Saturday, July 2, 2011

Review: Don't Look Now by Linda Lael Miller

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Title: Don't Look Now
Series: Look Trilogy
Author: Linda Lael Miller
Read copy: eBook
Published: September 1, 2003
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing
ISBN: 074347600X
ISBN-13: 9780743476003

When hard-working attorney Clare Westbrook learns that her ambulance-chasing boss has been murdered, she's shocked—but not exactly surprised. Harvey Kredd was known for his less-than-ethical business dealings, and even his acts of generosity were tinged with greed; Clare, working at Kredd and Associates to pay off the law school loan Harvey had granted her several years before, knows she's got no choice: indentured servitude, twenty-first-century style.

But Harvey's death doesn't let Clare out of her contract with the firm; instead it brings her a new, odious multimillionaire client, and Tony Sonterra, homicide detective and local heartthrob, who's not above using a murder investigation to get back into Clare's life. Jump-starting her affair with Tony is the last thing Clare needs—she's got enough on her plate raising her niece, Emma, without throwing a bull-headed cop into the mix.

Then Clare gets the news that may convince her Tony is exactly what she needs: Emma's father has been released from prison, and he's intent on seeing his daughter. Though she could never persuade the police to believe her, Clare is convinced that James Arren murdered her sister.

Clare is determined to find evidence that will put James Arren away for good, but Tony is just as determined to keep her safe, after another murder—clearly meant to target Clare—rocks the law firm. With no real leads, too many suspects, and a growing chain of menacing violence, Clare finds that teaming up with the devil she knows is her only option—one that's just too attractive to resist.

My rating:

I'm not a big fan of 1st person POV, but my enjoyment of the narrative style mostly depends on the author. Some of them (Kristan Higgins and Karen Marie Moning are among those few) actually make me forget I'm reading a book written in such a "restrictive" style and enjoy the ride. Many don't succeed in that effort where I'm concerned...and some write a narrator as a emotionally-cowardly bitch (or worse), so even though I'd want to, I cannot enjoy the ride.
And LLM (and this book) was one of those.

Yes, there were other aspects of the story I actually liked—the supporting cast (Tony and Emma among them), the suspense sub-plot, and the mystery slowly unraveling throughout the story, but I couldn't get past the female lead narrating the story and her annoyingness, to be able to give this one a higher rating. Luckily she got better toward the end, thus earning her story a star more.

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