Helpful Score: 5
It doesn't get much better than serial killers and sex, does it? Jaid Black delivers a healthy helping of both in One Dark Night.
Nicole Adenike is a surgeon in a Cleveland that's lived under the predation of a sadistic serial killer for the past decade. Her friend Kim is a psychic-- well, sort of. She doesn't see things too often. But one night, she starts dreaming of the killer's next victim, and Nikki convinces Kim to go to the police. There, they meet Thomas Cavanah, romantic lead(TM). But, despite her newfound doughnut cravings, Nikki is already involved in an online relationship with a dominant middle school teacher (yes, folks, you read that right!) named Richard...
Whatever you do, do not read the back cover synopsis. For that matter, don't read most of the book's reviews. All of the above give away the big plot twist that comes around page fifty, making for pretty boring setup reading. (After all, YOU know what's gong to happen, and you keep yelling "don't go in the house!" or whatever you yell at dumb blondes in bad horror films.) While the romance angle is quite stock, and therefore predictable-- when was the last time you read a romance where the male and female leads did not eventually find themselves romantically entangled?-- Black has a good sense of what makes for a well-written genre mystery, and throws twists, turns, and red herrings aplenty into figuring out who the killer is. (If you know Roger Ebert's rules of mystery movies, you'll figure it out pretty quick, but Black does manage to invest the revelation of the killer's identity with a bit of panache.)
Nicole Adenike is a surgeon in a Cleveland that's lived under the predation of a sadistic serial killer for the past decade. Her friend Kim is a psychic-- well, sort of. She doesn't see things too often. But one night, she starts dreaming of the killer's next victim, and Nikki convinces Kim to go to the police. There, they meet Thomas Cavanah, romantic lead(TM). But, despite her newfound doughnut cravings, Nikki is already involved in an online relationship with a dominant middle school teacher (yes, folks, you read that right!) named Richard...
Whatever you do, do not read the back cover synopsis. For that matter, don't read most of the book's reviews. All of the above give away the big plot twist that comes around page fifty, making for pretty boring setup reading. (After all, YOU know what's gong to happen, and you keep yelling "don't go in the house!" or whatever you yell at dumb blondes in bad horror films.) While the romance angle is quite stock, and therefore predictable-- when was the last time you read a romance where the male and female leads did not eventually find themselves romantically entangled?-- Black has a good sense of what makes for a well-written genre mystery, and throws twists, turns, and red herrings aplenty into figuring out who the killer is. (If you know Roger Ebert's rules of mystery movies, you'll figure it out pretty quick, but Black does manage to invest the revelation of the killer's identity with a bit of panache.)
Helpful Score: 5
This book is very good. I could not put it down. (Stayed up until 3am to finish it.) Suspenseful and steamy. Characters were interesting and not run of the mill. This is the best one I have read from this author, so far. I hope she has others like it.
Helpful Score: 5
The book was okay. I little slow in the the beginning, but the serial killer plot was good and more intense than other romantic suspense books I have read with a serial killer plot. The sexual tension and sex scenes between hero and heroine were better than average. I also like Jaid Black's dialogue and thinking processes. Some books "dumb down" and make the hero and heroine stupid. Black is fresh and I enjoyed the interaction between Thomas and Nikki, the hero and heroine.
Helpful Score: 2
This book was a great read. It was a cannot put down. It will keep you reading into the night
Helpful Score: 1
Jaid Black mostly hit the ball right out of the park with this novel.
Nikki Adenike is a surgeon living in a city where a serial killer has been on the loose for 10 year. For various reasons, she becomes his next target, has a few narrow misses with said serial killer, makes loads of smart-ass comments, has some pretty graphic sex, etc. Any more and I will give away too much of the plot, which I don't want to do!
It was a good solid novel, not for those whom are squeamish on sex scenes, some of which just made me burst out laughing.
Nikki Adenike is a surgeon living in a city where a serial killer has been on the loose for 10 year. For various reasons, she becomes his next target, has a few narrow misses with said serial killer, makes loads of smart-ass comments, has some pretty graphic sex, etc. Any more and I will give away too much of the plot, which I don't want to do!
It was a good solid novel, not for those whom are squeamish on sex scenes, some of which just made me burst out laughing.
