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Hunter's Prey
He was the hunter, she was his prey
As the young bride of Congressman Luke Caine, Beth found life demanding and difficult -- in everything except their shared powerful physical passion. When that passion resulted in pregnancy, she wa selated.
But her elation was short-lived.
For Beth made a discovery about Luke so devastating she had no choice but to flee. And flee she did -- for more than two years, from city to city, state to state, desperate to hide her child and herself from the only man she'd ever loved.
And then he found her...
As the young bride of Congressman Luke Caine, Beth found life demanding and difficult -- in everything except their shared powerful physical passion. When that passion resulted in pregnancy, she wa selated.
But her elation was short-lived.
For Beth made a discovery about Luke so devastating she had no choice but to flee. And flee she did -- for more than two years, from city to city, state to state, desperate to hide her child and herself from the only man she'd ever loved.
And then he found her...
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
27 people want to read
About the author
Jasmine Cresswell
115 books54 followersBorn in England, Jasmine Cresswell now divides her time between her winter home in Sarasota, Florida and her summer home in Evergreen, Colorado. Jasmine has been writing since 1975 and has published over 50 novels, with 9 million copies of her books in print.
Jasmine served for two years as the editor of the Romance Writer's Report. She also served as president of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, and is a founder and former president of Novelists, Inc. She received the Colorado Authors' League Award for Best Paperback Novel of the Year and the Romance Writers of America Golden Rose Award. Her books also have received numerous Romantic Times certificates of excellence.
Experienced as a public speaker, Jasmine has conducted college seminars and addressed many writers' conferences. Interviews and profiles have appeared in newspapers throughout the country, and Jasmine considers herself a veteran of talk shows and news broadcasts.
Married to Malcolm Candlish, whom she met while she was working for the British Embassy in Rio de Janeiro, Jasmine and her husband have lived all over the world. She has a Bachelor's Degree with a double major in history and philosophy from Melbourne University, a second degree in history from Macquarie University, as well as a Masters Degree in history and archival administration from Case Western Reserve University in Ohio.
Jasmine served for two years as the editor of the Romance Writer's Report. She also served as president of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, and is a founder and former president of Novelists, Inc. She received the Colorado Authors' League Award for Best Paperback Novel of the Year and the Romance Writers of America Golden Rose Award. Her books also have received numerous Romantic Times certificates of excellence.
Experienced as a public speaker, Jasmine has conducted college seminars and addressed many writers' conferences. Interviews and profiles have appeared in newspapers throughout the country, and Jasmine considers herself a veteran of talk shows and news broadcasts.
Married to Malcolm Candlish, whom she met while she was working for the British Embassy in Rio de Janeiro, Jasmine and her husband have lived all over the world. She has a Bachelor's Degree with a double major in history and philosophy from Melbourne University, a second degree in history from Macquarie University, as well as a Masters Degree in history and archival administration from Case Western Reserve University in Ohio.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 10, 2016
RE Hunter's Prey - this is Jasmine Cresswell's only foray into HPlandia and only her second or third into contemporary romance. She started out writing historicals and this book is different from the usual HP in that the H is thought to be a real criminal for most of the book. JC manages to keep the suspicion level high but the overall effect wasn't really a great HP venture. She soon finds her niche in the Intrigue line though and she writes some really good stuff there.
The H and h married three years earlier. she was a young prosecutor for the District Attorney, he is a US Congressman with a shady mob-connected uncle. The H spends more and more time away from the h and her baby and things get really ugly when the h finds out the H is participating in shady deals along with his dubious uncle.
She diverts the DA investigation and decides to go into hiding with her child. Like all good HP h's, she takes menial jobs and grotty flats and lives in a below subsistence manner cause HP Law forbids the h get an attorney, use the info she has on the H to force him to give up custody and get a divorce -- and besides she loooooves the H so much she can't bear to turn him in, she is just going to hide and pine in silence.
Except he tracks her down and forces her back. They fight, then have wild sex, then fight some more. The kicker is when she tries to leave and he has a court order preventing her from removing the daughter from the state and he uses the police to stop her. Then she finally tells him about the shady dealings she is aware of and the H tells her it was a set up by the FBI. All is forgiven and the H and h are happy again.
That is it, that is the story, and while the suspicion was good and the drama was wrecky, it just did NOT hold together very well. JC has to walk a fine line between the H being utterly evil (for HPlandia) and still have him come out in a positive light in the end. The H does plenty of things that are mean and suspicious, yet the h is supposed to be this strong moral character who can't live with a criminal and still can't bring herself to get a real attorney and lay this out in court when the custody of her child is being threatened? Srsly? She is so far gone she can't even tell the H about his own shady deals? (And she doesn't lay out the accusations until the very end.)Plus she keeps jumping into bed with him and that just doesn't make her or him look very good.
Most of the other reviews for this book really dislike the h, there is a reason for that. JC tries to make the h empathetic and a strong, determined woman, but she really comes off as completely unintelligent and a moral coward - plus the low ratings mention the fact that she hides her child for two years.
