| Title | : | Close Enough To Kill (Griffin Powell, #6) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0821776886 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780821776889 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Mass Market Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 438 |
| Publication | : | First published July 1, 2006 |
He's their secret admirer, wooing them with phone calls, love letters, and special gifts. From a distance, he admires them. Desires them. Despises them. And when he gets close enough, he kills them all.
Close Enough To Kill (Griffin Powell, #6) Reviews
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Decent story - more on the romance than I normally read. I enjoyed Bernie's character but Jim's personality was a bit much. And really cheesy! Think more Hallmark movie and less Criminal Minds.
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Close Enough to Kill was another great book by Beverly Barton. It is a romantic suspense novel that is definitely heavier on the suspense, but still has a satisfying romance. The hero and heroine were both great, thoroughly likeable characters, and they were well suited to one another. I enjoyed the way that their relationship slowly developed with friendship coming first. The storyline was interesting, with a suspenseful plot that kept me captivated.
Jim Norton is a detective who leaves the Memphis Police Department to take a position as Chief Investigator in an Alabama Sheriff's Office. Jim is a divorced forty year old with a twelve year old son whose mother strictly limits the time they spend together. Jim's decides to take the lower paying position in Alabama to be closer to his son after his ex-wife remarries and relocates. Just as Jim begins his new job, his life becomes more complicated. His ex-wife is diagnosed with cancer and sends his son to stay with him while she is treated, and a missing young woman is found dead. Jim's new boss, Sheriff Bernie Granger, immediately lets him step forward and lead the murder investigation. Bernie Granger is a level headed woman who appreciates and utilizes Jim's experience as a detective. She immediately likes Jim, a former college football player and the object of her youthful crush, and finds him very attractive. When another young woman goes missing, it quickly becomes apparent that Jim's suspicions of a serial killer are on the mark. While investigating, the discovery is made that the victims received notes of admiration, gifts, and sketches of themselves before disappearing. As the investigation proceeds, the "Secret Admirer Killer" is found to have sent sketches that escalate in violence to the victims. While the killer continues to kidnap, torture, and kill young women in the county, Jim discovers that several other murders across the south appear too similar for coincidence. Finally, the killer hits close to home and targets someone close to Sheriff Bernie Granger. Jim and Bernie work seamlessly together to stop this brutal killer. Over the course of the investigation, Jim and Bernie become trusted friends and finally lovers.
I enjoyed the experience of reading this book. It was fast paced and difficult to put down. The suspense was well done, and although I quickly guessed the serial killer, I doubted myself numerous times. The brutality of the killer was intense and graphic, and will bother some readers. I enjoyed the brief mentions of Griffin Powell, who is a minor character in several other Barton novels. I look forward to reading his story. The only aspect of this book that I didn't totally enjoy was the initial attraction that the hero, Jim, has to the heroine's sister. Over all, I thought that it was a great book, and Beverly Barton has definitely become a "must read" for me. -
This is the first Beverly Barton book I have read-I had never heard of her but someone I knew was reading it and I thought it sounded good so I gave it a go. I looked on Beverly Barton's website and saw that she writes books under the 'Silhouette' label-I thought 'oh no' because I thought these were similar to Mills and Boon. Luckily this didn't put me off because I was very pleasantly surprised by the quality of her writing and I will definitely read another of her books. I have read all Richard Montanari's books and I would put it on a par with those-it's that good. The few days I was reading this book it kept me thinking who the suspects could be and it seemed obvious at one moment it was a certain person-next minute it couldn't be him then another red herring put me on yet another track, it really did keep me guessing. There is also a bit of a love story in the book and this provides a good balance to the gory scenes. I think this book was an excellent read and I enjoyed it immensely
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I truly enjoyed this book. My first by Beverly. I was taken aback by some of her phraseology. Especially the term 'Whores bath'! I enjoyed her style of writing the wonderful adages and vernacular of the south. She never shied away from her plot, some of it hard to read, which made it an experience. I will be reading more of her!
