When She Was Bad

by Ron Faust

Chantral, a ruthless seductress who destroys everyone she encounters, tempts Dan Stark with promises of love and paradise, and as he discovers her true nature, Dan realizes that he must kill Chantral or become her next victim. Reprint.

Genres: Audiobook

373 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Kurt Reichenbaugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, I'm this dork browsing in a used bookstore when I come across this book titled When She Was Bad and of course I'm going to take it home with me. I have a weakness for books and movies about bad women. It all started with this girl I dated after high school and...well...never mind that. Anyway, I'm about 40 pages into this one thinking it might not be so great, but then it kicks into gear and two days later I finished it. A femme fatale may be a pretty shopworn trope but reading about them is still fun. The cool thing about this book is that Faust turns the plot into something sort of original. Chantal, the lead femme, is indeed bad. But Dan, the presumed sap, is just as corrupt. He just needed someone like Chantel to bring his true nature to bloom. So the book becomes a long story of two psychos planning elaborate revenge plots on each other. They seem to live only for jacking each other's lives up. Crazy is contagious with these two. Yeah, the twists and turns of their elaborate schemes are implausible, but you don't really go into books without a suspension of disbelief. A fun book about nasty people if you like that kind of thing.

[Tgordon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m unsure about this book. I liked some aspects and others were just background noise. This was a very different story. To call it a mystery I think is a stretch. The only real twist happens at the end and honestly I had fully forgotten how it was all connected. The concept is man and women meet under strained circumstances and then spend the next 30 years trying to kill each other. Who wins?

[Ben Boulden · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful, noirish, crime novel that is as unusual as it is good.

[Lane · Rating 4 out of 5]

fascinating
Dan Stark, owns a boat in Florida Keys
Christina Terry, shipwreck survivor
mysterious circumstances
She bedazzles him.
He helps her recover emerald. She then maroons him on a reef. He's rescued and focuses on revenge.
Seven years later, he is much heavier and sure he wouldn't be recognized.
he tracks her to Aspen.
Their mutual revenge goes tit for tat for years.
He is obsessed and tormented by her.

Faust does a good job fleshing out the hatred fury and obsesession of these two misfits.

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: Christina Terry is ruthless as the Spider Queen; she seduces and destroys all those around her. That includes Dan Stark.

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the plot in this book, though I didn't really like any of the characters. The chapters are short and there is some suspense and plot twists throughout the book. I was happy with the ending, and I wasn't sure how it was going to finish until it happened.

[Razz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! I've been looking for this book for years! I read it a long time ago and really enjoyed it!

[Nikki Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

basic storyline was good. chapters wer often too short and even unnecessary. predictable but good writing.

[Jennifer]

Good...enjoyed it