8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very intense...., Jun 27 2006
By Bobbrun "lvsamystry" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Head To Head (Mass Market Paperback)
Really deliberated about this review...did not want to be like reviewers that ramble on and on until plot has been given away, or, like the ones who simply say "good book" with no real input.
I had read where this author was a romance novelist and this was her first mystery. What a debut! This novel is actually two stories, a background story and an current situation. The two merge just past 3/4 way through. When they merge, all hades breaks loose. Not only is the book intense, it is also frightening....because, even tho' this is a work of fiction, you know and I know, that this "crazy" really exists, somewhere.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
riveting and chilling thriller, Mar 4 2006
By Harriet Klausner - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Head To Head (Mass Market Paperback)
After working Robbery/Homicide in Los Angeles and undergoing a horrible tragedy homicide detective Claire Morgan moves to Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri where the biggest crimes are domestic disturbances someone stealing a lawn ornament, and x-rated phone calls. That all changes when a murder occurs at Cedar Bend Lodge which is owned and operated by the wealthy and charismatic Nicholas Black. The victim, a famous soap opera star, is found posed underwater sitting at a table covered with kitchen items as if she was waiting for a meal to be served.
At first Claire thinks Nick is the most likely suspect especially when someone attacks her and puts her in the water to drown. She arrests Nick then and there she but he is released after cops prove with the security tapes he wasn't the person who attacked her. When she learns the relationship between the victim and Nick, she crosses him off her suspects list and he begins helping them profile the serial killer. The medical examiner discovers that it is the victim's body but someone else's face attached to the body. When another victim wearing the first victim's face is found in the place where they tape the soaps in L.A. is found Claire's past is exposed. Her boss is so livid he suspends her but she is later reinstated and finds herself in danger because she was the target all along.
Linda Ladd has written a riveting and chilling thriller that is really two stories in one. The second story is about a child called Brat who is the victim of physical, sexual and emotional abuse who at the age of fourteen began a killing spree. He kills the victims and chops off their heads so they can keep his mother's head company. How this relates to the main storyline is an another great mystery written by an author who knows how to create two separate but parallel stories. HEAD TO HEAD IS memorizing and exciting reading and the sexual tension that exists between Claire and Nick adds an extra layer to this fantastic novel.
Harriet Klausner
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great debut contemporary suspense, Jun 19 2006
By Angela Wilson "I love books & DVDs!" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Head To Head (Mass Market Paperback)
Ladd's Head to Head introduces us to Detective Claire Morgan, a woman with secrets trying to solve a gruesome crime at Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri.
Very rich, very sexy Nick Black is a suspect.
Sexual tension is high, suspicions abound and the killer keeps upping the stakes as Claire gets closer to solving the case.
This is a fast-paced ride with a predictable ending. However, the twists this novel takes to get you there will have your jaw dropping.
Those that enjoy the J.D. Robb series will notice similarities between Ladd's Nick and Claire with Robb's Roarke and Eve, but the characters in this series are unique in their own right - and live in real time, not the future.
Looking forward to the second installment - and hoping to see more of the really sexy Nicky.
-- Angela Wilson