The Chase

by Brenda Joyce

Claire Hayden has no idea that her world is about to be shattered. At the conclusion of her husband'' 40th birthday party, he is found murdered, his throat cut with a weapon that hasn't been used since World War II. He has no enemies. He has committed no crimes. He has no shady past. Claire's search for information leads her to the mysterious Ian Marshall, an acquaintance of her husband who seems to know something. Someone has been killing this way for decade. Someone whose crimes go back to World War II. Someone who will do anything to make sure no one finds out. As Claire and Ian team up to track down the killer, Ian makes a shocking revelation: the killer may be close-and moving closer-to Claire. Full of twists and turns, The Chase is a fast-paced thriller with Brenda Joyce's trademark plotting, sensuality, and characterization.

Genres: Romance, Suspense, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary Romance, Mystery, Mystery Romance, Contemporary

472 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Brenda Joyce is the bestselling author of forty-one novels and five novellas. She has won many awards, and her debut novel, Innocent Fire, won a Best Western Romance award. She has also won the highly coveted Best Historical Romance award for Splendor and Two Lifetime Achievement Awards from Romantic Times BOOKreviews. There are over 14 million copies of her novels in print and she is published in over a dozen foreign countries.

A native New Yorker, she now lives in southern Arizona with her son, dogs, and her Arabian and half-Arabian reining horses. Brenda divides her time between her twin passions—writing powerful love stories and competing with her horses at regional and national levels. For more information about Brenda and her upcoming novels, please visit her Web sites: www.brendajoyce.com, www.thedewarennedynasty.com and http://mastersoftimebooks.com.

Reviews

[Billy Connard · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn’t keep me interested. Will give this author another shot sometime though.

[Nerriah.miller]

The Chase by Brenda Joyce is by far the best book I have ever read, save the other two books I have read by her: Double Take and The Third Heiress. Her books all have a twisting plot and, in particular, the plot so far in The Chase has not failed to keep me guessing. I am only sixteen and I have a relatively short attention span when it comes to books that are what we call "boring" but this book has kept me wide-eyed and bushy-tailed until the wee hours of the night. I am still reading and the way it in unfolding and constantly flipping back and forth between cliff hangers is amazing. She deserves her round of applause and I will definitely be in the audience to give it to her

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I liked the intrigue in this one, the heroine's character wasn't plausible, it was obvious from the half way point who the killer was, and the ending was so too sweet and neat.

[Ginny Thurston · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is good for a light summer read. I read it while traveling, and, until the last 100 pages, was easy to put down and not come back to later. The last part moves faster, and after the long drawn -out character introductions and complications and the switching back and forth time periods, one begins to get anxious to find out the answers to all of the questions. I tried to figure out who the killer was...but it was a complete surprise! I like that.

[Angelika Malanik · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book more than 20 years ago and I still think about it. It was an amazing read and the absolute mind-bender of a twist - you never see coming. Absolute insanity. I’m scared to read it again haha I was on the edge of my seat with this one. Character development and storytelling is top tier. Fantastic!

[Jada]

DNF at 129/400 pages.

Honestly, its not a bad book, or even badly written necessarily, but . . . What's supposed to be 'romantic suspense', I was bored. I found the 'romance' a little too 'insta-love' trope-y, plus the way the MC basically forces her way into the mystery is just that: forced. (Also borders slightly on stalking IMHO).

I kinda hate DNF-ing books, but since my TBR is easily 200+ physical books (and ~375 eBooks), frankly this one isn't worth my time. Over a quarter of the way in and nothing interesting enough has happened to make me want to continue, so in other words, thanks, but no thanks.

No rating because I didn't finish and I feel no need to skew the rating.

[Patsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

When her husband is brutally murdered at her fortieth birthday party, his throat cut with a weapon that has not been used since World War II, Claire Hayden is forced to team up with her late husband's enigmatic associate, Ian Marshall, to catch a killer, plunging them both into a dangerous mystery

[Ellie Carlisle · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book stunk. I don’t know how the author is a best seller. The romance was not real. Only finished it because I wanted to see how the mystery part of it turned out but skipped some of the insipid dialogue. Very unrealistic and will not read this author again.

[Jamey · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have to admit that I didn't finish the book. The heroine impressed me as being gullible and somewhat foolish. I expect main characters to have some faults but I couldn't even find this one likeable enough to care about.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good. Picked this up at a garage sale. It ended up being quite the page turner. I like that it was broken up in to parts taking you back in time to learn more about the history of story.

[Jane Dow · Rating 3 out of 5]

WWII spies and murders. Ian Marshall and Claire Hayden hunt for the killer of Claire’s husband and a Nazi war criminal.

