Die for Me: A Novel of the Valentine Killer

By: Cynthia Eden

Narrated by: Emily Beresford

Katherine Cole thought her fiancé was the perfect man - until he turned out to be the perfect killer. He left his victims stabbed through the heart holding a telltale single red rose and was deemed the Valentine Killer. Three years ago he vanished. Now he’s back. And he’s hunting the one who got away.

In New Orleans, Katherine dared to hope she was finally safe, yet somehow he found her. This time, Katherine won’t just sit silently by; she’ll do anything to stop the monster she once loved, even trust the sexy cop promising to keep her safe.…

Detective Dane Black never lets his emotions interfere with the job, even as the Valentine Killer surfaces in New Orleans to stalk his prey. But when Dane agrees to protect the killer’s ex-fiancée, he can’t ignore the passion kindling between them. After a single unforgettable night binds them body and soul, Dane won’t rest until Katherine is safe in his arms - and the Valentine Killer is dead.

©2013 Cynthia Eden (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Good, except for the narration

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed listening to this book. It was my first Cynthia Eden book. The biggest problem I had was the narrator. The way she portrayed the men was so over the top. I almost just returned the book. I am pretty disappointed that the next two in the series has the same narrator. She would be OK, if they had a second narrator for the men. Her outrageous portrayal of the men, just ruined it for me.

Wow

What a great story! I caught a couple of storyline inconsistencies, but they were minor. I was soooo intrigued by the mind of the killer and his relationship to the heroine. The plot also kept me guessing almost from the start. Great suspense with hot and steamy romance to go with it. The narrator’s rendition of The hero’s voice was a bit grating at first, but after an hour or so it was fine. Great listen.

Lots of twists and turns

This has me second guessing what I knew about characters right up to the end. A good listen.

a nice diversion

Any additional comments?

Ok, yeah, I am so not a romance reader. I spent a few weeks back in high school binging on a box full of them given to me because I was a reader and readers read everything, right? No, we don’t. Some of us are picky bitches and can tell with a few words in a blurb (notice “trust the sexy cop,” and “safe in his arms,” and “intensely sexy”) if the story is going to have a significant romantic bent.

But because I keep an open mind and just like I try a bite of food I hate every few years, I do try a romance. Still, I’m picky. It cannot be a straight up romance (ugghh). It has to have other elements that interest me. Like, of course, a mystery or something psychological.

The blurb makes promises. Yet, it’s like Cynthia Eden wrote the blurb and fit the pieces of the story and the characters to fit it. Some people like that. I like the unexpected. I like how characters determine their actions and feelings rather than have them scripted so tightly there is no other way to go.

Now, I am not saying this is a terrible book. On the contrary, I listened to the whole thing despite the predictability. So Catherine Eden has a Je ne se quoi that held me tight until the very end.

My thought? That it reads like a script and would do well performed on stage or on screen. As a straight out novel? Nope.

When we first meet Detective Dane Black, he’s rough and procedural, asking all the right questions. He lost me when within hours, his perception of Katherine changes so very quickly. Then it’s just a downhill slide into overprotective emotions for a woman he barely knows and when he met her thought she was a killer or at least an accomplice.

Katherine seems like a frightened woman throughout. While she isn’t the whiny type (which is definitely nice), the repetition of doing something to stop the killing gets pretty redundant. I feel like either she should take a beat and create a simplified mantra for herself, or just freakin’ knock it off. We know her motivations. It is not necessary to beat us over the head with them every other page.

The action bits were fairly smooth, I admit. The emotional bits came across as choppy and reaching, as if the characters slid into a mold that didn’t quite fit.

This one was too much for me and not enough. New Orleans is a setting that can be a character all its own. But this story could be set anywhere (I kept thinking San Francisco) for all the detail left out.

On the narration: Listening to a woman’s voice serves a purpose for me, usually keeping me alert during the day when working. After hearing a sample, I knew Emily Beresford would fit that bill. She did a wonderful job in adding dimension to Katherine.

My only suggestion for improvement is to have a male read the bits for Detective Black. But sometimes having more than one narrator is an unfeasible proposition. Emily Beresford didn’t present a variable range in scenes or characters. Nonetheless, she was pleasant to listen to.

