Countdown by Lynette Eason 4.5 stars rounded up

[Karin]

NB this book is set during about one week in the winter and cold plus snow, etc, is important in it.

The reason I have rated this book 5 stars and not 4 isn't because the language is brilliant or that it had special insights, but because I didn't even think to peek at the back until it was after my bedtime and I knew I couldn't sleep--since my children were very young I have peeked at the ending to see if I want to finish and I avoid hearing anything about the middle parts of books (so I don't read long reviews before finishing a book since they usually give away the kinds of things I don't want to know.) Even though the romance was predictable and the romance writing about that wasn't special, the rest of the story had me on my toes and in the moment.

In other words, Eason has done a great job on writing the thriller/suspense part of this book. My ratings of her books have ranged from 2-5 stars and only gave the first book in this series 3 stars, and for this series I would say that I rated my experience reading it as well as the books. I'll be the first to admit that some of the writing is a bit cheesy (the romance stuff) but then I'm not a huge fan of romance novels, partly for that very reason.

There was at least one great twist in this novel that was unexpected.