| Title | : | After Dark (Griffin Powell, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0821776665 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780821776667 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 379 |
| Publication | : | First published December 1, 2000 |
After Dark (Griffin Powell, #1) Reviews
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I would like to rate this book 2.5 but I just can't give it 3 stars. It's not a thriller but there is multiple drama. I'm still trying to figure out whose Griffin Powell. He's never mentioned in the book so, what is the relation? I looked at the 2nd book and it's title in the parenthesesis, "Trilogy." On to my next issue; there are so many partial plots. The author appeared to drag the suspense into boredom and then light the fire with romance (very detailed but respectfully done). I had figured out one plot before it was even told. I'm not sure how the title relates to the story. The main murder took place during the day, outside where anyone might have seen it. One area the author excelled in was making the suspects to the murder a real guessing game.
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This was another good romantic suspense from Beverly Barton. I very much enjoyed After Dark. Although not exactly part of a series, this book has characters that appear in Barton's novels in which Griffin Powell (himself not in this book) has at least a small role. I have not read these books in order, but as the hero of After Dark, Johnny Mack Cahill, has shown up in some of the other Barton books I have read, I was glad to read his story. After Dark did include my absolute least favorite plot line, but as this part of the storyline didn't involve either the hero or heroine, it didn't affect my enjoyment of the book much.
Johnny Mack Cahill left his small Alabama hometown behind fifteen years ago, and has become a man to reckon with in Houston. He is stunned when he receives an anonymous letter saying that his son needs him, along with newspaper clippings reporting on the death of a well known favorite of his hometown and the subsequent arrest of the victim's wife. The vitim's wife and accused killer, Lane Noble Graham, saved Johnny's life fifteen years ago. He always admired her and knew that she was too good for the town's poverty stricken bad boy. Johnny Mack is unaware of having a son, and he knows that he didn't have that sort of a relationship with the boy's mother. Johnny Mack returns to the hometown he swore he'd seen the last of to try to learn the truth of whether he has a son, and to try to repay his debt to Lane Noble. Lane's life and all of the decisions she has made were forged out of her teenaged love for Johnny Mack Cahill. Over the years, that love has turned to hate, but when he shows up she knows that she needs his help to overcome the murder charge against her. As Johnny Mack and Lane try to come to terms with the past and find out who was behind the murder Lane has been charged with, they realize that they have strong feelings for one another. Johnny Mack has to protect Lane and her son from those who are determined that the truth shall not be discovered.
I quickly became caught up in After All, and couldn't hardly put it down. The book has quite a few characters, and while I was able to figure out parts of the mystery fairly quickly, there were still some parts that kept me guessing. I found this to be another winner by Beverly Barton. -
While I appreciate the plot and storyline, I'm not too keen on her writing style. The dialogues are cheesy, predictable and downright tacky. Even the characters' introspections and musings were frustratingly mushy and repetitive. Its only saving grace is the macabre and gruesome plot point.
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4.5 Stars..
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After reading quite a few books by this author and some of them not in the exact reading order, decided to start from the beginning.
This is book #1 in the Griffin Powell Series, with no appearance made by Griffin Powell and I enjoyed it.
I liked the setting and there were some interesting and quirky characters.
I was not totally enamored by Lane, the heroine. She irritated me quite a few times and I found it hard to believe she could be an actual judge.
I did engage with the hero and his family more than the heroine and her family....her family was beyond dysfunctional.
Lots of red herrings and surprises near the end which made up for the slow beginning.
I am now going on to book #2. -
This book was a whole DAMN for Me. But I did figure out what the deal was with Kent.
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January 2020
Audiobook
3 stars - I liked it
This story was decent enough. The "hero" of the story is kind of an alpha-hole in my opinion which took away from my enjoyment of the story. Mostly, this book is just dated in regards to women's issues. It was an ok ready, but I'm not in a rush to read more by this author.
Trigger warnings: -
This was a good story with many twists and turns. Some were easy to predict and others were a surprise. It took a little time to get used to the double first names (Johnny Mack)! I am looking forward to reading more books by this author and it's a little sad that she is no longer with us.
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This book just didn't work for me. I was stuck on an airplane so I was a captive audience and I still found myself skimming the book. The writing seemed repetitive, the characters were far from memorable and the mystery was SO obvious.
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Two-haiku review:
Her ex is murdered
Man she loved comes. back to prove
She didn't do it
Not Griffin Powell
Doesn't belong in series
Not bad story though -
This book might just have it all: Murder. Incest. Amnesia. Mental health issues. Economic divide. Lost love. Adoption. Domestic Abuse. Extramarital affairs. Buying a baby. Police corruption. Blackmailing. Abortion. Attempted murders. Embezzlement. Oh. Oh. Oooooh, aaaaaaand, YES, YES, YES………..SEX. 😐
This is the first book I’ve read by this author. Normally, I like series with reoccurring characters, thrillers, whodunnits, domestic thrillers, mysteries, police procedurals, etc. This was marked as a thriller and the first book in a series. So, what did I have to loose? Time. I lost my time. 🤷🏻♀️
Look, this book wasn’t for me. It didn’t read as a thriller. It was much more like reading a very PG-13 soap opera script.
