Danger Zone
Grade : C+

Books that star an already married couple dealing with their relationship a little further down the road are a draw for me. Couples who know they love each other and are just not sure they can live together, or work together, or get past a tragedy, etc., are frequently so much more interesting then a newly minted pair. I like knowing that they've already gotten past the frequently stupid things romance heroes and heroines do and say to each other in the "falling in love" stage, and are on to more meaty problems.

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A book that proved the point earlier this year was Tracy Grant's Daughter of the Game. I mention that well-written effort because in many ways Danger Zone echoes the characters and storyline in a contemporary setting. It's a shame that by book's end the echo has so weakened that all sense of the initial resonating cause is lost.

Like the couple in Grant's historical novel, Sam and Maggie Cady appear to have the perfect life. They're deeply in love, happily married, and have a four-year-old son they adore. If there's a worm in their apple it's Maggie's occasional paranoia about the security of their home and family. She worries almost obsessively that something will come to destroy her happiness. Something does. Shortly after Maggie leaves the house one morning, armed gunmen shoot their way in and kidnap her son, Jimmy. Once the deed is done, Maggie settles into combat mode. After leaving a note for Sam, she heads off to confront her past and find Jimmy.

Maggie is definitely the focus of the novel. That's both good and bad. She's a very strong character and her quest is intriguing and suspenseful. Though I figured out some of her background pretty early on, other bits were revealed in interesting layers. Unfortunately, as the book progresses Sam never really develops to the same degree Maggie does. Initially, he's terrified for his son and worried and angry about Maggie's disappearance. When he begins to investigate on his own he stirs the pot enough to find himself accused of murder and on the run. But none of this plays out realistically.

As the two get closer and closer to each other and their missing son, I kept waiting for the depth of emotional revelation that Ms. Grant did so well in Daughter. It doesn't happen. Instead the resolution to the plot and the problems the Cadys are dealing with were rushed and uninteresting, at least in comparison to the earlier parts of the book.

I'm not faulting Ms. Palmer for any lack of romance, since this is book is being marketed as a thriller. But I am faulting her for letting the relationship, which is central to who these characters are, take a very far back seat to the plot. The reason the reader is interested in the couple is because of the opening, which demonstrates the very deep love they have for each other. Given that, I didn't believe the abrupt resolution. Read this for the suspenseful plot. For a more in depth exploration of a couple in crisis, seek out Daughter of the Game. And for a superior suspense novel by Shirley Palmer aka Nell Brien, don't miss A Veiled Journey.

Reviewed by Jane Jorgenson
Grade : C+
Book Type: Suspense

Sensuality: N/A

Review Date : November 3, 2002

Publication Date: 2003

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