Nothing to Fear was another great romantic suspense story by Karen Rose. I have enjoyed the entire series, and the fourth book was just as good as the others. I enjoyed watching the relationship develop between the hero and heroine, and was glad to revisit characters from earlier in the series. This has become one of my favorite romantic suspense series.Ethan Buchanan, former Marine and now co-owner of a Security Consulting business, is called by his friends, the Vaughns, when their deaf son is kidnapped. Ethan knows that the police need to be contacted, but he is talked into keeping silent and trying to find Alec, his godson, himself. Ethan feels a great deal of guilt towards the family because his dear friend, Richard Vaughn, was killed while saving Ethan on a mission in Afghanistan. Richard's brother, Stan, stepfather of Alec, has been very vocal in blaming Ethan for Richard's death over the past few years and uses Ethan's guilt to keep him from calling in law enforcement. The kidnapper has left a brutally murdered body behind, and as Ethan tracks the killer across the country, he ends up in Chicago. Dana Dupinsky runs a shelter for battered women and children in Chicago. She is concerned over her lastest clients, a woman named Jane and her young son, Erik. Erik seems to sleep much more than normal and he doesn't talk to anyone. He appears to be extremely fearful, but Dana reminds herself that he has just escaped an abusive father. Planning to pick up another client at the bus station, Dana is slightly injured when she tries to stop a mugger. She finds herself being cared for by an extremely attractive man, Ethan Buchanan, to whom she feels an instant bond. Ethan talks Dana into breakfast, and she makes it clear to him that she is not looking for a relationship. They ackowledge that something special is between them, and Ethan talks her into meeting him again. As they continue to meet, it takes a couple of days before they confide in one another as to their respective careers. Several of Dana's friends are brutally attacked during this few day period, and when Ethan discovers that the kidnapper he is tracking is being sheltered by Dana, they realize that the attacks are not coicidental. As the bodies pile up, Dana and those she cares about are targeted by the murdering kidnapper and placed in grave danger. As Ethan and Dana try to save Alec and other victims of the kidnapper, they become involved in an intense relationship. Dana must forgive herself for incidents in her past before she can move forward toward happiness with Ethan. Before she can do either, she must struggle to survive.I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was very fast paced and suspenseful. The angagonist of this book was truly creepy. She murders a number of people in the story, so that could bother some readers. The hero was wonderful - caring and protetive, yet still hurting over his past. The heroine was also a very nurting, loving person who was trying to make up for incidents in her past. The interactions between the two were touching, and I liked the way they accepted each other so completely. I look forward to reading the rest of this series.
This is my fourth Karen Rose romantic suspense novel and by far, this one is my favorite. With this story, the author delivers characters that come alive within the pages. Several scenes in the story even brought me to tears in addition to the heart racing adrenaline. The author has created a villain so vile and evil that wishing her dead doesn’t begin to describe the level of emotion I felt while reading this book. Maybe because one of her victims is a deaf and mute child and the cruelty she demonstrates in her quest of personal revenge goes beyond appalling.As with so many other series, characters from the previous books make an appearance and it was great to see them again and to catch up with what has been happening in their lives since I read their stories.I loved Dana. Besides being compassionate and caring, which is so important if you are going to shelter battered women, Dana is hiding secrets about herself. She isn’t perfect, she isn’t an angel. She’s had her own trail of misdeeds and continues to take risks to help the residents of Hanover House begin new lives.I loved Ethan. He carries tremendous amounts of guilt over the death of his best friend, Richard when they were stationed in Afghanistan. Because of the injuries he received in combat, he suffers debilitating migraines and having to depend on others isn’t something that is easy for him.Dana and Ethan are two souls who need each other but don’t want to, who come together in their mutual desire to protect an innocent helpless child. Their individual human weaknesses make them stronger people when they are together than when they are apart.Romance fans who enjoy their books with suspense and high octane action and adrenaline charged scenes will enjoy Karen Rose’s novels.
What do You think about Nothing To Fear (2006)?
I'm really seeing a pattern when it comes to this series. For me it truly is touch and go—one good book, one not so good, then one good again.This story fell into the second category, because I simply couldn't concentrate on everything that was going on. The separate investigations, actually separate storylines of Dana's trying to help and Ethan trying to find the same two people clashed too much for me to enjoy the plot, add to that the villain's "arc", and you get too much crammed into one book.There was no spark between Ethan and Dana—throwing in another guy just to create the tension of a love-triangle was a bit too much, since it didn't actually have the effect of a "real" love-triangle. Dana wasn't actually shoocing between two men, she had no clue what poor David really felt for her (blind much?). The supporting cast seemed inserted into the story more as an afterthought, and only saturated everything further, and alienated me even more from Evie, who's become even more annoying since Don't Tell if that's at all possible. I hated her. I have no idea how I'll feel when I read her book, but this one sure didn't endear her to me.The only good thing about this book was the suspense, and since it took over more than half of a book, this story received the rating it did. I love me a twisted killer. If only everything else was as good as the villain. Or if this part of the story meshed better with the other storylines. It felt like a separate entity at times.
—Mojca
Als die zurückhaltende Sue mit ihrem verschüchterten Sohn Zuflucht im Frauenhaus sucht, hat dessen Leiterin Dana Dupinski keinen Grund, an ihrer Geschichte vom gewalttätigen Ehemann zu zweifeln. Wie sollte sie auch ahnen, dass sie damit dem Tod die Türe öffnet? Denn Sue ist eine psychopathische Killerin, die vor nichts zurückschreckt, um ihre Rachegelüste zu befriedigen: nicht vor der Entführung eines taubstummen Jungen, nicht vor mehrfachem Mord. Danas Name steht schon bald ganz oben auf ihrer Abschussliste – und nur Ethan Buchanan, ein Privatdetektiv, der Sues Spuren gefolgt ist, könnte Dana retten ...Da war mal was ganz anderes und hat mir den Atem genommen. Teilweise war ich mir nicht sicher ob ich weiterblättern will. Die Spannung war hier spürbar auf jeder Seite. Ab und zu sollte ich schreien "Siehst du das denn nicht, Sie ist BÖSE". Anderseits finde ich es super das mal eine Frau die Mörder ist und das noch nicht mal schlecht macht. ;) Bis zur letzten Seite habe ich mit gefiebert und gehofft das es ein Happy End gibt.
—Dorothea Müller
Karen Rose is one the best romantic suspense authors out there, hands down. Nothing to Fear, is a 2007 copyright, with over 500 pages,you get a lot of bang for your buck.Dana has a women's shelter. She meets battered women and their children at the bus station,escorting them to the shelter. One night an elderly lady is being mugged and Dana jumps in to help. So, does Ethan. There is an instant connection between them. But, Ethan lives in D C, and is only in Chicago to look for his godson who has been kidnapped. Hoping to find something on the tapes at bus stations, Ethan meets Dana. He knows there is something going on between them right away. But, both of them are keeping secrets from each other. While Ethan combs through tapes day and night, Dana meets a battered woman with a little boy. Little does she know who this child is and the connection he has to Ethan.There is hot romance, twist and revelations, tears and healing as they battle a cold blooded killer bent on revenge. I highly recommend all Karen Rose novels. I haven't read one yet I didn't like.
—Julie