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I found this to be a wonderful suspense-thriller with a dash of romance. There are some intense and rather graphic scenes, so this may not be for the faint of heart. It was a page turner for me.
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Predictable, outdated and unoriginal.
I picked this book up on a whim, read the rather corny blurb and decided to give it a go. I wouldn't say it's bad, but it's certainly not what I would call good either.
One of the biggest problems for me was the lack of strong female characters. There were bits of it which made me wonder when this book was written, because apart from Bernie, the lead character, all of the women in this book were objects whose sole purpose was to be with a man. Even Bernie at times, who is a strong, independent and smart sheriff, still had some cringey thoughts such as "Don't you dare vomit. Neither one of these big strong men is sick to his stomach" which just made me groan.
All of the other female characters were obsessed with men, either getting a husband, finding someone else a husband or just getting laid. Bernie's mother, Brenda, in particular drove me crazy, especially because her some of her views, such as how Bernie needed to lose ten pounds, had no reason to be in the book at all. When she wasn't cooking or serving food, Brenda was setting up her daughters with men or worrying about the fact that they didn't have husbands yet, "Both girls were equally disappointing to a mother who longed to see her daughters happily married and producing some grandchildren for her... Brenda felt it motherly duty to do what she could to help both girls find the proper mate." No, we really just want to get back to Bernie, Jim and the investigation, both of whom are much more interesting.
As for the whodunit part of the book, it was interesting to hear about the various criminal investigation procedures, and you can tell Barton did her research, but I found some of the sex scenes a bit explicit and the murderer was not difficult to guess. At the end of the book, all loose ends were tied exceptionally neatly that was that.
I guess if you want a simple whodunit with some romantic suspense, then Barton provides. However, I think that there are so much better books out there in this genre which are more worth your time. -
I'm mad at this book. It improved dramatically over the previous ones in the Griffin Powell series in that the mystery was pretty good (even if I did guess the killer right off the bat, but I'm pretty good at that). HOWEVER, the whole thing is ruined by the fact that the main male character is a total sleaze -- seriously, how many times can a character and get a free pass? Gross. Also, ironically enough, despite having a female character as a sheriff (which was exciting), the author continually demeans the female lead to the point where it's almost a PSA on "why women shouldn't be sheriffs". I've never read a book where the main MALE character takes himself off the case due to personal interest conflicts (even if he should). The result is an unlikeable male lead and a weak female lead that overshadow the improvements the author's made in the mystery aspect in this book.
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"Damn, what a pair of tits!"
I laughed and laughed at this quote, which is Jim's internal response when he finally gets to see Bernie naked. He's already had a crack at her promiscuous sister. He's a real catch!
The book is a weird mash-up of a cliched romance and a curiously blunt, gory serial killer thriller. Along with gooey feelings of love, there are women being anally raped with a wooden phallus.
Like I said, weird! Certainly not boring, though! -
Sex and murder in Alabama. This was the least edifying book on my shelf, a mystery thriller written by a "romance" writer.
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Mystery was ok - the excessive amount of sex scenes made me want to vomit. Ok for a simple, easy read.
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REALLY GOOD. Bernie Granger had a lot of pressure as the Adams County Sheriff. Not only was it hard carrying on the Graham tradition of being sherif but she also faced being a woman leader in a male dominated field. Unlike her sister Robyn, Bernie has always been a Tom boy and daddy’s girl. And though her beautiful sister got all the limelight, she was content in her small town life. Jim Norton, a retired professional football player and police detective from Memphis county, has his own issues. After a brutal divorce from his wife, he was unable to see his son often. Their strained relationship pained him a lot more than his old sports injuries. When his ex-wife and her new husband moved to Alabama taking their son along with them, Jim had no choice but to get a job close hoping to see his son more. Jim took on a position at the Adams County Police department as chief, working under Bernie as the Sheriff. Thought she refused to admit it, Bernie had a massive crush on Jim Norton when he played football, and during her teen years was crazy for the guy. Now she’s his superior. But there are much more serious problems in this town. A serial killer, who stalks his victims, leaving notes, gifts and obscene sketches of his victims. The secret admirer killer. After abducting the women he holds onto them for two weeks raping and torturing, until he ultimately kills them. For a small town like Adams County this is a big deal. Especially because women are going missing left and right, and it’s up to Bernie to put a stop to the most dangerous criminal in Adams County history. In the midst of the stressful investigation, Bernie finds that Jim lives up to her high school fantasies, being a great colleague and father to his son. When Jim’s son Kevin unexpectedly comes to live with him, Kevin quickly forms a bond with Bernie and soon the three of them are inseparable. And Jim quickly discovers that there is more to Bernie than a serious sheriff, and finds that she is not the plain Jane he thought her to be. A thriller filled with murder, suspense and surprisingly… love?
