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What Lies Beneath
Three favorite Harlequin authors will keep readers on the edges of their seats with three thrilling stories of love and deception.
"The Road to Hidden Harbor" / Anne Stuart
Twenty years ago, a talented and rising poet disappeared in the Maine woods. Now English professor Jodi Ferrell wants to write his story, and find out what really happened to Michael O'Flannery.
"Remember Me" / Joanna Wayne
Dr. Nathan Duncan is drawn to a mysterious patient he's sure he's met before. Running from her jealous husband, Jill Jacobs is determined to hide her true identity. But can she keep the man she once loved in the dark forever?
"Primal Fear" / Caroline Burnes
A body lands on the Florida shore. Another shark attack...or something else? Marine biologist Libby Phillips isn't sure. What she does know is modern-day pirate -- and suspect -- Chad Watson is distracting her from her work in more ways than one.
"The Road to Hidden Harbor" / Anne Stuart
Twenty years ago, a talented and rising poet disappeared in the Maine woods. Now English professor Jodi Ferrell wants to write his story, and find out what really happened to Michael O'Flannery.
"Remember Me" / Joanna Wayne
Dr. Nathan Duncan is drawn to a mysterious patient he's sure he's met before. Running from her jealous husband, Jill Jacobs is determined to hide her true identity. But can she keep the man she once loved in the dark forever?
"Primal Fear" / Caroline Burnes
A body lands on the Florida shore. Another shark attack...or something else? Marine biologist Libby Phillips isn't sure. What she does know is modern-day pirate -- and suspect -- Chad Watson is distracting her from her work in more ways than one.
378 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 2002
75 people want to read
About the author
Anne Stuart
205 books2,071 followersAnne Stuart is a grandmaster of the genre, winner of Romance Writers of America's prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award, survivor of more than thirty-five years in the romance business, and still just keeps getting better.
Her first novel was Barrett's Hill, a gothic romance published by Ballantine in 1974 when Anne had just turned 25. Since then she's written more gothics, regencies, romantic suspense, romantic adventure, series romance, suspense, historical romance, paranormal and mainstream contemporary romance for publishers such as Doubleday, Harlequin, Silhouette, Avon, Zebra, St. Martins Press, Berkley, Dell, Pocket Books and Fawcett.
She’s won numerous awards, appeared on most bestseller lists, and speaks all over the country. Her general outrageousness has gotten her on Entertainment Tonight, as well as in Vogue, People, USA Today, Women’s Day and countless other national newspapers and magazines.
When she’s not traveling, she’s at home in Northern Vermont with her luscious husband of thirty-six years, an empty nest, three cats, four sewing machines, and one Springer Spaniel, and when she’s not working she’s watching movies, listening to rock and roll (preferably Japanese) and spending far too much time quilting.
Anne Stuart also writes as Kristina Douglas.
Her first novel was Barrett's Hill, a gothic romance published by Ballantine in 1974 when Anne had just turned 25. Since then she's written more gothics, regencies, romantic suspense, romantic adventure, series romance, suspense, historical romance, paranormal and mainstream contemporary romance for publishers such as Doubleday, Harlequin, Silhouette, Avon, Zebra, St. Martins Press, Berkley, Dell, Pocket Books and Fawcett.
She’s won numerous awards, appeared on most bestseller lists, and speaks all over the country. Her general outrageousness has gotten her on Entertainment Tonight, as well as in Vogue, People, USA Today, Women’s Day and countless other national newspapers and magazines.
When she’s not traveling, she’s at home in Northern Vermont with her luscious husband of thirty-six years, an empty nest, three cats, four sewing machines, and one Springer Spaniel, and when she’s not working she’s watching movies, listening to rock and roll (preferably Japanese) and spending far too much time quilting.
