Janyce Stefan-Cole

Man ,oh man was I disappointed by this. The first few pages I was convinced it would take me two weeks to read as it as painstakingly slow. Cole was struggling to evoke, mood, setting and characters all at the same time and it was half-way through before she either got enough information to me or maybe just I stopped caring. There was something, besides the lead character’s name itself, that didn’t set well with me from the beginning, but I managed to pick out a thread or two that was show more interesting. In the end though, I couldn’t believe how manipulative everyone was, even for “Hollyweird” and I felt like I had just completed reading a script for the “Women in Distress” channel, one that would never get produced. show less

I received this book from LT's Early Reviewer program and was pretty excited to start it. I thought the plot had great potential and had high hopes. Unfortunately my hopes were a little too high. I had a hard time relating to the main character who just seemed to be going through the motions with no real feelings for anyone or anything. The first person writing style illustrated Ardennes Thrush in an unflattering light. The book may have worked better if we knew less of what she was show more thinking. I had to give less than stellar reviews of a book that I have been lucky enough to receive for free, but I must be honest in that I didn't really enjoy this book very much. Perhaps I will be the lone reviewer who feels this way, after all this is just an opinion. show less

I am late getting this review up because of several reasons and I apologize to Early Review for it.

I wasn't really able to get into this book and I was looking forward to it since I had read the early review description. Aside from the very slow start, I was never able to connect with Ardennes Thrush and that made it very difficult to really care what was going on or happening to her. For a book billed as a psychological thriller, having all the action happen to the main character, who is show more very passive, doesn't measure up for me.

It was interesting to get an "inside" look at Hollywood, and the strange manipulations of those in it, but, unfortunately, the tedium of the action and the passivity of the characters cannot make up for it. This is not a book I can highly recommend. show less

Ardennes Thrush, an award-winning actress who opted out of the business, joins her husband, a director, at the Hotel Muse in Hollywood. The blurb on this book calls her a contemplative woman, a voyeur, which is a good description of her as she floats through her days observing the things and people around her, like an artist painting a deep picture. She begins to think she is being stalked, contacts a police detective for help, and finally is kidnapped. She floats through her ordeal almost show more still opting out, being a voyeur of her own life.

You never get the "terror" feeling of a kidnapped victim, rather the "on-looker" feeling. An interesting book - right to the end. Different from what I usually read, but then again, I'm in a rut. I enjoyed the book. show less