Wow did not think I’d be into this but I was. The serial killer stuff was more intense than I thought it would be. There was a lot of switched perspectives from both the victim and the killer. It was spooky trying to figure who the killer actually was and it did take me a majority of the book to figure it out. Even then I was on the edge of my seat waiting for it to be revealed at the end. It was creepy and honestly not unrealistic which is even scarier, because I would have probably fallen for the killers traps too. This is a really good cast of characters that have very distinct personalities, which I love. It immediately makes you get into the story and become invested. Each character was perfectly crafted. Jim and Bernie were soooo excellent. Real and raw characters, not perfect by any means but that’s what made them so lovable. The slow burn for their relationship was great too, just like finding out the killer, the author made you wait the whole book for them to get together. The small town charm is easy to love setting wise. The unsettling serial killer plot needed the fluffy romances scenes to balance it out, that sounds weird but trust me. It was a satisfying closure that felt earned and not easily solved. It was very entertaining. Every time a girl was kidnapped I thought, oh they’re gonna save this one, and nope I was wrong everytime lol. Really thought about two of those girls were 100% gonna make it. But it goes all the way to end for them to find him. Crazy stuff. Really good. -
I haven’t read any of the other books in this series. This was a random library download.
For me, it was way too long with too much focus on the romances. I wasn’t interested in that, ditto to the HEA ending.
The actual murder story was interesting with a sadistic sicko trying to find his dream woman, who would be a pretty brunette like the high school crush who humiliated and rejected him (you can imagine how well that turned out).
I did guess the killer pretty early on. It didn’t really ruin the story. I do feel like maybe it should have ended about three victims before it did. The details of what he did were pretty sickening and not really up to multiple tellings. Darn it, I wanted more of these women to live. I like a good psycho thriller, but I’m not into murder and torture porn. Too much and the story loses me and crosses from scary to upsetting.
This one crossed that line and threw in cloying too with my least favourite happy ending event cliche in a romance book, and let’s just say I won’t be back for more in this series.
I do acknowledge that these two things are personal dislikes, however. The book is not badly written and it’s a page turner. -
The book drove me crazy. The story line was okay but the actions of the characters frustrated me.
The book involves a sexual deviant who sends notes and sexy drawings to his victims before he kidnaps, imprisons, brutally rapes, and kills them.
How could some of the victims be so-o stupid?? They way they respond to the notes and drawings is ridiculous. It's like their flattered. Some were smart enough to tell the local sheriff Bernadette (Bernie) and her deputy Jim before they got kidnapped.
I was perplexed at who the killer was but had a good guess round about the third victim and I turned out to be right.
There was a lot of unnecessary sex in this book. It seemed like every other character, married or not, was fooling around. Not only did that get old for me but it distracted from the mystery at hand.
And this budding relationship between Jim and Bernie... couldn't either one of them get the hint? I did like the relationship between Jim and his son. That was a positive part of this book.
