I'm just continually bummed by Linda Howard these days. In the past she's been so brilliant, but things are hit and miss these days (as I have said many times recently). This book had a FABULOUS concept and the execution wasn't bad. She worked it out so that the scenario seemed plausible, and that was good. She also had characters that were just unique enough to make the story work. (Outdoorsy girl, abandoned by mother, raised by father, bad first wedding, not a quitter. Military man with shrapnel wound to throat and therefore hoarse voice, has a love of cussing, reads books, really grouchy but has a wry sense of humor and a bit of tenderness on the inside.) I liked them. I liked the concept. (Well, except poking around online makes it seem like black bears are the least likely to be maneaters, but I'm willing to suspend disbelief on that point.)

My biggest complaint was how unsuspenseful the whole thing was. I knew the rough plot from the inside cover, and that's about all that happened. There was no build up to the climactic showdown, no running for their lives, no terror. Just a couple of people holed up staying out of the rain, taking FOREVER to finally have sex. (Let's be honest here. In reality, the sex may or may not happen. In a Linda Howard novel, it should happen a lot sooner.) I guess it's good that the reader has something to wonder about, because it's easy to forget about both the maneating bear and the homicidal client for a majority of this very slow moving story. I almost hate to shelve this with suspense. I still love Linda Howard, I like her ideas and her characters and her writing, but the execution just seems to be lacking again.