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Monday, June 22, 2015

Book Review: Taken by Dee Henderson

Taken

Book Description:

 Abducted at the age of sixteen and coerced into assisting the Jacoby crime family, Shannon Bliss has finally found a way out. She desperately wants to resume some semblance of normal life, but she also knows she has some unfinished business to attend to. She has enough evidence to put her captors behind bars for a very long time.

When Shannon contacts private investigator and former cop Matthew Dane to help her navigate her reentry into society, she quickly discovers that gaining her freedom doesn’t mean her troubles are over. For one thing, her brother is the leading candidate in the race for Illinois governor, and news of her escape will create a media frenzy. For another, the ransom her family reportedly paid years earlier appears to have been a scam; no one knows what happened to the money. And then there’s the fact that Shannon’s escape involved faking her own death. If the Jacoby family learns she is still alive, they’ll stop at nothing to silence her.

If justice is to be done, and if Shannon’s life is ever to get on track again, Matthew will need to discover exactly what happened to her–even if it means stirring up a hornet’s nest of secrets.


Book Review:

Labeled as Romantic Suspense, I have to seriously disagree with that. There is no romance, and there is no suspense. When I read the back cover I got really excited. Sounds great, doesn't it? Except nothing really happens in the book that I would term a climax, or even a conflict really. The whole book is kind of like the resolution and we missed out on what makes a great suspense novel full of suspense.

And romance wise there was a lot of weirdness going on. First, Matthew is 15 years older than Shannon. Which didn't have to be a big deal, but he keeps comparing her to his daughter (she's only a few years older than his daughter). He treats her like his daughter, and since she needs the safety and comfort she lets him. Actually, she has a list, and I get the impression that she just wants to cross items off (two being marriage and children) and since Matthew isn't objectionable and fits her criteria she is okay with having a relationship. There aren't any feelings, just a check list.In fact, her first kiss is because she tells him she wants to know what it's like, and he is a safe person (friend) so she wouldn't object if he kissed her. So he does. Isn't that weird? The romantic in me died a little at that part. That isn't romance or attraction, it's simple curiosity.

I wouldn't label this as boring, like I did Undetected, because I kept reading and was mildly entertained, but when I realized nothing was going to happen I was really disappointed.  If I recommended it to anyone it would be because I would be curious to see if they thought the same thing I did. As an general overall recommendation, I would suggest reading something else.

Taken
Title:  Taken
Author: Dee Henderson
Publisher: Bethany House
Published: April 2015
ISBN:  076421408X
Source: I received an eCopy from NetGalley in exchange for a review.

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