Not What She Seems is a sweet romantic suspense, appropriate for ages 12 and up. Back blurb: Steven Ashton, a billionaire from New York, and Emily Grant, on the run from the law...and when they meet he can't help falling for her. What he doesn't know is that interfering in her life will put his own life in danger.
Contemporary romantic suspense is my favorite type of book, but I only like it when the plot is complex and unpredictable, and the building tension is balanced out by lighter scenes and/or humorous moments. Victorine Lieske's Not What She Seems scores high in both of these categories for me.
Now, for about the first quarter of the book, I felt disappointed. There were only a few major characters, and I thought I had the whole plot figured out already. But I was wrong. About then, the story underwent the proverbial "plot thickening", like an expertly-made holiday gravy. Many more locations, characters, and plot twists began to unfold, and the seemingly simple storyline turned into a roller coaster ride with no easy exit (I read everything from chapter 2 on, in one 24 hour span). A plethora of potential suspects presented themselves, all with believable motives and reasonable opportunity, such that I was reminded of a lively round of "Clue", where everyone from Miss Scarlett to Colonel Mustard was looking good for the deed.
With all those characters and locations, however, I would have preferred more development of personalities, interrelationships, and setting details. But I may be alone in this; a lot readers prefer the fast-paced, plot-focused novel and find the other elements merely a slow down.
As this is an indie published work, I was not unprepared for formatting and technical issues, but instead, Not What She Seems was as cleanly produced as any traditionally published book I've seen. I only spotted two or three spelling/grammatical errors total. There were a couple minor plot elements that struck me as odd, and I did find the action at the climax scene at Vincent's house a little confusing, but those were minor flaws in an otherwise easily followed story.
Finally, as mentioned earlier, I appreciated Ms. Lieske's moments of humor which helped to soften the otherwise breakneck pace. She made me laugh out loud more than once, memorably at the "Spiderman sheets" comment. If you are a reader who enjoys plentiful action, a complex plot, and prefer to go easy on the life histories and weather reports, your money will not be wasted on Victorine Lieske's Not What She Seems.
Not What She Seems is available for purchase in paper and for the Kindle or Kindle-for-PC (ebook format) from Amazon and Amazon UK.
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