The Guardian

Publishers Weekly

On Christmas Eve, Julie Barenson, 25 years old and newly widowed, finds an unexpected present-a Great Dane pup that her late husband, Jim, had arranged for her to receive after he died from a brain tumor. On that melodramatic note, bestselling author Sparks (Nights in Rodanthe) begins his latest love story, one in which he combines elements of romance with those of a thriller. Julie's new dog, Singer, turns out to be a better judge of character than she, which is unfortunate because the dog nearly gives away the book's ending when he growls warily at Richard Franklin, the new man in Julie's life. On the other hand, the pooch loves to be around Mike Harris, Jim's best friend, who has grown to love Julie. Richard's increasingly bizarre behavior causes Julie to break up with him, and his subsequent stalker tactics make for compelling action, especially when he plots to destroy the budding romance between Julie and Mike. But the writing is lax at best, with multiple point-of-view shifts in the course of one page or even one paragraph. Secondary characters are two-dimensional, such as Pete, the dumb cop who is taken in by the scheming Richard, and Andrea, Julie's co-worker at the local hair salon, a low-class broad from the wrong side of the tracks who might as well have "next victim" tattooed on her forehead. Yet Sparks fans clamor for his brand of love story, and, with the added punch of suspense, this one will be another bestseller. Agent, Theresa Park. (Apr.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

The megaselling writer of just-folks tearjerkers (Nights in Rodanthe, not reviewed, etc.) tries his hand at suspense-with lackluster results. Her husband lost his fight against brain cancer, leaving Julie Barenson a young widow, and she still doesn't quite know what to do with her life. But the Great Dane puppy that arrived shortly after Jim's death, along with a suitably sentimental note, has grown up into her best pal (and guardian, just like Jim, who, the reader is assured, is watching over Julie from heaven). Now that Julie is finally ready to date, she finds slim pickings in Swansboro, North Carolina, on the Outer Banks. There's Mike, an amiable jack-of-all-trades, failed musician, and the younger brother of Jim's best friend-but not exactly ambitious. Still, Julie's background hardly allows her to be too picky: she's the daughter of an alcoholic, single, oversexed mother without two nickels to rub together. Then Richard Franklin, a consulting engineer on the Intracoastal Waterway, comes in to get his hair cut at the beauty shop. Julie dates him a few times, but there's something odd about him. He's awfully jealous, though he hardly knows her. And controlling. No one knows that he grew up in horrible circumstances: viciously battered by his drunken father, he hides a murderous rage at everything. Years ago, the cops thought his father's death from carbon monoxide poisoning was an accident . . . and no one saw his son spit into his father's grave. Foster care only hardened the boy, who beat up anyone who crossed him, attacked his college roommates, killed his first wife, assumed the identity of a man he murdered by the side of a lonely road . . . . Gee, could he be the guy who'sstalking Julie? Mike decides he'd better protect her. "Richard" is so nasty he might even shoot her dog. Julie endures the stalking and whatnot for a while, until the plot limps to its predictable conclusion. Tame thriller, simply written-but Sparks's name should sell it.