Anne Stuart also writes as Kristina Douglas.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 18, 2018
What Lies Beneath
September 25, 2002
Harlequin presents three very different romantic suspense novellas in "What Lies Beneath." From Anne Stuart, we get a highly romantic and atmospheric tale. From Joanna Wayne, a suspense tale with a sweet love story. From Caroline Burnes, a mystery novella with a dash of romance. The authors' voices and styles are so different that I'm not sure any reader will love all the stories equally, as each will appeal to a different reading tastes, but "What Lies Beneath" serves as a good sampler of the varied styles and types of stories available in romantic suspense.
Anne Stuart's "The Road to Hidden Harbor" is my favorite of the three. In fact, this story is the best thing I've read from her recently, better than her last two full-length novels, "The Widow" and "Still Lake" despite being a third as long. She pulled me in from the first paragraph and held me to the page until I'd finished the story in one sitting. It's a relatively simple, character-driven plot that still provided some good twists and suspenseful moments. Jake and Molly are familiar Stuart characters, but better versions than some that we've seen recently. Yes, Molly is inexperienced, but she's also smart and determined. Yes, Jake is dark and secretive, but I loved that he's a real bad boy, not some watered down version. The story has strong conflict between this dangerous man and the woman who doesn't know whether or not she can trust him. One thing I especially liked is the way Stuart captured the magic of good writing and the effect an author's work can have on a reader. While most of us won't have the obsessive reaction Molly does to O'Flannery's work, Stuart proves she's worthy of our admiration and appreciation with this novella. I would have thought this book was worth the cover price based on this story alone. Five Stars
Joanna Wayne's "Remember Me" is more typical. Like the summary up above states, this is another "Sleeping With the Enemy"-type story. Crazy husband. Battered wife on the run. Sensitive protector hero. This is a plot most readers have seen before. The romance was more sweet than passionate, which seemed to make it a poor fit coming after the Anne Stuart story. It does move quickly and goes down easily, but I never got involved in the clichéd storyline. Two Stars.
Caroline Burnes's "Primal Fear" is more mystery/suspense than romance. Readers who don't mind that there's not much of a love story should enjoy this one. The characters don't spend that much time together and their relationship never goes much deeper than flirting, but as a mystery plot it's solid and very original. I liked the unusual setting and storyline that aren't often seen in romantic suspense. Libby the marine biologist and Chad the scavenger/pirate were good characters, and the action-driven story moves with Burnes's usual quick pace and smooth style. "Primal Fear" also has a pretty good climax where there are two possible bad guys each looking dangerous which keeps the suspense high to the end, even if I did figure out which one was the real villain a little too easily. Still, a good example of this author's work. Four Stars
One thing I did appreciate about this collection is that none of the three stories features the usual kind of Harlequin hero, the cop, the PI, the cowboy or the soldier, proving that there are romantic suspense stories to be mined with different types of characters. If only Harlequin was willing to publish more stories like this in its full-length books.
"What Lies Beneath" is a good collection that should appeal to fans of romantic suspense.
September 25, 2002
Harlequin presents three very different romantic suspense novellas in "What Lies Beneath." From Anne Stuart, we get a highly romantic and atmospheric tale. From Joanna Wayne, a suspense tale with a sweet love story. From Caroline Burnes, a mystery novella with a dash of romance. The authors' voices and styles are so different that I'm not sure any reader will love all the stories equally, as each will appeal to a different reading tastes, but "What Lies Beneath" serves as a good sampler of the varied styles and types of stories available in romantic suspense.
Anne Stuart's "The Road to Hidden Harbor" is my favorite of the three. In fact, this story is the best thing I've read from her recently, better than her last two full-length novels, "The Widow" and "Still Lake" despite being a third as long. She pulled me in from the first paragraph and held me to the page until I'd finished the story in one sitting. It's a relatively simple, character-driven plot that still provided some good twists and suspenseful moments. Jake and Molly are familiar Stuart characters, but better versions than some that we've seen recently. Yes, Molly is inexperienced, but she's also smart and determined. Yes, Jake is dark and secretive, but I loved that he's a real bad boy, not some watered down version. The story has strong conflict between this dangerous man and the woman who doesn't know whether or not she can trust him. One thing I especially liked is the way Stuart captured the magic of good writing and the effect an author's work can have on a reader. While most of us won't have the obsessive reaction Molly does to O'Flannery's work, Stuart proves she's worthy of our admiration and appreciation with this novella. I would have thought this book was worth the cover price based on this story alone. Five Stars
Joanna Wayne's "Remember Me" is more typical. Like the summary up above states, this is another "Sleeping With the Enemy"-type story. Crazy husband. Battered wife on the run. Sensitive protector hero. This is a plot most readers have seen before. The romance was more sweet than passionate, which seemed to make it a poor fit coming after the Anne Stuart story. It does move quickly and goes down easily, but I never got involved in the clichéd storyline. Two Stars.
