Life Sentences

by Tekla Dennison Miller (contributor)

Celeste Brookstone has the perfect life. On the surface when her daughter takes a job with the Michigan Prison System, she fears for Pilar's safety. But she's glad she's away from the hell on earth Marcus Brookstone has created within his own home. Pilar Brookstone is an idealist. She thinks she can change things, Make inmates' lives a little better. And never, ever make the mistake her mother made. Chad Wilbanks is a serial killer. He is serving life. Eight young women were his victims. Is he about to take his ninth?

Genres: Ebooks

Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2005

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

It held my interest, but just ok. Just kind of surface, not very deep, lots of typos. Not
worth paying $6.00 for.

[Ken Finlay · Rating 1 out of 5]

"Life Sentences" is well written but didn't grab me, rather it niggled at me as I tried to figure out what was causing the disconnect.
The plot, at least at the start, seemed very forced. While, on the face of it, the story concerns Pilar's training as a doctor and her strained relationship with her father, you can feel the storyline being pulled in the direction of convicted serial killer Chad Wilbanks.
Among those he murdered was Pilar's friend, Susan - partly as a result Pilar has gathered as much information as possible over the years about Chad. But there seems to be something we don't know, something that connects Pilar and Chad. There's nothing overt about it but there is an occasional nudge.
This is being written as I read "Life Sentence" so it may appear confused from time to time :)
When they eventually meet, she is a prison doctor, he's an inmate, its more or less Instalove and obsession on her part. She diagnoses him with a brain tumour so they can have regular meetings - never doubting for a moment that he is a wronged man, cruelly deprived of his liberty. It's completely over the top and not believable for a moment ... unless there is something else going on.
And Chad has his own agenda, maybe even a conspiracy involving other prisoners.
Then Pilar is murdered!
The plotline promptly falls apart and all that remains is locating the murderer - his identity is quickly established but he's on the run.
A book that might have been something special ultimately devolved into a run of the mill one. It was almost as if the author, Tekla Dennison Miller, built up expectations with the very deliberate intention of knocking each one down and replacing it with nothing much at all.
Sigh :(
Some of the typos were peculiar, particularly words running together. I initially thought it might be just a fault in my Ebook, but other reviewers have also noted it.

[Melissa Herman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Read!!

[Peggy Holloway · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book very much and it kept my interest right up to the end. It moved at a good clip and I loved this author's writing style. The whole idea for the plot was intriguing. I have often wondered about women who would or could fall in love with a killer but we all know they exist. There are many smart women who make foolish choices out there. One of the things, in my mind, that kept this book from being a five star instead of a four was that one question was left unanswered. Were Chad and Pilar half siblings? The other thing was that the book kept going after the plot was finished. I thought it was doing this so that the question would be answered. I thought maybe it would come out in the trial. But it never happened.

I would read other books by this author. I like her style. I don't usually spend this much on an e-book, however. But I'm glad I did for this book.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first read by Tekla Dennison Miller , but will not be my last . Once finished with this review I will be purchasing Inevitable Sentences ( book two in the chad Wilbank series). Not normally a reader of " series " , but can't help myself this time !

I've noticed a few low ratings and poor reviews on this book ....didn't get it ? I loved the writing style , enjoyed the characters and held my breath until I could pick my Kindle back up and see what happened next .

First impression was that it was a predictable read ...wrong ! I just knew how it would end ....wrong ! Got to see what happens next !

[Bri · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was pretty good. At. First I was not too pleased with how things turned out and was quite frustrated with Pilar and her actions! Almost to the point I wanted to stop reading. I only kept onbc I just had to know what happened, why, and what was the poi t of the story. Not that I was excited about it but that I was all "wtf?! Why did you write it this why ugh not so pleased" the typing errors drove me nuts though!!!

[Lillie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story kept me reading in spite of editing and conversion problems. There were missing words, extra words that apparently were not deleted when sentences were revised, and words used incorrectly. The book was filled with words running together with no spaces in between, which I suspect was caused by conversion errors and not caught because the converted manuscript was not proofread. Without those errors, the book would have been much more enjoyable.

[Old_airman · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the first half, I had the feeling of an impending train wreck. Was surprised by the turn of events. Or at least the order of the events. The characters were too one dimensional. If they had been fuller, viewing them through the eyes of the daughter and then the mother would have been more intriguing.

[Lynda Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

This sounded good but after encountering 13 errors on the 26 pages I read I gave up. If nobody can be bothered to edit it properly I can't be bothered to read it. There were heaps of words with no gaps between them and St Clair suddenly morphed into St Clare......sorry, but I can't enjoy something presented like this.

[Jordana · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book isn't a bad read, the story/plot idea is actually pretty interesting but the fact is, for a doctor, Pilar is pretty stupid.

She falls right in love and barely even reproaches herself for being what can only be considered ignorant. She really makes women look bad. The writing style of the book, however, is not bad. I doubt I would ever finish this series though. Just not for me.

[C.S. Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. Out kept me interested enough to finish it, but I kept waiting for more. I feel like something is missing in this plot, though I can't put my finger on it. The writing was well executed, I just feel like it lacked depth.

[Rachael]

Some things are a bit disorganized. But it is entertaining

[Jenna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps the storyline could've been interesting but this book wasn't.

[Karenlkeith · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't keep my interest. Distracted by the poor presentation. Gave up.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really hard to get past the idea of a bright young doctor falling for a serial killer. It happened way too fast. Otherwise I could have enjoyed the book editorial errors and all.

[Alicia · Rating 2 out of 5]

while this was well written, it was very predictable. I wasn't shocked or surprised by anything that happened. I would have liked some twists and turns.

[Debi Achey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this psychological crime thriller despite the other bad reviews. Held my interest and kept me on the edge of my seat.

[Iamthez · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was so laughable, I couldn't take any more. I felt no sympathy for the main character. None. I couldn't even finish it.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good book reading the second one now...

[Kristi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a great book, not really even a good one. Poor character and plot development. No spoilers, but I could have cared less what happened to any of these people. I just kept reading for it to end.