REVIEW OF PRIMAL OBSESSION - LAS REVIEWS

From http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.com, by Edelweiss, Rating 4.5 of 5

Annie is a reporter whose close friend is murdered. Her follow-up investigative reporting reveals a serial killer to the public. but also brings threatening calls from the killer. To honor the wishes and memory of her dead friend, she contracts to take a guided canoe trip through the Maine wilderness. Sam, an ex pro baseball jock and strikeout king regarding many of life's challenges, is the group's guide. Primal Obsession is a romantic suspense of high quality and of stinging, heart thumping excitement. This book delivers suspense at multiple levels, producing excitement and a keen sense of anticipation from the first page. Don't pick this book up unless you have time because you'll have a hard time putting it down.

The characters add to the story's appeal, not because they are particularly unique or hard to predict but because the author's dialogue skills are superb, managing to produce even male characters who are believable and appealing. The prose is compact, greyhound fast, and smooth flowing, but don't be deceived. The word choices and metaphors are top-notch, bringing the characters' thoughts and the Maine woodlands to life.

My only disappointment is that the sex banter between Sam and Annie during the book's first half is overdone, repetitive, and it quickly becomes tiresome. Plus it's inconsistent with the sense of mission that dominates the main characters at that stage. A more subtle approach to the romance could have made this a great love story as well as a great mystery and page-turning thriller.