(I personally loathe books that describe sex scenes, and this book had MANY.) The book had too many inessential, flat characters I barely made it through to the end.
Also, this was book was marked as one in series, but the reoccurring character that is suppose to feature in future books wasn’t a main character AT ALL. In fact, I’m not really sure who he is in the book. (If you’ve read this and know, please reply and tell me).
Again, some people might love this book—but it wasn’t for me. (This book was an “included” free audiobook on Audible.) -
Ugh. The characters did not seem to have any depth or dimension. Overall, struck me as incredibly sexist in how men were “virile” bedding down any woman willing. One man proved his moral compass by drawing the line and not sleeping with his half-sister. Women who had sex with anyone other than husbands, rapists, or incestuous family members were cast as “sluts”. Everyone is apparently white and straight? Women seem to revolve their lives around their male love interests, unless they’re evil.
It’s rare I really dislike a book, but I did this one. I tried to make it through to the end, just to be “fair”… though I admit losing interest and am not 100% sure who the various murderers were nor do I care.
Documenting in an effort to avoid this author in the future. Definitely not to my taste. -
Por favor, ¿a quién no le enamoraría un hombre que se ha acostado hasta con tu ex suegra? Y esta es sólo una de las muchas mujeres con las que te cuenta que se ha acostado durante su adolescencia justo al principio del libro. En el capítulo 4.
Mira, si esto no fuese una novela romántica, tendría un pase. Pero así, no.
Además, leo en spoliers por aquí que ella no tiene apenas experiencia, para variar, y es de la mala, qué original. Para más inri, él es el típico que va mojando bragas por donde pasa. Todas están locas por él, bla, bla, bla, etc.
Ni con un palo vuelvo a tocar este libro. Lo he dejado en el capítulo 4. Sí. No lo he tirado por la ventana por que estaba oyéndolo en Audible con mi móvil que si no... -
Really did not expect this book to turn out the way that it did. At time I felt that it was a bit repetitive and cheesy. However, it did have me hook and dying to know who murdered Kent. I honestly thought that it was the mayor James Ware. I saw it coming that Kent sexually abused his sister and got her pregnant, so some things were a bit predictable. Still a good story though. I am really upset though that James gets to get away with the whole embezzling money from Edith. Does not really seem fair.
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Seri pembuka untuk Griffin Powell.
Johnny Mack Cahill bersumpah tak akan lagi kembali ke kampung halaman, apalagi orang2 sudah mengira ia tewas.
Tapi, mau tak mau ia harus kembali karena ternyata Johnny meninggalkan seorang putra yg sudah remaja di sana.
Dan putra beserta ibunya sedang mengalami kesulitan karena ada pembunuhan yg terjadi.
Well, misterinya ini cukup intens. Dari awal tebakan aku bener tp hingga ending baru ketauan ternyata ada fakta yg lebih edan. -
What is the connection to Griffin Powell? Why is this book #1 in the Griffin Powell series?
Anyway … Ms. Barton sure does like to write about Southern towns that pit the haves against the have-not. Trailer trash or white trash vs rich folks.
Other than “half-breeds”, the population is not diverse ethnically.
Regardless, the crimes have very human motivations, independent of skin color, age, and gender. I think all of us readers can agree that Kent Graham was a vile creature. 😡 -
**3.5-4**
Pros:
-I liked the second chance aspect
-Will coming around and making his own opinions
-Fast paced and mostly entertaining
-MMC past in the town and history
Cons:
-Some of the plot twists were not my favorite and honestly very harmful and the effects weren’t properly addressed. It was buried in the end.
-I did find most reveals to be predictable
-what about the female “friend” out of town? This was not resolved - she became a forgotten character. -
Murder, mystery and thrills. Accused of murdering her ex, Lane Noble Graham turns to the one man who can help her. Although his help could mean Lane and Johnny Mack are now the targets of a twisted killer. The author takes readers into a great thriller.
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Y’all. This book. I’m so confused. The first part was so slow and boring but I still wanted to read it? Picked up a bit in the middle, and then slowed slowed SLOWED. Idk if I will read another of the series. I didn’t even care whodunnit at the end.
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I didn’t care for the Lane character. Thought she was whiny and a twit. She blamed everyone else for her poor decisions. Skipped forward to find out how it turned out. I wouldn’t recommend it unless you’re looking for a lot of sex scenes.
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I really enjoyed this novel. I think my only complaint about it would be that the murderer in this one was very, very predictable, as was one of the revelations that came through. So, for a thriller, it wasn't much of a mystery, but plot wise I did quite enjoy it.
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I enjoyed this read. There were some bad characters and I had an idea of who did it but it was more twisted than I realized. The book moved quickly and I liked how Lane and Johnny Mack had a second chance at romance.
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Addictive
Suspense filled
Drop dead gorgeous and super rich hero
Beautiful, serene and cautious heroine
Crime scene
Hero saves the day
H and h lives happy ever after.
Loved it
