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Some people have bad memories of their childhood hometowns; Irene
Stenson has nightmares. As a teenager, Irene came home late one summer
night after being out with her friend Pamela Webb, and discovered that
both of her parents had been killed. Irene refused to believe that her
father murdered her mother and then committed suicide, and soon afterward
left Dunsley. Seventeen years later, Irene, now a journalist, is still
haunted by the events of that fateful night, but a cryptic note from
Pamela induces her to return home. But before Irene has a chance to meet
with her, Pamela dies. When the police rule Pamela's death a suicide,
Irene knows intuitively that there is more to the story. With the
initially unwanted but soon very much welcomed help of sexy Luke Danner,
an ex-marine and the owner of the lodge where Irene is staying, Irene
begins her own unofficial investigation into Pamela's death only to
discover that someone in Dunsley is keeping secrets that could prove to be
deadly. Best-seller Krentz deftly mingles chilling danger and simmering
sexual tension.
Book review
In
the small Northern California town of Dunsley, Irene Stenson missed curfew
because her best friend Pamela Webb deliberately kept her out late. When
she finally arrives home she sees the murdered bodies of her parents on
the kitchen floor. Their deaths were deemed murder-suicide and Irene left
town and never returned or spoke to Pamela.
Seventeen years later, Pamela e-mails Irene asking her to come back to
Dunsley because she has something important to tell her. She checks in at
the Sunrise on the Lake Lodge and is immediately attracted to the owner
Luke Danner who finds himself very interested in his boarder. When Irene
arrives at Pamela's house, she finds her former friend dead, a bottle of
empty pills and liquor near the body. The sheriff rules it a suicide but
from the urgency of Pamela's message Irene thinks she was murdered. As a
reporter she starts her own investigation because she believes there is a
link between her parents' deaths and Pamela's demise. Luke helps her and
saves her life quite a few times because it is obvious someone is willing
to kill to keep Pamela's secret hidden.
A Jayne Ann Krentz novel is always a joy too read and ALL NIGHT LONG is
no exception. The protagonists are drawn true to life and are not as
quirky as Ms. Krentz's characters usually are but that is because they are
dealing with dark, troubling and dangerous situations and emotions. The
mystery is very complex and filled with red herrings and unusual twists
and turns. There is a secondary character, one of Luke's brothers, who
deserves his own story.
Author
introduction
Jayne Ann Krentz is the author of over 120
romances, including 27 New York Times bestsellers under various pen names.
Before beginning her writing career, she earned a B.A. in History at the
University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC) and an M.A. in Library
Science from San Jose State University. She then launched a successful
career as a corporate and academic librarian, during which time she worked
at Duke University¡¯s library.
Krentz began writing serial romances in the late 1970s for MacFadden
and Dell Candlelight Ecstasy. She moved on to write for Silhouette and
Harlequin before turning exclusively to writing novels in the early 1990s.
In total, there are over 23 million copies in print of her books.
In addition to writing fiction, Krentz is the editor and a contributor
to Dangerous Men and Adventurous Women: Romance Writers on the Appeal of
the Romance, a nonfiction essay collection that won the prestigious Susan
Koppelman Award for Feminist Studies. Krentz has also been awarded the
Jane Austen Commemorative Medal from Romantic Times magazine for her
efforts in educating the public on behalf of romantic fiction.
Krentz sits on the Advisory Board for the Writers Program at the
University of Washington Extension Program. She enjoys vegetarian cooking,
and lives in Seattle with her husband. |