Otherwise, I finished it. That's about the only other thing I want to say. -
2.5 stars
I almost gave it two stars. I had some issues:
Not my favorite by this author, but I would still read some of her older books while waiting for new ones. I like the suspense aspects of them; however, I prefer a more romance. -
Awalnya saya ingin berhenti membaca novel ini karena heroinnya sepertinya sudah tua (astaga!). Kurang sreg membaca novel yang tokoh wanitanya berumur di atas empat puluh. Nah, dugaan itu sih datangnya karena jabatan dia plus nama yang agak gimana gitu ya. Tetapi semakin ke belakang, saya semakin tertarik untuk lanjut membaca dan akhirnya saya tahu berapa umurnya serta seperti apa karakter dia sebenarnya. Singkat kata, saya menyelesaikan membaca novel ini sehari semalam, kurang lebih ya, kurangnya karena ada acara makan, mandi, tidur dan teman-temannya.
Oke, lanjut deh.
Novel ini bercerita tentang trauma yang dialami seorang anak laki-laki enam belas tahun akibat dilecehkan (menjurus kepada pelecehan seksual meski tidak sampai terjadi pemerkosaan dll) oleh teman-teman sekolahnya, teman wanita. Trauma itu menjadi dendam pada akhirnya. Ia membunuh teman wanita yang melecehkannya itu, itu pembunuhan pertama, dan teman-teman sekelompok teman wanita yang melecehkan itu juga dibunuh satu persatu. Kasus kali ini disampaikan Beverly tanpa hitungan jedah waktu yang teratur. Si psikopat membunuh sesuka hatinya mungkin. Tetapi yang pasti, korbannya memiliki ciri-ciri seperti korban pertamanya dulu. Wanita cantik berambut coklat gelap dan populer, kecuali korban kesebelas.
Sejak awal membaca novel ini, saya menyimpulkan ada lima tersangka. Dosen tampan yang suka bermain-main dengan mahasiswinya serta koleganya di Akademi, Pendeta tampan yang baru pindah ke Adams County, Alabama, Calon Deputy kepala yang mungkin saja merasa sakit hati karena Sheriff memilih orang luar untun mengisi jabatan itu, Mantan suami Sheriff yang hanya sesekali saja disebut dan Scotty Joe, Deputy yang bertanggung jawab terhadap keamanan di Akademi Adam County. Ketika semakin bertambah halaman yang dibaca, dugaan-dugaan itu semakin buram dan rasanya tidak mungkin. Mungkin saja orang lain, orang luar. Dan ketika kasus semakin menyempit menuju terkuaknya misteri siapa si psikopat, dugaan tinggal dua orang. Saat Robyn, adik Sheriff diculik, sudah bisa diduga siapa yang menjadi dalang di balik kasus pembunuhan berantai itu.
Novel ini tidak hanya bercerita tentang perburuan Sheriff untuk mengungkap siapa si pembunuh, tetapi dibumbui dengan kisah cinta yang romantis antara Sheriff Bernie dengan Deputy kepala penyelidikan kasus pembunuhan itu, Jim Norton. Sedikit menyesakkan perasaan ketika Bernie selalu merasa bahwa Jim sama sekali tidak tertarik padanya dan membiarkan perasaannya mengembara ke mana-mana, menduga-duga dan pada akhirnya ia harus menerima kenyataan—menurut dia, bahwa Jim lebih tertarik pada adiknya.
Sementara Jim adalah tipe pria yang tidak akan mendekati wanita seperti mantan istrinya untuk kedua kalinya. Robyn adalah wanita seperti itu. Jadi, sudah bisa dibayangkan, prasangka-prasangka Bernie terhadap dia seperti apa jadinya.
Ada beberapa kata yang membuat novel ini tidak sekeras dan sekejam pembunuhan yang dilakukan psikopatnya.
“Saat satu-satunya hal terbaik dalam hidupmu adalah putramu, dan tiba-tiba saja kau bukan laki-laki nomor satu dalam hidupnya, jantungmu serasa ditarik dari dadamu tanpa obat penghilang rasa sakit.” (Hal. 155).
Membaca bagian ini membuat saya membenci mantan istri yang jelas-jelas berselingkuh, tetapi kemudian menjelek-jelekkan mantan suaminya di depan anak mereka. Akibatnya, si anak malah memuja-muja suami baru ibunya, bukan ayah kandungnya sendiri yang mencintai dia dan tersiksa karena berjauhan dengannya. Nyess rasanya setelah membaca bagaimana perasaan Jim akibat perlakuan mantan istrinya.
