First in a two-part series (followed by Truth or Dare), this book is a great re-read . Ethan Truax is a very believable three-times-divorced and financially bankrupt private investigator starting all over again in Whispering Springs. Zoe Luce (formerly Sara Cleland) is a less believable widow and fine arts major who feels emotions in the walls of rooms, particularly rooms where violence has occurred. She has relocated to Whispering Springs after escaping from the asylum in which her in-laws have imprisoned her and has started an interior design business. It is a credit to the skills of Jayne Ann Krentz that she makes a believer out of you before the end of the book. A truly delightful tale in spite of the foray into sixth sense fiction, it is well worth reading over and over again, which I do, and it is very telling that I have trouble putting it down every time. I wish I had a dollar for every hour of sleep I have lost thanks to JAK's books. You would think it would get easier when you know what's going to happen, but unfortunately for my sleep deficit, it doesn't.
Two women escaped from a mental asylum. Two women who’s past is never to be talked about. Two women who struggled to live a normal life. But one of them could feel the ghosts in the walls of the rooms she was inspecting. Zoe Luce had that sixth sense. Was it for real, or was it just the effects of being held in mental?Ethan Truax was a one-man PI. He’s quite good at his job, but was financially bankrupt, so he was doing his best to make everything work. But he had this feeling that something was amiss when it came to Zoe and her past.I think this is my fifth Jayne Ann Krentz novel, although this is my first time to actually review her book. I have heard so much about this author in the past. She’s an effective storyteller, her works are astute and believable, even those novels with psychic elements. In Light In Shadow, the characters had disturbing past, which made their stories more mysterious than ever. It contained just the right amount of drama, humor, suspense and thriller. I wouldn’t mind reading the second book in the series, Truth or Dare.
What do You think about Light In Shadow (2003)?
First in a 2-part book about P.I. Ethan and interior designer Zoe. Zoe has a very interesting mysterious past and Ethan is a 3-time divorcee, also with a very complicated past. Both came to Whispering Springs to build new lives. Again JAK introduces some psychic elements into this book and a very pragmatic hero. I liked Ethan, but I thought three failed marriages were a bit too much for a character like him. Narrator Joyce Bean did a good professional job reading this book. This book is quite enjoyable but it does leave the H/H relationship hanging... I guess that's to make the reader read the second book.
—Paraphrodite
[Potential mild spoiler] I sometimes enjoy listening to lightweight, breezy novels on CD to make my long-distance commute somewhat bearable. Despite a competent narrator, this book didn't deliver as I expected. The male and female leads were dull, the kids annoying, the plot way too silly, the thugs completely unbelievable, the Candlelight Lake scenario ridiculous, and the marriage trick . . . please. I just didn't care about any of the characters or their hapless situations. Three fourths of the way through, I felt like this novel was a houseguest who'd overstayed her welcome. I certainly understand why readers enjoy this book--maybe I would have had more fun with it if I'd been on vacation by a lake--but it just failed to compensate for the miles it took to listen.
—MountainShelby
Zoe Luce is building up her interior design business in Whispering Springs, a community in the Arizona desert. She has a special feel for houses, especially the ones where the terror of former occupants screams from the walls. It's a talent that got her into a mental hospital, and now her past has caught up with her. The detective she hires, Ethan Truax, decides a new husband will solve her problems. Zoe has some pretty terrifying people to face down before she can be finally free of them. A quick, enjoyable romantic suspense.
—Joy
