Don't Tell

This is an engaging story with characters you can't help but love. Except for the villain. He's a nasty piece of work. The story will keep you on the edge of your seat with the suspense. Yet it will also tug at you'd heart with the wonderful friendships and caring families.

Overall, it was a great book. While I found the timeline a bit unbelievable, the characters themselves were written well. The book touched on not only the abuse but the after math of it and how it affects people. One thing I had trouble following was whose point of view was being used. While most of the time it was fairly easy to know, there were times where it switched, and I had to go back a reread sections to understand where the change occurred.

She's been hiding for seven years, keeping her son and herself safe from the madman who had brutally abused them and almost killed her. Mary Grace and Robbie Winters are painful memories and Caroline Stewart has done everything in her power to help her and her son Tom do more than survive, but thrive. Seven years after fleeing from a violently abusive spouse and assuming a new identity, Caroline has gotten her GED and is working her way through college, just a semester away from her dream of law school. Her son is well loved and safe. And despite recently losing her beloved boss to a surprise heart attack, she's happy in her job as secretary of the head of the history department. When the new department head arrives, she's more than happy, and handsome and very tall Dr. Max Hunter makes the sort of impression Caroline had never had a chance to experience in her long history of neglect and abuse.Both are scarred, both flawed by circumstance and painful pasts, but their attraction is intense. Caroline's secrets, though, are the sort that kill, and unbeknownst to her, the sadistic misogynist and murderer she married, Rob Winters, has realized that his wife and son aren't missing or dead. Realized that Mary Grace ran from him, stole his son from him. Unbeknownst to Caroline, Winters is cutting a wide swath of death and destruction...and he's coming for her and their son. Nothing will stop him. No one can catch him. And no one will see him coming.Don't Tell isn't my first romantic suspense by Karen Rose, but it was her first published. It's surely not necessary to read them in order, as they're only loosely connected by reappearing characters, but I thought I'd go back to see how it all started. I'm glad I did. Rose started with a plot that perhaps isn't the most original, but it's well told. An abusive cop husband undermines his abused wife and son and keeps her from any hope of help until she takes her son and disappears. Years later he finds out and, enraged, starts to hunt her down, destroying everything and everyone in his path.The procession of the plot is a bit formulaic, including the quick-fired romance between Caroline and Max and the reaction of Caroline's son Tom, but there's a certain formula to all romantic suspense, so I wasn't overly bothered by that. Rose's authorial strengths lie not just in the intricate, twisting plots of her novels, but in the depth and dimension of the characters inhabiting the story. She excels in creating sympathetic characters with baggage and flaws, characters who make mistakes and are intrinsically human. Some endearing, some humorous, most a mixture of both. This exceptional talent extends beyond primary characters to the secondary and ancillary set, from heroes and heroines to their families and friends and even to their pets. In so doing, each book is gripping on an emotional level and memorable for it, regardless of specific plots.In Don't Tell Rose has gone one further and touched on many of the sensitive issues and delicate psychological damages shared by survivors of spousal and parental abuse and carefully folded that into the personalities of Caroline and Tom to the differing degrees required by the plot. Taken to the extreme, the abuse was horrifying, but it served as a reminder and wake up call to women who may find themselves in situations that are in any way similar. Perhaps it breathed hope into just one victim, or reminded one woman or child that abuse can be escaped - should be escaped, or provided one option to someone who was convinced there were none. Perhaps. If so, then it transcended the scope of chilling entertainment.I hope it did.Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another.

