Top positive review
4.0 out of 5 starsWELL WRITTEN DEBUT THRILLER BUT MAIN CHARACTER TOO BUSY LOOKING AT THE BOYS
Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2017
I read Damaged earlier this year, the debut novel from attorney Patricia Callow author of the Kate Lange legal thriller series. I allotted the book four stars at the time I finished it, but was too lazy at the time to contribute a brief note about my opinion of the reading experience. So as 2017 comes to a close, I felt like adding my "2 cents' worth", primarily because I will not be following the exploits of Callow's heroine in 2018.
I enjoyed the medical element of the plot, which was plucked from today's headlines according to a interview given by the author. I also like a good legal thriller and did not mind at all that our heroine was from the legal profession. Callow is obviously a talented writer and the material was both topical and interesting. So--what's my beef? Frankly, I became increasingly irritated by the main character's physical attraction to (it seemed like) every man she met. Of course the sexual tension between the protagonist Kate and the managing partner of the law firm Randall Barrett was palpable---I especially "enjoyed" the author's point of view changing so the reader could "appreciate" how BOTH of them swooned when they were anywhere near each other.
Okay, so I found myself not really disliking, but getting ticked off by the lead character being portrayed as a slave to her female hormones. I didn't want to hear how hot her dog-sitter was, or how she was still physically attracted to her atrocious ex fiancé, let alone the reaction to Barrett. She made some pretty rookie mistakes that placed her life in jeopardy because of pride and her feelings for the male characters.
Final note, if I want to read a romance novel that has a secondary mystery-thriller theme I'll pick up a Sandra Brown or JD Robb (Nora Roberts) selection. Iris Johansen and Lisa Gardner also expertly blend sex and intrigue. This debut novel from Callow gave the reader a protagonist that found herself in some serious danger, but the thrill of the read was watered down by the heroine coming across like she just discovered that there were boys out there. There was "no there there" [i.e., sexual scenes] and this book should have stayed a debut medical-legal thriller with a strong female attorney at the center.