My complaint is that the h had all kinds of resources and legal means to force the H into a bad position. If she was THAT worried about him being a sneaky criminal, all she had to do was present that to a lawyer and the way the legal system was at the time, she could have gotten full custody no problem. The H was never home, traveled constantly, his mother was a certified witch and the h could have easily proven all of this. I don't blame her for removing her child from a criminal, I do blame her for being such an weeble about it and then still jumping into bed with him.
Instead this h makes the most irrational decisions possible and everything is such a deliberate plot point that it just doesn't suspend belief. I have read some doozies in HPLandia, but even the worst Margater Pargeter had an element of belief in it - I may have needed tin foil, but I bought into the plot. I couldn't with this one, it just made no sense and the HEA wasn't worth the hangover I had to incur to make it through the book.
Read this one while intoxicated if you must read it, that is probably the only way to make the book have enough cohesiveness to get to the end. I wouldn't say it was a great end, but thank goodness it did end.
Presumably these two will limp along for the next few years until the kid is old enough to figure out who she wants to live with or the h develops more than a sponge for a conscience and goes ahead with prosecuting the H for his side deals or at least using them as leverage for a divorce and a decent settlement.
Otherwise don't bother, cause after all the drama between these two and the suspicions regarding the H that aren't really put to rest, this romance just isn't, and I am glad to move on to better climes in HPLandia and put this on the back shelf.
The H and h married three years earlier. she was a young prosecutor for the District Attorney, he is a US Congressman with a shady mob-connected uncle. The H spends more and more time away from the h and her baby and things get really ugly when the h finds out the H is participating in shady deals along with his dubious uncle.
She diverts the DA investigation and decides to go into hiding with her child. Like all good HP h's, she takes menial jobs and grotty flats and lives in a below subsistence manner cause HP Law forbids the h get an attorney, use the info she has on the H to force him to give up custody and get a divorce -- and besides she loooooves the H so much she can't bear to turn him in, she is just going to hide and pine in silence.
Except he tracks her down and forces her back. They fight, then have wild sex, then fight some more. The kicker is when she tries to leave and he has a court order preventing her from removing the daughter from the state and he uses the police to stop her. Then she finally tells him about the shady dealings she is aware of and the H tells her it was a set up by the FBI. All is forgiven and the H and h are happy again.
That is it, that is the story, and while the suspicion was good and the drama was wrecky, it just did NOT hold together very well. JC has to walk a fine line between the H being utterly evil (for HPlandia) and still have him come out in a positive light in the end. The H does plenty of things that are mean and suspicious, yet the h is supposed to be this strong moral character who can't live with a criminal and still can't bring herself to get a real attorney and lay this out in court when the custody of her child is being threatened? Srsly? She is so far gone she can't even tell the H about his own shady deals? (And she doesn't lay out the accusations until the very end.)Plus she keeps jumping into bed with him and that just doesn't make her or him look very good.
Most of the other reviews for this book really dislike the h, there is a reason for that. JC tries to make the h empathetic and a strong, determined woman, but she really comes off as completely unintelligent and a moral coward - plus the low ratings mention the fact that she hides her child for two years.
My complaint is that the h had all kinds of resources and legal means to force the H into a bad position. If she was THAT worried about him being a sneaky criminal, all she had to do was present that to a lawyer and the way the legal system was at the time, she could have gotten full custody no problem. The H was never home, traveled constantly, his mother was a certified witch and the h could have easily proven all of this. I don't blame her for removing her child from a criminal, I do blame her for being such an weeble about it and then still jumping into bed with him.
Instead this h makes the most irrational decisions possible and everything is such a deliberate plot point that it just doesn't suspend belief. I have read some doozies in HPLandia, but even the worst Margater Pargeter had an element of belief in it - I may have needed tin foil, but I bought into the plot. I couldn't with this one, it just made no sense and the HEA wasn't worth the hangover I had to incur to make it through the book.
Read this one while intoxicated if you must read it, that is probably the only way to make the book have enough cohesiveness to get to the end. I wouldn't say it was a great end, but thank goodness it did end.
Presumably these two will limp along for the next few years until the kid is old enough to figure out who she wants to live with or the h develops more than a sponge for a conscience and goes ahead with prosecuting the H for his side deals or at least using them as leverage for a divorce and a decent settlement.
Otherwise don't bother, cause after all the drama between these two and the suspicions regarding the H that aren't really put to rest, this romance just isn't, and I am glad to move on to better climes in HPLandia and put this on the back shelf.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 18, 2018
Dumb shit
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Paperback edition - Portuguese - Capricho de Mulher - Julia 441 - Editora Nova Cultural
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Paperback edition - Portuguese - Capricho de Mulher - Julia 441 - Editora Nova Cultural
January 15, 2021
The heroine is a horrible woman, hiding their child from the hero for two years because of something she had heard.
She never gave him a chance to explain what she had heard. I couldn’t stand her. She was annoying. She thinks he is dangerous and that he has connections with the maffia.
