Publisher's Weekly Review
With conviction and panache, Kate McIntyre elevates Grace's less than stellar debut to an entertaining listen. Former Atlanta prosecuting attorney Hailey Dean is still traumatized after her fiance's murder, so much so that after her last case, where she wins a conviction against Clint Burrell Cruise for the murder of 11 prostitutes, she abandons her law career and moves to New York City to work as a therapist. However, her past returns to haunt her when someone begins killing her patients-in Cruise's signature style. Dean finds herself a suspect in the murders and is forced to investigate the case in order to clear her name. McIntyre knows her way around an audio book: she hurdles implausible plot points and her strong readings add depth to Grace's weak characterizations. A Hyperion hardcover (Reviews, June 22). (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
A prosecutor's past comes back to haunt her with a new series of murders in this slick but superficial celebrity-penned thriller. Hailey Dean has tried her last case. Although she identifies strongly with the victims of the criminals she prosecutes, the work is too close to home. Dean has been a workaholic ever since her fianc was murdered, a tragedy that sent her to law school and the Atlanta DA's office, and she needs a break. So after putting away serial killer Clint Cruise, she picks up the life she should have hadworking as a therapist in New York City. But just as she begins to reawaken to life, and the possibility of new romance, someone starts killing her clients. To make matters worse, a keepsake from her old life turns up at a crime scene, implicating Dean. Mining her own life, including the murder of her own fianc, Court TV celebrity Grace (Objection!, 2005) has created a fast-paced thriller. But despite the actionwhich switches from Dean's viewpoint to the killer's cool furythis fiction debut feels too formulaic and simplistic. The characters lack depth, with many of the minor players, such as a buffoonish judge, played as caricatures. And while Grace may know the ins and outs of the legal system, too many events defy belief. While Grace's fame and the real-life tie-in will probably sell this book, its by-the-numbers plot and characters won't keep them reading. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
TV personality Grace's (coauthor, Objection!) fiction debut starts out as a compelling story about an Atlanta-based assistant DA who wins her case against a serial killer. But as it tracks her relocation to New York, her second career as a therapist, and the murder of her young female patients by a copycat killer, subplots that seem at odds with the main story, any growth of suspense is hindered. An improbable ending further disappoints. However, Kate McIntyre's (A Life That Matters) exemplary narration-she makes each character distinct and unique-helps to mitigate the flip-flopping story lines. Recommended for followers of Grace and fans of James Patterson. [The Hyperion hc, published in August, was a New York Times and Publishers Weekly best seller.-Ed.]-Gloria Maxwell, Metropolitan Community Coll.-Penn Valley Lib., Kansas City, MO (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.