ALL JACKED UP

Author: Penny McCall ISBN: 0425214834 4/2007 SUSPENSE Publisher: BERKLEY SENSATION

Since Jack Mitchell barged into her life, librarian Aubrey Sullivan has been abducted at gunpoint, taken on a death-defying car chase, and kissed within an inch of madness. She's starting to think that maybe she should try to shake this overbearing guy... But Aubrey doesn't realize she's ticked off the biggest drug lord in the western hemisphere. It seems that somewhere in her photographic memory is something he wants kept quiet, and he's willing to kill to do it. And Jack can't exactly go to the good guys because, well, suddenly they think he's a bad guy, too. Now Jack needs Aubrey to help clear his name. If only she'd do what he says, they just might get out of this mess alive. That is if they can keep their hands off each other long enough to think straight...

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Debut author Penny McCall makes her way into the bookstores with the suspenseful romance, ALL JACKED UP. ALL JACKED UP is an enjoyable enough debut book, but I have a feeling Penny McCall is just testing the waters with this one. I think she has a talent for writing, but I just don't feel that this book showcased what she's really capable of.

I have to admit that I had a hard time really getting into the story. There was just too much dialogue and not enough chemistry between the characters for me to truly enjoy the story. I also found that the two main characters, Aubrey and Jack, were just not very likable.

What was good about ALL JACKED UP was that it had its fair share of action scenes, which gave the story momentum. Without that, I'm afraid that the story would have drowned with all the dialogue between the characters.

Unfortunately, Penny McCall's debut book, ALL JACKED UP, just fell short for me. As I said above, she does have a talent for writing and I will be more than happy to read her next book. I would just pass on this one.

Julie Kornhausl