Whispers at Midnight by Karen Robards

STORY BRIEF:
Carly was abandoned by her mother when 8 years old. She was placed in an orphanage for a short while until her grandmother came to get her and raise her. As a teenager, Matt worked odd jobs to help support his single mother and sisters. He was around Carly a lot since he worked for her grandmother. He and Carly were good friends growing up. He was always like a big brother to her. In a moment of weakness Matt took Carly's virginity the night of her Senior prom. Matt felt so guilty he avoided her afterwards. Carly was in love with Matt, and she was hurt by his avoidance. She moved away and married a lawyer who eventually cheated on her. Twelve years later, divorced Carly returns to her hometown. She inherited her grandmother's home and plans to turn it into a bed and breakfast. Matt is now the county sheriff, a job he took so he could support his three sisters after his mother died. Matt dreams of being free of responsibility. After his sisters are gone, he plans to quit his job and take off on his motorcycle for a life of freedom from responsibility for awhile. Carly and Matt are physically drawn to each other. Matt fights his attraction since he knows Carly is the marrying kind. He doesn't want to hurt her when he leaves town later. Carly still loves Matt and tries to convince him that sex with no strings is what she wants. I takes awhile, but he finally gives in and they have hot and passionate sex.

Meanwhile, a man killed two women and wants to kill Carly. His initial attempts are thwarted due to Carly's luck and her pets. Matt is investigating.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
I liked it, but I can't say I really liked it. The best parts were the interesting characters. However, I was hesitant about Carly. For much of the story she is mad at Matt. She calls him names and acts like she doesn't like him. He knows she has always loved him and still loves him. More than once, he kisses her and then says we can't do this. So she gets mad and hits him or stomps off. Even after they have sex, she gets mad at him. If you can get past her snits and hissy-fits the rest of the story is ok. I think the author is a pretty good story teller.

I loved and agree with another reviewer's comment. DW "Love to Read" wrote: "After raising his three sisters after their Mom died, all Matt wanted was to experience a little freedom and ride off into the sunset on his Harley. And you know what? I really wanted that for him too. Instead he gets caught by ex-bestfriend Carly and ends up proposing to her out of duty/honor and because he doesn't want to break her heart again. Oh be still my heart."

Although I would have liked seeing Matt have some freedom for awhile, it's the author's story, not mine, so she gets to choose. However, she should have at least shown us why Matt changed his mind and decided to marry Carly.

An unexpected heroine is the dog Annie who more than once saves the day. Annie was an abandoned, starving dog that Carly took in and loved.

CAUTION SPOILER:
It's the middle of the day. People are inside and outside the church, including a security guard. The bad guy is near a door inside the church. He grabs the victim and holds a chloroformed cloth over her face. He then carries her to his vehicle. How is it that no one sees him carry her out the church and over to his vehicle? I wish the author would have used a more logical method for the bad guy to kidnap her.

DATA:
Story length: 456 pages. Swearing language: strong. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: 3. Total number of sex scene pages: 28. Setting: current day Benton, Georgia. Copyright: 2003. Genre: romantic suspense.

This book is a little different. Carly is a firebrand which you kind of like until it gets a tad old. Someone from her past is trying to kill her after she moves home to open a bed & breakfast. I didn't figure out who the killer was, although I had a suspicion. Since she has repressed her memory of what the killer wants to shut her up about, it makes it more difficult to figure out who it will turn out to be.
So far PURSUIT by her is my favorite.

This was one of those books which had ratings from 1 star to 5 stars. I was wary about ordering it but I'm glad I did.
Yes, Carly was a little annoying with her "no good, dirty, rotten, SOB". And Matt with his "kiss and run attitude" was very immature. He apologized for his actions 12 years earlier because he was "just a kid" (21 years old?), then he did the same thing again even though he knew it was wrong.
I really enjoyed Nick's sisters and he did a wonderful job of putting his own dreams aside to raise them.
Another reviewer had mentioned Carly treated her cat terribly. I didn't understand that. But I must admit that while I like cats I don't know much about them so that's probably why I didn't see it. Being a dog person I was so glad to see the dog find a good home.
Sandra was hysterical, what a character! I loved the setting and the house.
Matt & Carly had a lot of chemistry, especially once he realized that she was the one he'd always wanted.
Read this one, you won't be sorry!

My wife loves Karen Robards and this is her favorite book. We had borrowed from the library previously and decided to go ahead and order it for a gift. Shipping was really quick and while it came as used, honestly you wouldn't really even know. It came in great shape and while I have never read the book, my wife has probably 3 or 4 times now and she is not considered a big reader, only stories she really, really likes if that tells you anything.

I bought this book from my neighborhood store I actually picked it up twice before laid it back down. Several days later after reading several reviews I picked it up again and bought it and I'm so glad I did. An all around fun and enjoyable read for me. Carly Litton and Matt Converse excellent main characters, but what drew me in were her secondary characters Sandra and Matt's younger sister I enjoyed all of them. The animals were excellent and I'm so pleased that she took Marcia's little dog in. My only quibble was Donkey-Man I wish she could have explained his history a little more. I will not review the story you will have to read the book yourelf, but if you enjoy excitement, humor ,action and suspense read this book. I will be looking for more of her books.

Nothing boring here. Some things a little predictable, others were ‘wow! I didn’t see that coming’! So far Karen Robards has not let me down! I just wished I could look like some of the people in her books!

I really enjoy mystery/suspense books. And I enjoy good romantic suspense. It is difficult to maintain a good balance between the romance and the suspense. This story hits its mark with the romance and the suspense comes close as well. Carly and Matt are both likeable charachters and perhaps opposites attract, although I find it hard to believe that Matt would be so enamored of someone who's always mad at him. Yet, once they get it together it works. The problem with this story is that plot sometimes takes a backseat to romance but this is still good light reading. So, particularly if you prefer romance over suspense this one is for you.

The book starts out fast pace and funny. It continued to keep my interest until about halfway through when it started to lag. I feel the character build up could have been somewhat stronger when Julie started to question Mac. The question of what happened to Mac's brother does keep the reader wondering and surprises do continue until the end. I gave it a four instead of five because I feel it did have some lag and the conversation could have picked up this, by using humor as was used in the beginning.