Even after a night of sex she tries to run away with their child. If he is that dangerous, then why do you sleep with him, you dumb twat.
But the hero was romantic, manly and and it was clear that he was absolutely, madly smitten by her. He didn’t know why she left him because she kept refusing to tell him. But he was doing his best to win her and their child over. He fought hard to save their marriage.
He remained celibate during the two years she left him and he didn’t know where his wife and child were. He didn’t even know if he had a son or a daughter because she was 6 months pregnant when she ran away from him.
The H is almost perfect. His only bad thing is that he loves a stupid woman.
Still 5 stars. But only for the hero. He made this book worth reading. And for me it’s worth a re-read because of the romantic, sexy things he says and does.
She never gave him a chance to explain what she had heard. I couldn’t stand her. She was annoying. She thinks he is dangerous and that he has connections with the maffia.
Even after a night of sex she tries to run away with their child. If he is that dangerous, then why do you sleep with him, you dumb twat.
But the hero was romantic, manly and and it was clear that he was absolutely, madly smitten by her. He didn’t know why she left him because she kept refusing to tell him. But he was doing his best to win her and their child over. He fought hard to save their marriage.
He remained celibate during the two years she left him and he didn’t know where his wife and child were. He didn’t even know if he had a son or a daughter because she was 6 months pregnant when she ran away from him.
The H is almost perfect. His only bad thing is that he loves a stupid woman.
Still 5 stars. But only for the hero. He made this book worth reading. And for me it’s worth a re-read because of the romantic, sexy things he says and does.
August 28, 2015
it was a captivating read and i recommend it. however, i disliked beth intensely. she jumped quickly to wrong conclusions and hurt luke badly in the process ! it's true he neglected her in the past but his love was never in question. he was crazy about her and she separated him from his child without any explanation !? believe me, in my opinion, she was stark mad and a catastrophe waiting to happen !
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July 7, 2012I don't think it's possible to HATE a heroine more. I didn't believe in their HEA mainly for the fact that the next time she hears something, instead of finding out the whole story she is just going to pull a runner for the thousandth time. He is always working and she will be working so at one point I felt sorry for their daughter. Except she was rather spoiled.. I don't know how he could possibly trust her and I ended up thinking he was an idiot. Their daughter hated him and called him Man, was rude to him but did the heroine try to stop her or tell her that isn't the way to treat people? Nope she was feeling joy because the much wanted child of the H couldn't stand him. This h was mad at the H and left the H because he was a "crook" but what do you call STEALING his child for over two years and then kidnapping the child later in the book? He should have pressed charges and let her rear end go to prison. Then found himself a REAL heroine that would love the H/h daughter and lived HEA.. Well I probably thought that before the end where he basically says "It's alright, he "needed" for her to leave so he knew what a real marriage was" So I don't really have sympathy for him after that b s.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 15, 2023
Let's get this out of the way right now: while we're told that our heroine is a brilliant attorney, formerly a rising star in the DA's office, she's actually Stereotypical Suspense Romance Heroine #43, the one who runs in terror from her formerly perfect life as soon as she encounters something that seems evil, then stays on the run - with her small child - for literal years without making any efforts to investigate whether she is actually in danger.
That said, the first couple of chapters, as Beth realizes she's been tracked down and attempts to escape with her daughter, are heart-pounding and well-written, and the rest of the book is totally fine as long as you basically ignore Beth's original reason for leaving and pretend that it was something that actually made sense. Since it doesn't, the big revelation at the end was a giant pile of ????? and the book as a whole doesn't hold together all that well, unfortunately.
That said, the first couple of chapters, as Beth realizes she's been tracked down and attempts to escape with her daughter, are heart-pounding and well-written, and the rest of the book is totally fine as long as you basically ignore Beth's original reason for leaving and pretend that it was something that actually made sense. Since it doesn't, the big revelation at the end was a giant pile of ????? and the book as a whole doesn't hold together all that well, unfortunately.
pback-to-read
November 23, 2021He was the hunter, she was his prey
As the young bride of Congressman Luke Caine, Beth found life demanding and difficult -- in everything except their shared powerful physical passion. When that passion resulted in pregnancy, she wa selated.
But her elation was short-lived.
For Beth made a discovery about Luke so devastating she had no choice but to flee. And flee she did -- for more than two years, from city to city, state to state, desperate to hide her child and herself from the only man she'd ever loved.
And then he found her
As the young bride of Congressman Luke Caine, Beth found life demanding and difficult -- in everything except their shared powerful physical passion. When that passion resulted in pregnancy, she wa selated.
But her elation was short-lived.
For Beth made a discovery about Luke so devastating she had no choice but to flee. And flee she did -- for more than two years, from city to city, state to state, desperate to hide her child and herself from the only man she'd ever loved.
And then he found her
February 25, 2021
Considering this book was written in 80s, it was definitely a little more adventurous for this genre. The h believe H to be corrupt and runs aways from their marriage when she was pregnant but obviously it turns out to be a misunderstanding and the power of communications is the moral of the story!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews