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+--- Thread: Listen to the Shadows by Joan Hall Hovey (/showthread.php?tid=419)
Listen to the Shadows by Joan Hall Hovey - MysteryMind - 04-06-2009
This is not a Gothic romance in the traditional sense. It would be classified as romantic suspense, which basically evolved from the Gothic romance. It has all the elements, except the "supernatural" part. Instead it delivers on the fear factor as it focuses on the stalking of the heroine. Having said that, there was a scene near the beginning that could be constructed as sort of a "psychic" experience, when our heroine was in the hospital recovering from a car accident.
In essense, the story is about a madman patiently stalking his victim in an act of revenge, though the author doesn't reveal the basis for the revenge until the end. Yet, any reader of fiction, especially murder mysteries and Gothic romances can probably unravel the mystery somewhat, or at least figure out the villain fairly early.
I'd probably give this an "A-". Why the "-"? I found the relationship between our hero and heroine inappropriate, as it crossed professional bounds; but then again, the author tried to make it out that they did not have a professional relationship at all. I have yet to find a good love scene in modern fiction that wasn't sappy. I was glad to see that everything tied up together and that there weren't stupid mistakes and inaccuracies; though I will say there was one editorial mistake, or dyslexic spelling on a word - "except" rather than "expect". The only other thing that made me wonder was, how does a person rub a sore shoulder when her hands are tied up behind her?
I could see this one turned into a movie, especially when the ending was so open-ended. You'd think there'd be a sequel.