Melody
ISBN-13: 9780446510288
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: October 2008
432 pgs




Isabelle Carson could not believe three of her childhood friends committed suicide, although the police believed so. Isabelle knew them well enough, after all they had escaped from Lavine, their abusive foster father and had moved on with their life. Moreover, Lavine was already dead so there is no reason they would commit suicide, at least not after what they had gone through and survived.

Fearing that the murders are connected and she might be the next target, Isabelle contacted Grant Kent, who had saved her from Lavine's sexual abuse and is now a security consultant after retired from Delta Force. Isabelle has not seen Grant since they had all left the foster home but she still sends him greeting cards throughout the years. And at that moment, Isabelle knew Grant is the only one she could trust.

On the other hand, Isabelle is a foster mother to seventeen-year-old Dale, whose father is now out of jail and wants custody of his son. Isabelle understood all about those abusive parent stuff and being a victim herself so many years ago, she does not want Dale to go through that experience again. And this is another thing she is worried about besides the murder cases. Grant vowed to protect Isabelle and Dale together, and the longer he stayed, the more attached he is to them. However, Isabelle thought otherwise as she does not want to be hurt in love again. With the killer still on the loose, would she dare to hope for love?

No Escape is an intense romance suspense with a psychological element. Although readers will get to find out the killer towards the middle of the book, it does not whip away the suspense as the killer is always plotting ways and no one knows what is going to happen next. However, there are several intense moments between Isabelle and Grant, both emotional and physical. However, there are death and some violence in this story, and a few murder scenes as well that I find can be quite gruesome but that does not take away my reading interest.

I enjoyed reading about the relationship between Isabelle and Dale, besides her love for Grant that is. I liked it that Isabelle takes on the role of a foster parent even though she had bad memories with Lavine, and that shows she does not allow the past to stop her from helping other children. As for Grant, he has his past but he is one alpha hero to boot.

No Escape is the third in the series about Delta Force operatives, following No Regrets and No Control. Although these books are connected in some ways, however each of them can be read as stand-alone. For those of you who might not know, Shannon K. Butcher is the wife of Jim Butcher, who is well known for his Dresden files series featuring the wizard Harry Dresden who solves crimes in modern-day Chicago. Besides romance suspense, I am thrilled to learn that Shannon is also writing paranormal books and her first book in The Sentinel Wars series will be released in May. You may wish to read more about Shannon K. Butcher and her books here.

16 Responses
  1. Amy Says:

    I really enjoy romantic suspense and hadn't heard of this author. Thanks for the review, Melody!


  2. Julia Says:

    Great review, Melody! I have read Shannon's first book and I remember enjoying it. The next two books, I haven't gotten to yet but I know eventually I will :)

    Glad you like the characters and stories. I know I won't read this book yet, not until I read the 2nd book first teehehe.


  3. Melody Says:

    Amy - I haven't been reading romance suspense for a while but I really enjoyed reading this book. :)

    Julia - Thanks! I enjoyed reading the first installment too. I know you always read books in order and I hope you'll enjoy this one if you get to it next time. :)


  4. Julia Says:

    Melody - you know me too well, and it darn scary! LOL! I hope I enjoy it too :)


  5. Melody Says:

    Julia, that's because you said so. LOL.


  6. Anonymous Says:

    This book sounds really good. I thought it's an erotica when I saw the cover. I'll sure check it out, it looks like my type of book :)


  7. Beth F Says:

    Looks like a good series. Nice review.


  8. Alice Says:

    Sounds really good, Beth! I hope to read this series one day. Thanks for the great review, Melody! :)


  9. Iliana Says:

    I'm not much of a reader of romantic suspense novels but every once in a while I do want one so good to hear about this series! Thanks for the great review, Melody.


  10. Ladytink_534 Says:

    I haven't read a good romantic suspense since Anne Stuart's Ice series....


  11. Melody Says:

    Violet - The cover can be sure deceiving, isn't it? LOL. I hope you'll enjoy this book if you get to it. :)

    Beth - Thanks! :)

    Alice - Thanks! I hope you'll read this series soon. ;)

    Iliana - I read the first installment of this series and was hooked to it. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the second installment as I've misplaced it though. *sigh*

    Jen - This series is as good as Anne Stuart's Ice series. :)


  12. The Bookworm Says:

    this sounds like a great series. i'll have to add Shannon K. Butcher to my TBR. Great review :)

    http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/


  13. Melody Says:

    Naida - Thanks! I'm glad that you'll be adding this author's books to your list. :)


  14. Anonymous Says:

    This one looks super good! Love this subgenre too. :)


  15. Melody Says:

    J. Kaye - I think so too. :)


  16. Anonymous Says:

    Cool I wonder what her paranormal books will be like. This definitely sounds interesting and it is good that it can be read as a stand alone novel. It's always interesting to read about people overcoming their past and turning it in to something positive.


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