"It Started on a Dark and Stormy Night and Only Gets More Intense from There!"
Reviewed by Lynn Cunningham
Posted February 22, 2014
Suspense
Fen Dexter has led a very adventure-filled life and, at 58
years old, is continuing to live the life that she loves
with her dog in a California seaside cottage. She enjoys a
very close relationship with her two nieces and is actually
waiting for one of them to visit her on the night of a
horrible storm. As the wind whips around her cottage and the
rain pelts down, her power goes out and there's a knock at
her door. Certain that it's her niece, Vivi, she races to
open the door only to find a strange man standing there. He
has a bloody head and is holding a large knife.
He tells her that he crashed his vehicle into the tree at
the top of her driveway. Against her better judgment, Fen
allows the man to come in and she sets about tending to his
injury. They share a bottle of wine and the dinner that she
had fixed to have with Vivi. She never dreams that this
moment is about to bring about monumental changes in her
life.
Fen isn't the only one who is experiencing life altering
events. That same night, Dr. Vivian is on duty in her
capacity as emergency room doctor. A young woman is brought
in more dead than alive. She is the latest victim of a
particularly brutal serial killer and the only one who has
survived thus far. The detective in charge of the case finds
Vivi quite appealing and wants to know her better.
The victim is the cause of Vivi missing dinner with her aunt
so she simply goes home at the end of a very long day. Just
as she's getting comfortable at home, who shows up at the
door but her irresponsible and flighty younger sister, JC,
who is broke and in trouble again.
Thus sets the stage for a very entertaining and gripping
story in PLEASE DON'T TELL. Elizabeth Adler takes her
readers on a journey of a murder investigation as well as
self-discovery for these three women. The story opens with
one of the creepiest, deliciously scary scenes of any book
I've ever read. I absolutely loved it!
Ms. Adler writes her characters in such a way that I was
saying "I knew someone just like that!" Fen is so cool that
I would totally love to hang out with her. Vivi is rather
intense and driven just as any good doctor should be. I
cannot say how much I disliked the character of JC. Spoiled,
self-centered and rather selfish, she is someone who really
just needs a good spanking!
PLEASE DON'T TELL is very absorbing, even though I did
figure out the identity of the killer well before the end of
the book. It didn't matter, though, because there were so
many other things going on to keep me engrossed. PLEASE
DON'T TELL could easily be turned into a movie and I would
pay to see it. Of course, now I must start collecting more
of Elizabeth Adler's books. I never knew what I was missing!
SUMMARY
Fen Dexter’s quiet life on the idyllic California coast is
interrupted one stormy night when a blood-covered man shows
up on her doorstep, claiming to have had a car accident. He
tells her that he is on his way to San Francisco to help the
police solve the murder of his fiancé. Unable to make it to
the hospital because of the storm, he stays the night at
Fen’s, and the attraction between them is obvious. The next
morning he heads to the hospital where Fen’s niece, Vivi, is
an ER doctor. Vivi is treating the most recent target of a
serial killer whose signature move is to leave a note saying
“Please Don’t Tell” taped across his victims’ mouths. When
Fen’s mysterious stranger comes to Vivi to have his wounds
stitched she agrees to set him up to talk with the police
about his fiancé. Who is this man, really? What does he want with Fen and her
family? And will they live long enough to uncover the truth? Told with Elizabeth Adler’s knack for terrific female
characters and breathtaking twists, Please Don't Tell
will keep you guessing, right up to the end.
What do you think about this review?
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