Caroline Burnes's "Primal Fear" is more mystery/suspense than romance. Readers who don't mind that there's not much of a love story should enjoy this one. The characters don't spend that much time together and their relationship never goes much deeper than flirting, but as a mystery plot it's solid and very original. I liked the unusual setting and storyline that aren't often seen in romantic suspense. Libby the marine biologist and Chad the scavenger/pirate were good characters, and the action-driven story moves with Burnes's usual quick pace and smooth style. "Primal Fear" also has a pretty good climax where there are two possible bad guys each looking dangerous which keeps the suspense high to the end, even if I did figure out which one was the real villain a little too easily. Still, a good example of this author's work. Four Stars
One thing I did appreciate about this collection is that none of the three stories features the usual kind of Harlequin hero, the cop, the PI, the cowboy or the soldier, proving that there are romantic suspense stories to be mined with different types of characters. If only Harlequin was willing to publish more stories like this in its full-length books.
"What Lies Beneath" is a good collection that should appeal to fans of romantic suspense.
November 25, 2014
She climbed back in her car, shoving her hair away from her face. "I'm going to find you, Michael O'Flannery," she murmured. "I'm going to find your ghost and everything I can about you. Just watch me."
Twenty years ago, an extremely talented and rising poet disappeared without a trace in the woods of Maine. Over the years rumors about his mysterious disappearance abounded, from the mundane to the fantastic; but nothing was ever proven. Now English professor Molly Ferrell has come to Hidden Harbor, Maine to write his story, and to find out what really happened to Michael O'Flannery.
She opened her eyes and stared at him. "Nathan?" His name came out in a husky whisper.
"I'm here."
She touched her hand to his. "Help me. Please help me."
"Do we know each other, Jill?"
She didn't answer, just closed her eyes and seemed to fade into a semiconscious state.
Dr. Nathan Duncan is curious about the mysterious young woman who just came into his emergency room as a patient. He's inexplicably drawn to her and is sure that he's met her somewhere before, but isn't sure where. Running from her jealous husband, Jill Jacobs is determined to hide her true identity. But can she keep the man she once loved in the dark forever?
The woman began to run, dropping the bucket of shells she'd been collecting. As she drew closer to the body, she slowed. Her hand went to her mouth to stifle the scream as she saw the terrible damage that had been done by sharp, vicious teeth. For a long moment she stared at the body, and then she turned away and ran, retracing her steps to the beach cottage she owned on Pirate Harbor and the telephone that would bring the sheriff.
A badly mutilated body washes up on the Florida shore. Was this a victim of another shark attack...or something else entirely? Marine biologist Libby Phillips isn't quite sure. What she does know for certain is that modern-day pirate - and suspect - Chad Watson is distracting her from her work in more ways than one.
I must say that I enjoyed this book very much. In my opinion, all the stories contained in this anthology were very well-written, and as examples of the romantic suspense genre, each story was really quite good. The first story - The Road to Hidden Harbor by Anne Stuart - was the story that interested me right away, and was why I asked Mareena if I could read this book first.
It took me one day to read the first two stories in the anthology - The Road to Hidden Harbor by Anne Stuart and Remember Me by Joanna Wayne. Both stories were great - although in my personal opinion, perhaps more focused on the romantic subplots, rather than the mysteries. Primal Fear by Caroline Burnes was also quite enjoyable. It was a quick read for me, and I appreciated that the romantic subplot was less pronounced in this final story.