“Kau dapat mencintai seseorang, tetapi jika kau tidak memercayainya, kau tidak memiliki apa pun.” (Hal. 301).
Menghadapi kasus pembunuhan seperti apa pun kalau ada yang menyemangati seperti ini, pasti lebih semangat menyelidikinya. Jim ternyata romantis juga walaupun berkali-kali menolak mengakui kalau ia pria yang romantis.
Tentang tokoh utamanya, Sheriff Bernie Granger adalah sheriff wanita pertama di Adam County dan yang termuda juga, ia hidup di bawah bayang-bayang nama besar ayahnya yang telah menjadi sheriff hampir tiga puluh tahun di sana sebelum digantikan oleh Bernie. Lebih berat bebannya bagi Bernie menjadi pengganti ayahnya daripada seandainya ia terpilih sendiri karena orang-orang akan selalu membandingkan keberhasilan dia dengan keberhasian-keberhasilan ayahnya dulu. Kehidupan personalnya juga tidak beruntung, ia bercerai karena suaminya berselingkuh. Sejak itu, Bernie tidak berkencan apalagi menikah. Sementara Jim berjuang untuk menjadi ayah yang baik dan diinginkan oleh anaknya yang tinggal di bawah pengasuhan mantan istrinya.
Tetapi lagi-lagi dalam novel ini banyak sekali tokohnya. Sheriff dan keluarganya, para deputy di bawah pimpinan Jim, jaksa wilaya dan keluarganya, orang-orang di club kebugaran milik Robyn, orang-orang yang berhubungan dengan Akademi Adams County, ABI (Biro Investigasi), dan para tersangka.
Yang menjadi pertanyaan dalam novel ini adalah bisakah seseorang bermata -/+ (memakai kacamata) masuk militer? Karena psikopatnya pernah masuk angkatan darat dan ia berkacamata.
Pesan moral dari novel ini, jangan pernah melecehkan anak-anak atau remaja yang masih labil pemikirannya. Memperhatikan perkembangan anak remaja perempuan, supaya tidak terlalu tinggi menilai diri sendiri, sehingga merasa lebih baik dari yang lain karena hal itu bisa menimbulkan rasa percaya diri berlebihan, yang mengakibatkan ia tidak lagi peka dengan perasaan teman-teman di sekitar dia. -
My rating of "Close Enough to Kill" bounced around as I was reading running from a four to a five. There were some parts of the story I thought sounded a bit strange and made the characters seem weak, but that changed as I read and found explanations for the actions. The last quarter of the book had a really fast pace and, although I did guess who the killer was, I enjoyed the way Beverly Burton wrote the end. I enjoyed the plot and loved the characters. I look forward to reading more books in this series.
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Wow, absolutely wow, this book has left me speechless and in awe of the author. It just amazes me how the author continues to keep coming up with these amazing plot ideas.
This is an edge of ure seat gripping crime thriller, I could not put this book down, was completely taken in by the story from beginning to end.
As always I love the characters in this ongoing series of books. :-) -
This is the first book of Beverly Barton's that I read and omg I couldn't put it down so it only took me a day and a half to read the whole thing. I'll for sure be reading more of this romance thriller style writing.
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The details were too graphic even for me and that is saying a lot. I just could not get past that part of the story.
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Absolutely loved this book!! Will need to read the whole series.
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although I guessed the killer and eventual end half way through, I still enjoyed reading how the drama unfolded. I definitely wanted to keep reading.
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Karakter H/H oke, meski chemistry mereka menurut aku agak kurang. Lagi pula di Novel ini romance nya kurang berasa.
Misterinya cukup oke. Hingga pertengahan Novel baru bisa nebak sih.. -
Renewed reading (at last!). Awesome book, even when I started to suspect an actual killer in first part of a book.
