A Breath Away

This morning, I finished A Breath Away by Rita Herron, another of my RWA signing books. I had been tempted by it several times in the bookstore because of its cover, which I think is terrific. The cover is perhaps the best part of the book, however: 3 out of 5.

Violet and Darlene were best friends as children. Darlene was murdered when the girls were eight. Violet had visions about what was happening to Darlene and where her body could be found. Shortly after Darlene's death, Violet's father sent her away to live with her grandmother.

Fast forward 20 years. Violet learns that her father is dead and supposedly committed suicide. Her grandmother wants Violet to return to the town to find out what really happened. Once there, Violet sees Darlene's brother, Grady, for the first time in years. She is attracted to him but thinks he hates her because her father left a note stating that he (her father) was the one who killed Darlene.

The romance in this book is less successful than the suspense plot. Violet feels guilty because Darlene left her house to visit Violet. Violet also feels like she should have stopped the murder. Grady was five years older than the girls and feels equally guilty. His father insisted that Grady should have protected Darlene. Against this backdrop of guilt, it's difficult to believe that the two fall in love.

I also wondered that they would be carrying so much guilt so long after the events. I believed that they would both be changed because of what happened to them, but Violet virtually stopped living. She never had a relationship with a man, and she feels like she doesn't deserve to be happy. I wanted to tell her to find a good therapist, fast.

The story jumps from Grady, to Violet, to at least half a dozen other townspeople. This helped the reader get to know the suspects, but it shifted the focus from Violet and Grady, which added to the unbelievable romance. Plus, you don't get enough of one person to feel like you know him or her. I became frustrated with each changed point of view.

The ending was strong. I was intrigued by the way the suspense story wrapped up--I was thrown off by one of the red herrings--and I thought the romantic ending was appropriate. Make that the very end of the romantic ending. There's another conflict after the danger is past, and it struck me as forced under the circumstances.

So, A Breath Away was an OK read, probably not something I would read again. But I still like the cover.