OBSESSION
Karen Robards
Signet
Romantic Suspense
Hardcover: 0399154167
Paperback: 9780451222732

• About the Book
• Read an Excerpt
• Author Interview -- April 13, 2007

After narrowly surviving a violent break-in, being brutally tortured and witnessing the murder of her best friend, Katharine Lawrence finds herself in a hospital trying to piece together the seemingly senseless act. What did the masked robbers want? What was in the safe to which they kept referring? Why did they think she knew something that she didn't? And, most imperatively, why doesn't she recognize her own face in the mirror?

With OBSESSION, her 34th book, Robards proves the adage that practice makes perfect. Far from being formulaic or stale, she has perfected the art of blending heart-pounding suspense with a dash of romance to create a taut and tightly-wound tale. Readers will be hard-pressed to put down the book and may find themselves skipping meals, missing subway stops and forgoing their favorite television shows until they have turned the final page and learned the answers to all of Katharine's questions.

The secret to Robards's success is due, in part, to her ability to create consistently distinctive and unexpectedly satisfying characters. Her heroine, Katharine Lawrence, may be as pretty as a picture, but she is no shrinking violet. With offbeat observations --- as she lies prone on the floor and at the mercy of a madman, she wryly notes how dirty her tiles are, and in her knowing tone she undercuts the melodrama of this moment by ironically musing, "Cue the spooky music" --- Katharine is far from your typical damsel in distress. She's ironic, smart, flawed and distinctive. It is because she is so engaging that the series of plot twists that befall her and the various excruciating situations from which she must somehow extricate herself seem all the more dire.

From her first lucid moment in the hospital room, Katharine finds herself under the watchful eye and indefatigable protection of the enigmatic Dr. Dan Howard, a figure as murky and muddled as Katharine's memories. She can't shake the feeling that she knows him, but she also has no idea how; as his allure increases, so does her sense of foreboding. Katharine and Dan's mutual attraction intensifies along with the stakes of their cat-and-mouse game, as they find themselves perpetually on the move, running from predators as shadowy as they are menacing.

While OBSESSION is a breathless read, it is never over the top. The violence is wince-worthy but never unnecessarily gory, and the romance is sexy but never sordid. Robards plays skillfully with themes of identity, memory and self. The result is a smart and expertly paced thriller that will satisfy her predominantly female fan base but also will appeal to a wider demographic of suspense/thriller fans. Robards is a distinctively talented mistress of suspense, and she proves with OBSESSION that she's just getting better with time.

   --- Reviewed by Jen Krieger

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