by her grandmother after her parents’ tragic death in an automobile accident when she was five. Now she is twenty-nine and owns a bistro in Santa Monica. Highly ambitious, Ellie plans to one day own a chain of five-star restaurants. She’s a workaholic who doesn’t take much time for romance, until she meets Dan Cassidy. Dan is a former New York cop who has just bought a winery outside of Santa Barbara. Like Ellie, he spends long hours trying to get his business off the ground. But once he and Ellie start spending more time together, they begin to fall in love. As they try to coordinate their busy lives, they are blissfully unaware that they are being stalked by a madman.
While this is primarily a suspense novel, the love relationship is a secondary theme, and it was my favorite part of the book. Ellie and Dan are both likeable characters with a lot in common, and I enjoyed watching them fall in love, even if they had to do it with a murderer stalking them. Both characters had a lot of little quirks that made them seem like real people.
The strong cast of secondary characters is also a real plus. Ellie’s grandmother Lottie was charming, as was her best friend Maya. Ellie’s bistro is full of difficult, artistic employees, and her interactions with them are fun to watch. For his part, Dan has a best friend from New York and an alcoholic wine master who only drinks whiskey.
The only character I didn’t much like was the creepy Buck Duveen, but then, I wasn’t supposed to. Be forewarned that the reader gets to hear plenty of Buck’s blood-thirsty thoughts; this is not a book for the faint of heart. Although we know Buck is the villain, the suspense is still there as he stalks his prey.
The problem I had with this book is that the characters occasionally suffer from a curious lack of common sense. You know, like on The X-Files, when Mulder and Scully decide to split up and search the dark building with flashlights just when the danger is greatest. Lottie’s lack of common sense set off the whole scenario in the first place. She knew Buck was a murderer, but she didn’t want to embarrass the family with a trial so she just had him committed. Then she got a little senile and forgot to pay his bills, so the sanitarium let him go. Whoops. Ellie’s problem is her amazing lack of curiosity. She first meets Buck at the Biltmore Hotel in Montecito, a wealthy suburb of Santa Barbara, then she sees Buck again the next day at her bistro in Santa Monica, and thinks nothing of it. Such a coincidence is not just odd, it’s astounding. Montecito and Santa Monica are very different cities, over an hour away from each other. If you had encounters with the same person in both places, you would be sure to notice, particularly if that person later demanded a tour of your home. Dan also has a lapse in judgment. After Ellie’s grandmother is killed, he remains remarkably unconcerned for Ellie’s life, even though one of the few items stolen from the home was a picture of Ellie. He sends her back off to Santa Monica with a nary a thought for her safety – odd behavior for an ex-cop.
I was willing to over look these brain lapses because I enjoyed the romance, the suspense, the characters, and the setting. If you like suspense, you will probably manage to forgive the characters for their occasional stupidity. If violence bothers you, you may want to skip this one.
Grade: B-
Book Type: Suspense
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 14/12/98
Publication Date: 1998
I've been at AAR since dinosaurs roamed the Internet. I've been a Reviewer, Reviews Editor, Managing Editor, Publisher, and Blogger. Oh, and Advertising Corodinator. Right now I'm taking a step back to concentrate on kids, new husband, and new job in law...but I'll still keep my toe in the romance waters.
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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.