At first, I questioned the author's level of skill, because of things that seemed unpolished and or amateurish - like stopping the action too long for descriptions (esp. when the hero and heroine first meet), instead of working in the information in smaller chunks. The day and time stamp headings of the chapters were also an irritant. They weren't needed. The author did a good job of running the scenes concurrently - bouncing between them to give us a clear picture of what was going on in each city and with each group of characters as the story unfolded.The only time I looked back and counted the hours was when the heroine was abducted, to see how long she'd been enduring what the villain was dishing out, but that could have been worked into the story. (And no. That's not really a plot spoiler. You know it's coming.) After the first two chapters, the city headings would have been enough. If Rose wanted to emphasize the passage of time, then headings like '[location], 2 hours later' would have been preferable to the actual time. I HATE having to turn back pages in my Kindle to 'do the math.' It not only pulls me out of the story, but it's a LOT of button pushing. Grr.Other than some minor plausibility issues, like a heroine with a battered wife past getting up in a man's face and provoking him, the book seemed plausible enough that I was able to maintain my suspension of disbelief and enjoy the story. (Had the heroine done it impulsively, and then been shocked at herself after, figuring it was because she felt safe around Max, I could have bought it. But the way the author had her rationalize it beforehand didn't work for me.) I'm sure if I went digging, I could find more, but I was in it mostly for the romance.Although I kept picturing Max and Caroline as older than they were, the characters were likable (one of my favorites, brother David), and the chemistry between them was good. The romance and love scenes, too. Rose also throws in a lot of humor, which was a needed blessing for this dark and sometimes-violent story. I laughed out loud many times.All in all, the story was very enjoyable, especially once I got about 1/3 of the way into the book. A solid 4 stars.

This storyline has an awful lot of what happens on a daily basis these days too..... a woman suffers at the hands of her abusive husband.... in this case Mary Grace is able to escape with her son Tom, and make a new life for herself, changing her name to Caroline Winters, but her past catches up with her, but not before she meets Max Hunter, again tall dark and handsome but with a disability, who has had his own demons to overcome with the help of Caroline Winters and his family. Since Karen Rose wrote this book in 2009, and I know its is classed as fictional, I hope the police in the USA in this story line who are out in the sticks where Mary Grace lived, were fictional... I pray that all police officers help women like this instead of turning a blind eye. This book has been well researched, and although a harrowing story line (because this kind of thing still goes on) it shows hope, and trust, and with the romantic element makes this an enjoyable read. I would recommend this read.

Could not put it down. This is the first time I have read any Karen Rose books and will certainly be reading more. I thought that where it shows Chicago Series book 1, 2 etc that they follow on from one another but they don't. You need to go onto her website to see which order to read them. For example Don't Tell (The Chicago Series Book 1). Then the next book to read is "Have You Seen Her" (The Rayleigh Series) then "I'm watching you "(The Chicago Series). etc. Very strange

I've read most of her books and usually enjoy the main storyline. I find the romantic subplots irritating, and the characters very black and white - the villains are villains, and the protagonists and their friends are all stunning looking, intelligent, warm, caring....you get the picture. A little variety here would be nice. I usually put up with the romantic subplots for the sake of the story, but the subplot here pretty much took over. Way too much throbbing, surging and gasping! The cynic in me said that the main characters fell in lust, not love, and looked to build a future together pretty much based on the fact that she had a nice backside.There were no surprises in the story, no hidden villains, and one of the subplots becomes apparent from the beginning to anyone who's read another of her books - can't remember the name but it's the one where the widowed cop with three sons and the warm and caring aunty throbs and surges with the stunningly attractive schoolteacher.I'll probably give her a miss after this one, it's all very predictable.

I absolutely loved this book and could not put it down. It has an incredible storyline with so many emotions running through it.I could relate a lot to this book and I thought it gave women out there hope in finding a new love and a new life.This book was incredible, it kept me on the edge of my seat, the romance was moving and the violence was written well.My only criticism would be that I think the author must love the word "mercy" as it was repeated constantly and was annoying.I would definitely recommend this book it was amazing.

I have now bought 7 of her books and so far read 5. Enjoyed them all thoroughly. This is the only one where I had to skip the "hot" scenes, and I mean like dozens of pages skipped!!! as it was becoming very tedious and I wanted them to get on with the investigation to catch the husband, not to get their kit off!!! ahaha. I sound like I am a frustrated old maid but not at all, I love raunchiness and nudity but not so much in crime books.:)Despite the skipping, I really enjoyed the sadism of that husband of hers as it made great suspense and was on the edge of my bed. Hot bed!! ahaha