Linda Howard is an amazing author and is one of my top 5 favorites. Killing Time is a suspense with a time travel twist and, while not one of her best, I still enjoyed it very much. I normally don't go for time travel romance so I was surprised I liked this book so well.Knox Davis is the chief county investigator for Pekesville, a small town in Kentucky. He is stumped by a series of strange events. The time capsule that had been buried in front of the courthouse twenty years before is dug up and stolen, and a local attorney is found dead with a spear protruding from his back. Howard is known for her uber-alpha males but Knox is a true beta hero and I really liked him. I may be wrong but I can't recall a single beta hero in all of Howard's works.
Nikita Stover is an FBI agent who turns up at the murder crime scene. But she is no ordinary FBI agent. Nikita comes from the year 2207. Knox is very attracted to her but she tries to maintain a professional distance. She is very self-controlled, reserved and yet vulnerable. Because of her background, Nikita has spent her whole life trying not to call attention to herself. She came across at first as very cold but when her backstory was revealed, her personal characteristics were believable.
The suspense was well-plotted and compelling but the romance was a little on the light side. There was a fair amount of sexual tension but (frustratingly) the actual deed didn't take place until the last 100 pages or so but was satisfyingly hot. I also enjoyed the level of humor in this story. Modern day language was constantly tripping Nikita up and gave Knox lots of chuckles. I have to admit that the image of the pope in a space suit had me laughing out loud. Knox and Nikita were both easy-going likeable characters and there was not a lot of spark between them. But there were underlying layers to their relationship that I enjoyed.
Time travel is a bit tricky but Howard seems to have put a great deal of thought into this story and it was fascinating and plausible. Also, the epilogue was very inventive and I loved it. Many Howard fans may not like this book because she steps outside her usual fare but I enjoyed it.
My Grade: B+
4 comments:
Waiting for the pb here. I usually like what Howard does when she steps outside the usual.
This is one I haven't read yet either. I have it on hold at the library but I think I was something like 86 on the list
*sigh*
This was a library book on CD and it had a much shorter waiting list than the HB.
With Howard being hit or miss for me, this one was a miss. I think I may be winding down on suspense romance books. Having been with Brockmann from the start (way, way from the start) I think maybe I want more romance nowadays. I even told myself I wasn't buying the next few Brockmanns - yeah, we'll see how I do.
I liked some of the humour in this one also but it was a real hard book to warm up to. Keep in mind my fav. book of hers is Dream Man and I know there are people who hated it ;)
CindyS
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