Overall, I would say that What Lies Beneath by Anne Stuart, Joanna Wayne and Caroline Burnes deserves an A! This was certainly a great anthology to showcase the work of three of the top romantic suspense authors within the genre: Anne Stuart, Joanna Wayne and Caroline Burnes.
Twenty years ago, an extremely talented and rising poet disappeared without a trace in the woods of Maine. Over the years rumors about his mysterious disappearance abounded, from the mundane to the fantastic; but nothing was ever proven. Now English professor Molly Ferrell has come to Hidden Harbor, Maine to write his story, and to find out what really happened to Michael O'Flannery.
She opened her eyes and stared at him. "Nathan?" His name came out in a husky whisper.
"I'm here."
She touched her hand to his. "Help me. Please help me."
"Do we know each other, Jill?"
She didn't answer, just closed her eyes and seemed to fade into a semiconscious state.
Dr. Nathan Duncan is curious about the mysterious young woman who just came into his emergency room as a patient. He's inexplicably drawn to her and is sure that he's met her somewhere before, but isn't sure where. Running from her jealous husband, Jill Jacobs is determined to hide her true identity. But can she keep the man she once loved in the dark forever?
The woman began to run, dropping the bucket of shells she'd been collecting. As she drew closer to the body, she slowed. Her hand went to her mouth to stifle the scream as she saw the terrible damage that had been done by sharp, vicious teeth. For a long moment she stared at the body, and then she turned away and ran, retracing her steps to the beach cottage she owned on Pirate Harbor and the telephone that would bring the sheriff.
A badly mutilated body washes up on the Florida shore. Was this a victim of another shark attack...or something else entirely? Marine biologist Libby Phillips isn't quite sure. What she does know for certain is that modern-day pirate - and suspect - Chad Watson is distracting her from her work in more ways than one.
I must say that I enjoyed this book very much. In my opinion, all the stories contained in this anthology were very well-written, and as examples of the romantic suspense genre, each story was really quite good. The first story - The Road to Hidden Harbor by Anne Stuart - was the story that interested me right away, and was why I asked Mareena if I could read this book first.
It took me one day to read the first two stories in the anthology - The Road to Hidden Harbor by Anne Stuart and Remember Me by Joanna Wayne. Both stories were great - although in my personal opinion, perhaps more focused on the romantic subplots, rather than the mysteries. Primal Fear by Caroline Burnes was also quite enjoyable. It was a quick read for me, and I appreciated that the romantic subplot was less pronounced in this final story.
Overall, I would say that What Lies Beneath by Anne Stuart, Joanna Wayne and Caroline Burnes deserves an A! This was certainly a great anthology to showcase the work of three of the top romantic suspense authors within the genre: Anne Stuart, Joanna Wayne and Caroline Burnes.
November 16, 2011
I enjoyed this book, although I agree that they would have been better as full novels. I found the first story (The Road to Hidden Harbor by Anne Stuart) somewhat predictable, although I still really enjoyed the characters and the setting. I would like to hear more about the hero and heroine! The second story (Remember Me by Joanna Wayne) was good, although it did remind me of another story line I have read. Again, you are drawn to the characters and the situation they find themselves in. The third story,(Primal Fear by Caroline Burnes) took a look at a subject that I am not familiar with I found it both fascinating and exciting. Once again, I finished the story wanting to hear more about the hero and heroine. All in all, a good read.
February 4, 2017
I am sick again so I was looking for easy reading and these three novellas were easy reading if a bit predictable. The title of the trilogy probably best describes the third novella, a story about underwater treasure and killer sharks. The other two novellas ard also romantic suspense, the first about a man who had apparently committed suicide and the second about an abused wife trying to hide from her husband.
May 5, 2008
All three of these novellas were interesting, but would have been so much better as full novels. Generally a novella is good in its shortness, but these poor novellas could have been so much more. They came to there end far too early in there little lives.
June 4, 2017
Three predictable fluff pieces.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews