Book Review: Paradise County

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Paradise County     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Karen Robards
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Romantic Suspense
Pocket, Nov 2000, $24.95, 352 pp.

In Kentucky, Whistledown horse farm manager Joe Welch finds the owner Charles Haywood dead in a barn. Joe thinks Charles committed suicide since the deceased smelled of alcohol and a gun with a discharged bullet was near him. After the funeral, Charles' daughter Alexandra fires Joe, giving him thirty days to leave. Joe refuses intending to complete his current contract forcing Alexandra to explain that the horse farm is bankrupt and she will have to sell its assets, the horses.

Alexandra, a renowned photographer, spends the night at Whistledown for the first time in a quite a while. She gets spooked when she hears breathing in her room with no one there. She and her teenage sister Neely flee to Joe's house. At the same time, a psychopathic killer tortures a young lady who looks similar to Neely. Over the next few weeks, Alex and Joe fall in love, but happiness eludes them when her sister and his son Eli vanish.

Karen Robards has a unique writing style that provides readers with a fresh voice with every new novel she publishes. PARADISE COUNTY is a high caliber romantic suspense novel featuring realistic characters struggling with a rainbow of feelings. The steamy romance between the adult couple is counterbalanced by the sweet relationship between Neely and Eli. Ms. Robards knows how to raise the temperature on several levels with a strong tale that will excite sub-genre readers.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner