Protective Custody by Wynter Daniels
Romantic Suspense
May 9, 2010
E-Book
Carina Press
Reviewed by Mandi
Megan Jackson witnesses a murder in a shop window across the street from her office one night, frozen as she watches a man strangle a girl to death. She calls the cops but they don’t believe her. Not much happens in the small town she lives in and the local sheriff office gives her a little pat and sends her on her way. But Megan knows what she saw. She also knows the killer saw her watching, and after a mysterious phone call from him, and someone prowling in her office, she reluctantly call her ex-boyfriend and ex-cop Will McCoy.
Will left the sheriff’s office after he killed someone by mistake while on duty. Due to family pressure, their relationship also didn’t make it. But now Megan knows Will is the only one she can trust as this killer hunts her.
I have a lot of problems with Protective Custody. I like it in romantic suspense books when the killer is really evil and creepy and I normally like getting his or her POV throughout the story. However, it didn’t work well in this book. We know from the start who the killer is, which is fine. But his scenes dominated Megan and Will’s scenes. Yes he came off a creep, but when we switch back to the main characters, I was bored and disinterested in them. They had no spark and just fall very flat. Even as the villain is hunting Megan, there are so many moments where he almost kills her, or almost captures her. For as evil as he is, I thought he would move faster than he does. I also thought the police force, completely ignoring Megan as a witness to a murder doesn’t seem like it fits reality. There was no body to be found where she saw the murder, but they didn’t even investigate the area at all. Meanwhile, she is getting prank calls, bloody fake heads on her doorstep, and people breaking in – and they ask her if she has been drinking.
I was also creeped out by a few of the sex scenes. There is a secondary character, Ed who is Will’s friend but gets messed up in the drama. We get sex scenes with him and his wife that just icked me out. I understand sex rules his life, and that is what gets him in trouble, but I really didn’t need to read multiple sex scenes with him.
This story just didn’t work for me.
Rating: D
Recent Reviews:
Leetid’s Reading – 4/5
Maldivian Book Reviewer’s Realm of Romance – 3/5
Goodreads
Icky sex scene…. umm… no thank you. But I appreciate your honest review so I’ll know to avoid this one.
Yeah – they didn’t work for me
I read this one also and had some problems with it. Just didn’t seem to have consistent tension and along with the Ed thing, I just get a little tired of her angst over her grandmother and his parents. I understand the kind of pressure that can make, but to just walk away without an explanation. This lady was way too “peace at any price” attitude. Thanks for the very good review.
I didn’t feel like the grandmother and parent pressure fit very well. True – not consistent.
You’ve made me curious. What icked you out? Something they were doing during sex or just the fact that you had to read about him having sex at all?
It was just sleazy sex..which I get was necessary to portray his character..I just didn’t full out sex scenes in his point if view to get that point across. More than once.
Really differing opinions on this one and now I’m torn; to read or not to read, that is the question!!
Thanks for the honest review, this book will not be on my wishlist.