Couldn't Stop Listening.

I am a audiobook addict, have just finished listening to Dying To Please and had to write a review straight away. I couldn't stop listening to it, fabulous story, suspense, humor, great characters, raunchy sex and many congratulations to Susan Ericksen for the narration, spot on! She brings this book to life without fault. A MUST LISTEN!

19 people found this helpful

Nice mix of mystery and romance

STORY - The main character, Sarah, is a female bodyguard/butler who is caring for a retired judge who she cares deeply for. She is featured on TV due to her beauty and the novelty of her profession. Well...someone sees that broadcast who decides he is obsessed with Sarah, and the plot thickens. Then we have the detective who works the case, finds Sarah beautiful and strong...you get it. Who did it, why, and how can he be stopped, and how can the romance grow with everything else going on? Well, listen to this good book and find out!

PERFORMANCE - i have always loved Susan Erickson, and she delivers a great performance here as usual. The only reason I gave her four stars is because the material didn't properly showcase all of her talent. (Gotta save five stars for those!)

OVERALL - Some steamy sex and some cursing, but shouldn't be ultra-offensive to anyone but the super-sensitive. If you like mystery/romance books, I'd highly recommend this one.

7 people found this helpful

A perfect 10!

I would give this book a perfect 10 if I could.
Story = Excellent
Narrator = Excellent
Suspense, twists and turns, creepy characters and a top notch love story. I will listen to this one over again. Susan Ericksen is now my most favorite narrator!!

12 people found this helpful

Loved this story!

I've listed to several audiobooks and this one is on the top of the list of my favorites! After listening to High Noon by Nora Raberts I did a search of the other books narrated by Susan Eriksen and found this book. The narrator can either make an audiobook as wonderful as this one is or can completley ruin the story and in this case the story is enhanced by the excellent job of the narrator.

11 people found this helpful

Go, Linda!

I'm a huge Linda Howard fan and this book did not disappoint. The heroine was strong and sympathetic, the hero was charming and only modestly flawed, the villainous climax was tense, and the sexual heat was set on high.

I'd give it five stars but I want to leave her room to outdo herself.

7 people found this helpful

Awesome performance

Loved the story and the narrator’s acting. I had a few moments where I wished that the heroine was able to kick a few folks but that’s when I know I’m invested in her story. Being a military brat myself, I found myself empathizing with her. I find myself hoping that like any good TCK she adapted her plans and convinced Cahill to go on some trips with her.

1 person found this helpful

Oh dear.... NOT my cup of tea at all

This book is not really at all as described. I was expecting a thriller but this is just more soft porn than a good suspense novel. Nothing wrong with sex but not all of us want to read about/listen to graphically described sex scenes. This is the first book I have read by this author and will most assuredly be the last!!!

If you are a mystery/suspense/thriller connoisseur, you can do much better than this erotic romance novel masquerading as suspense.

1 person found this helpful

Author needs therapy.

The story was a bit thin and predictable. Also, the author's infatuation with excessive testosterone and pseudo rape was disturbing. The narrator, Susan Ericksen, did an amazing job, as always.

12 people found this helpful

Poorly written garbage, beautifully narrated

One of Linda Howard's weakest books. Narrator Susan Ericksen is very good, but the story turned me off. Detective Cahill really let me down. Some hero. Simply not enough trust, dialogue, or relationship development. I didn't laugh or even smile. Too much raunchy sex. Repeated mention of blood and splattered brain matter. Lest we forget?

But my biggest problem?? I could NOT believe Sarah had sex with Cahill after his big betrayal. What a crock! He needed to work hard to win her trust again. But nope. She's easy.

The epilogue was a waste. Mostly, it was Cahill mentally rehashing the case, just as if we didn't already know -- all along -- what Dunsmuir did, and what a psycho he was. Then, after Dumbo Detective mentally replays the entire case, the book ends with more sexy bondage and a declaration of love. I couldn't buy it.

Howard's writing is weak in this book. Repetitive, plus she focused on trivial details too much. Dump redundancy and trivia. Replace with dialogue and action.

Bottom line? Ick. But I do like some books by Linda Howard.

11 people found this helpful

Juvenile Story...Title s/b "Dying to BE Pleased!"

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I purchased this book for my wife and me to listen to on a vacation drive. We were both very disappointed with this book. We were expecting more of a murder mystery, but this book seemed to focus more on an unrealistic "everything woman" (beautiful butler/bodyguard, excellent marksman, martial arts specialist; who does housework, buys groceries, and manages a household), and her lust for pleasure with an unrealistic "everything man" (ex-military doctor, who is now a policeman/investigator with a small town police force). At some point, we asked the question, "Hey, did these people forget there was a murder that happened?" Judging from the reviews (I have seen only one other negative review), this book obviously has a lot of appeal to a certain segment of readers. At the risk of coming across as sexist, I will say that my guess is that this book would be more liked by female readers who possibly lack sexual passion in their lives; or by male readers who dream of having a Victoria's Secret model who does his housework in lingerie, goes to the gun range or fishing with him, and allows him to handcuff her and have his way with her whenever he wants.

What could Linda Howard have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Focus on and develop the murder mystery story-line more... Be less juvenile sounding in the love (lust) scenes. This book sounded like it was written by a freshman in college!

Have you listened to any of Susan Ericksen’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I don't recall hearing any other Susan Ericksen narrations. With this book, she did a good job, albeit with bad material.

Any additional comments?

This is my first and last Linda Howard book.

14 people found this helpful