[Laarin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The end was surprising but it was a long confusing route getting there

[Pamela Laborie Seher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read..kept me entertained

[Jasmine B · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

first read The Chase in the summer of 2003. My brother and I had flown out to California to spend our vacation with our dad. I was only here a few weeks before I stumbled across this book in a Walgreens in San Jose. It was one of three books I bought there that summer. I remember sitting on a beach on Half Moon Bay (it was not beach weather despite being August 7th) and reading the scene in which Ian, the hero, tells Claire, the heroine, that he wasn’t used to having sex with a screamer. I was 16 and hadn’t read about “screamers” before. To me, that made The Chase as steamy beach read.

In the 12 years since that first read, I’ve gone back to Ian and Claire’s world several times, but I’ve never reviewed it.

Claire Hayden was the perfect society wife, but she wasn’t happy. Her husband was rarely around and she couldn’t remember the last time they’d had sex. Plus, he’d been edgy lately. Deciding to divorce him, she’s shocked to find his dead body sitting on a chair on the terrace of their San Francisco home. She immediately suspects Ian Marshall. He claimed to be her husband’s friend, but there was obvious tension between the two when they met earlier in the night.

Ian Marshall isn’t what he seems, but he isn’t a killer. He’s a Nazi Hunter, looking for a Nazi spy, who has gone free for almost 70 years. He believes that the same spy killed Claire’s husband and has his sights on Claire. Despite his better judgement, he allows Claire to tag along on his quest to bring a heinous spy and murderer to justice.

One of the first things I have to mention about The Chase is that it isn’t just the story of Ian and Claire. Alongside their story (the narrative bounces back and forth between 2001 and WWII), taking place in the spring of 2001, readers are introduced to Eddy (Ian’s uncle) and Rachel. It is their story that I’ve always preferred, although from the very beginning we’re told that they don’t get their happily ever after.

You can read the rest of the review here.

[De'lesha · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Chase by Brenda Joyce was very peculiar. It kept me on the edge the way it switched back and forth through time zones. It was a cliffhanger for both parts, the story of the present and the story of the past. Every time it didn’t go back to the other time frame you jus sat there wondering tipping more and more off the cliff. When it finally got back to the other part you came up off the cliff a little but then fell more because you were curious about the part that it just switched from.
Brenda Joyce created this novel about a lady whose husband was murdered at the end of his 40th birthday party. His throat slashed with a weapon only used in World War II by a supposed serial killer. She meets this “cop” who wants to find the killer if it’s the last thing he does. It goes back to the World War days to try and track down the serial killer from where they first start and their first victims.
Trying to figure out what happened next was completely pointless, it never happened like I thought it would. None of the parts went the way my brain said so impatiently I had to wait for Brenda Joyce’s brilliant mind to reveal it to me. Flipping the page paragraph after paragraph I get that twisted gut heart sinking filling when I finally know whom the killer is. Parts have made me want to cry and gave me that feeling of “aww how sweet!”
It’s made me dream I was the characters in the book only for that split scene. I haven’t read any of Brenda Joyce’s other books but I have heard that they are just as good. Just as this book was recommended to me, I also recommend it to you. If you like books that are mysterious and thriller then this is the book for you. If I had two more hands I would give this book 4 thumbs up.

[Nancy Bandusky · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel has plenty of twists and surprises that keep the pages turning for about 4/5ths of the book. The novel is broken up by having a murder mystery in the present that also involves murders from the past.

While that definitely kept the pace moving, I found the people from the present (Ian and Claire) to be too much like the people from the past (Rachel and Eddy.) Characterization differences were minimal - it felt like Claire could be Rachel and Ian could be Eddy and only the date changed.

Claire went back and forth on who she was going to believe and trust so much that I grew tired of caring. I found the ending to be dull and disappointing because of all the time spent with her indecision. The "surprise" at the end made me wonder how good an investigator Ian really was - especially regarding his own relations.

[Felicia Chelgren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brenda Joyce is always fun to read. By no means would I consider her writing fine literature, but they're juicy. This is the first contemporary novel I've read of hers although the book also switched back to the 30's and 40's and dealt with nazi espionage. fun read as are all of her books

[Sylvia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Modern

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

somewhat in the tradition of Helen MacInnes, but not as successful.

[Nanannee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was sooo good! I couldn't put it down! I would get so frustrated when it went back and forth but it made me want to keep reading it was a great book!:)

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was ok, kinda historical non-fiction murder solving book. was pretty good though. *recomended for 15yrs and older if interested in reading it

[Bumbershootbears · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read. Flashback scenes were a little long. Kept ya guessing to the end.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

boring

[Robyn Kibodeaux · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book. One of my favorites by Brenda Joyce.