ARE YOU AFRAID?

Author: Carla Cassidy ISBN: 045121806X 3/2006 SUSPENSE Publisher: SIGNET ECLIPSE

At the age of sixteen, Jessica Langford endured and escaped the grip of a serial killer who buried his victims alive. After overcoming this terrifying experience, she started her own radio program to help those living in fear. If she could survive her past, why not help others do the same? But now her past is being resurrected. An anonymous man calls in to her show with remarkable knowledge of her traumatic experience—and her worst fears. With help from Detective Jake Merridan—a gorgeous cop on the brink of burnout himself—Jessie must try to uncover the intentions of this mysterious caller, to find him before he kills again and makes her life worse than anything she's ever feared.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

ARE YOU AFRAID? is a smoothly written, character-driven, often exciting tale that might just make you jump at things that go bump in the night.

Carla Cassidy sure has a deft hand with creating characters who jump out at you. By adding some interesting touches to her characters—such as a telling glimpse of the special bonding between a child and a parent or a therapist who specializes in treating patients with phobias but who is herself afraid of the dark (with good reason)—Ms. Cassidy gives her characters a new dimension. And intriguing depth...These characters are remarkably believable.

Dr. Jessie Langford and Detective Jake Merridan are extraordinary characters. Jessie, who survived a horrific act of violence as a teenager, has forged a new—and challenging—life for herself. Jessie is a survivor who uses her own tragedy, her own fears, to help others. And Jake Merridan isn't just eye candy. This macho guy, who lived through an unfortunate childhood, has his own hopes and fears.

ARE YOU AFRAID? focuses more on this couple's romance and on their relationship with others than the suspense. But Ms. Cassidy skillfully never loses sight of the threat of danger, the whisper of evil lurking. The serial killer (one sick puppy) is always making himself known...or felt, even though police are slow making the connection between his most recent victims and his past reign of terror.

Ms. Cassidy also does a nice job throwing in some red herrings to keep the game interesting.

My complaint with ARE YOU AFRAID? is the glossing over—or the vagueness—of the police investigation. With three young women dead and an apparent serial killer on the loose, Jake Merridan seems to have lots of free time for romance. Ms. Cassidy seems to either be uncomfortable writing about police procedures or she hasn't done enough research on police investigations. Either way, ARE YOU AFRAID? suffers from lack of detail.

Aside from that one complaint, I found ARE YOU AFRAID? to be a nicely paced thriller with some exceptionally written characters. Ms. Cassidy manages to keep things interesting while slowly building anticipation to an explosive conclusion.

Debbie Jett