TEST
I hadn’t heard anything about this book, but it looked good and it had a cop as a hero (which I just love) so I picked it up. I am so glad. I found myself unwilling to put it down, even while I was having dinner with my husband! And after thumbing through it a second time, it was just as good as the first time, even though I knew what was going to happen.
This book begins with a bang. Carly Terry wakes up thinking she dreamed about a night of wild sex with a stranger, when she realizes that the dream was actually real life, and she doesn’t remember much else about the previous 48 hours. She’s apparently traveled across country to California, someone has put in hair extensions and hair color, dressed her in someone else’s clothes, and done something that made her forget what’s going on.
This sets up a story that unravels as Carly begins to remember things. Nick, the handsome stranger and cop she wakes up with, does not believe her at first, then he does, but when Carly disappears, he begins to doubt again. Here we’ve got two big plot cliches — amnesia and the big misunderstanding. However, Pershing moves past the potential stumbling blocks with ease. The reason for the amnesia and the plot behind it distinguish it from other similar devices and the misunderstanding happens early enough that everything else works well. I don’t want to give anymore away and spoil it!
Carly is a vulnerble woman. She’s fragile and has trouble trusting Nick. Carly has a deathly fear of cops because of her father. He was the chief of police in her hometown and used his power and authority to make his children behave. In Carly, this has manifested itself into shyness and quietness and a fear of police. She keeps refusing to go into the police station once she realizes what her memories connect her to. This could have turned Carly into a wimpy, poor me kind of woman, however, by the end of the book, Carly has overcome these fears and turns into a true heroine – one you’ll cheer for in her scenes at the climax of the book.
Pershing unravels her mystery at a steady pace that keeps you involved in the story. While I usually don’t buy the in-love-in-three-days-time bit (the book starts on Sunday morning and ends Wednesday afternoon), here it works because of the intensity between Carly and Nick. Pershing also creates an interesting secondary character in Nick’s partner Dom, and Dom’s little brother makes a very brief, but cute, appearance.
Carly and Nick have a very intense connection. There is an abundance of chemistry, but trust issues on both sides keep them in an emotional tug-of-war. This book works on two levels: the mystery adds excitement to the plot, while forcing the characters to deal with their emotional issues.
Part of the reason I liked this book so much was because it tied Carly’s past with her present quite nicely. The bio in the front of this book says that Pershing has been, among other things, an actress and TV writer who does voice overs, currrently as Poison Ivy on the “Batman” cartoon. If only most TV shows had this quality of writing! If you’ve got the time to sit down and read this one in one sitting, and if you like suspense, I highly recommend While She Was Sleeping.
Grade: A
Book Type: Series Romance
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 29/06/98
Publication Date: 1998/05
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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.