Perfect

The perfect mix of suspense and romance. Can't wait for the next book. I will be in search for a previous book in this series.

Good Story, but Flawed

As a New Orleans native, I hesitate to listen to books taking place in the city. That being said, I enjoyed the crime\romance novel, although I flinched several times at the glaring errors. If you are going to write a novel featuring a specific area, do your homework regarding that city. First of all, New Orleans does not have trolleys; we call them streetcars. In addition, New Orleans is below sea level, so few homes have basements. The houses in the poorer areas and near the bayou would never contain basements. The author could have mentioned some of the actual street names instead of making up names for them. The city's street names are known by many outside of the area. I must say, the narrator surprisingly pronounced the city's name correctly. Unfortunately, she had no idea what a New Orleans accent sounds like. We do not have a Southern drawl. The accent is more like that of New Yorkers. The story was an edge of your seat thriller. It was similar to an episode of a Crimal Minds with some smoking hot sex between the blood and gore.

Bad Narration!

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Story is more like soft porn than a mystery. Everything was predictable. Boring storyline. Wish I wouldn't have wasted a credit!

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Predictable!

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Narrator's voices and dialects for the characters were really bad!

Did Die for Me: A Novel of the Valentine Killer inspire you to do anything?

No

Good Romantic Suspence

Katherine Cole had thought she found the perfect man in Michael, until one day she was proved wrong. Escaping with a new life to New Orleans she has tried to go on with her life. She has succeeded in making a go at it, even if her attempts at dating have been futile. She is not a person who trusts easily and ever since she was betrayed by the last man she loved she hasn't been able to let men get close to her. Until Detective Dane Black. From the moment she met him she knew he was different and able to gain her trust. She is determined to stop running and put an end to Valentine's killings so that she can move on and maybe, just maybe let Dante in.

A handsome man with hard edges and a troubled past, Dane Black is immediately drawn to Katherine. But most of all he wants to get to the bottom of his case whatever it takes to get there. Knowing having Katherine involved in the investigation is essential in apprehending Valentine, he devises a plan to keep her near and use her however he sees fit. Although he admires her strength and determination, his protective instincts surface every time she's around. Little by little his defenses are worn thin until he not only wants her safe. He wants her - in his bed and in his life.

Having read the Deadly series from Cynthia Eden, I was acquainted with her work but this book was so much more than I expected. The author drew me in from the start and kept me engaged throughout the story - wondering, anticipating. With strong, interesting characters, a murder mystery that kept me at the edge of my seat and sexual chemistry between Dante and Katherine that was scorching hot Eden's writing was excellent. The story was filled with twists and turns and I thought that every event was placed just right to garner the most impact. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, another important element to the story was added and right as I was beginning to catch my breath again WHAM! I was thrown another curve. Cynthia Eden had me riveted and in suspense from beginning to end.

I loved every minute of the story. I was emotionally invested in Katherine and Dane's relationship. I wanted them to find their happily ever after with each other, but I appreciated the doubts and the hesitations that surfaced because it made their getting together that much more believable. Their connection was palpable and their chemistry amazing, but it was the tender moments of honesty and letting go that I liked the most. These two were tortured souls and it was a treat to read how they were healing their old wounds and moving on.

From the romance to the mystery, Die for Me is one riveting, engaging and sexy listen with a story that flowed seamlessly from the emotions brought to the page to the resolution of the plot.

Emily Beresford was good with the female voices but her male voices were just OK. She seemed to over act the male voices and often I could not tell one male character from another.

Don't understand the bad reviews

I loved this book and love this series. Cynthia Eden does a great mystery. I didn't find the book or the series to be predictable and didn't completely put all the pieces together until the end. I had a few "suspects" and the killer turned out to be one of the three I thought it would be. Overall a very good read, kept me interested and on edge through the entire book. The romance side is also good, with just the right amount of steam.

Unbelievable to the extreme, many eye rolls

I thought it was gonna be good , the narrator made the male sound like he was growling , this took on to many twists , couldn't wait for it to be over . Could have been done within 6hrs and maybe a good listen