Very....interesting.... | Dark Summer

I finally gave up | Dark Summer | Iris Johansen

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	• Dark Summer Iris Johansen St. Martin's Press, 2008 - 384 pages average customer review:based on 20 reviews view larger image
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3.5 STARS.....GOOD READ!!!

Devon Brady is an annoying (to me) but devoted veterinarian who routinely takes her dog Gracie on search and rescue missions. Their current disaster site--on an island, to assist in locating earthquake survivors--turns out to be quite a bit more than she bargained for. When a stranger brings his rescue dog in for treatment of a gunshot wound, Devon is suspicious. Who is this dog--and his handler, for that matter--that she has never seen before and who clearly are not authorized to be on this mission? What she soon discovers is that there is a lot more to this handsome, mysterious stranger than an unreported search and rescue mission. He holds the key to a secret that people would kill to be in possession of. The minute that Marrok brought his dog in for Devon to treat, he put her in mortal danger.....

An interesting book, certainly. Dog lovers will adore the premise, if they can stand the human characters. A lackluster tale, frankly, in my opinion. Might make a decent movie, however......

DYB

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Very....interesting....

DARK SUMMER is a thriller/romance with paranormal overtones. Betcha ya haven't run across too many of those before have ya? As the story opens Jude Marrok and his Lab rescue dog Ned are on a mission searching for earthquake survivors when they are attacked by a sniper. Marrok manages to get his wounded dog to the vet, Devon Brady who is working with the group. Together they care for Ned but in the morning Devon finds that Marrok has left, leaving Ned in her care until he comes to claim him later. Devon manages to get the dog back into the US despite his not having any of the required paperwork and takes him home. In a short time though Devon finds her quiet world shattered as she, and much of her extended family, are swept into a shadowy world of intrigue.

As this novel begins it seems like a standard thriller of the Clive Cussler variety, 'mysterious man forced by circumstances to bring innocent woman into danger - romance to follow'. A few pages later though darker subjects are hinted at, things of a possibly supernatural nature. A few pages after that the focus shifts to deeply wounded Devon and her tragic past for a dash of soap opera flavor. Before the final pages there are spies, and conspiracies, more tragic pasts, super secret semi magical groups and no body ever seems to ever have to worry about anything as mundane as paying for it all. This could have ended up being one of those terrible messes that leaves the reader wondering how on earth it ever got published in the first place but somehow it all works. Yes, if you try to describe it to anyone it might sound odd to say the least but it IS a fun read albeit in a guilty pleasures sort of way. On a down side though at times it seemed as if some events were just shoved in almost as if there was a requirement to have this much sex, this much violence, this much pathos etc rather than just having a story in mind and telling it.

Fans of Iris Johansen will be happy to see some characters from some of her previous books although it is by no means necessary to have read any of her other books to enjoy this one.

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I finally gave up

Although it's not my nature to give up on a book less than half way through, I simply could not get into the plot or identify with the characters....except for Ned, the dog....
Characters were killed.....for no fault of their own....and after about 10 minutes of grieving or even thinking about them, those friends were forgotten.
I was anxious to begin since I've read other books by Johansen and really enjoyed them.
I don't like to give a negative report but I believe 3 stars is actually more than it deserves.

It begins with a single shot.

Devon Brady is a devoted veterinarian working in a makeshift hospital on a remote search and rescue mission. When a man arrives with his wounded black Lab, Ned, she has no idea that she is about to be plunged into a whirlwind of terror and destruction.

Jude Marrock is out for revenge and has no choice but to involve Devon in a high-stakes cat-and-mouse game with an escalating body count. She doesn?t trust him one bit, but when the shots start flying and friends start falling, she finds herself with nowhere else to run. And there are innocent lives, both human and animal, at stake, including Ned and his mysterious pack. Is Jude her salvation or her damnation? Are the secrets he?s protecting worth killing for . . . or dying for?

With a lightning-fast pace, unforgettable characters, and gut-wrenching action, Dark Summer is compelling new terrain for this master storyteller.

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