Bad Karma

Theresa Weir takes a lot of chances with this book. Even more than usual! Her heroine, Cleo, is a reluctant psychic with an eating disorder. Her hero, Daniel, is a cop taking care of his mentally challenged brother. They make mistakes -- sometimes big ones.There are twists in both the characters and in the plot. Also, Theresa Weir is not afraid to challenge the reader. She plants clues instead of spelling everything out. I think that shows a lot of respect for her readership.I gave this book as an A at All About Romance.

Theresa Weir never writes what you expect -- unless you expect the unexpected! Say "romance fiction" and you think "two fairly normal people" and "obstacles to a happy ending" equal a pretty good book. With Theresa you get sometimes pretty "un-normal" people, or pretty flawed people, or people who are just barely coping, people who make you stop and think. Cleo is one of those people. She has problems -- serious problems. But she is not without redeeming qualities. In fact, in her slightly skewed way, she's wonderful. And Daniel, the sceptical cop who is drawn to her all the time he knows he should be running the other way, is pretty wonderful too. If you've ever gotten involved against your better judgement, you will appreciate this book. If you've ever had a few less than perfect storybook moments in your life, you will appreciate this book. If you want standard romance fare, you will probably wish you'd picked up another book. But Theresa always makes me think, she always challenges the boundaries of the genre. She always makes me glad I read her books.

Kudos to Theresa Weir, this novel is an excellent read! Unusual characters, well developed plot, and a fascinating H & H. Theresa Weir is exceptionally gifted with the ability to describe scenes in a way that is different than others. This is the first Romance Novel I have read where the Heroine has an eating disorder. Kudos are in order for addressing a socially relative topic in a sensitive manner. Overall Excellent. Note: Personally, I would have preferred a cover that had something to do with the novel.... If I hadn't heard this novel was so good I would've completely overlooked it because of the plain cover. Cupid seems completely out of tune with the "Psychic Suspense" flavor of this novel. Perhaps a Key would've been more appropriate.

BAD KARMA kept me up late on Friday night and got me up early on Saturday morning to finish it. _Then_ I wanted to start right back at the beginning and read it all the way through again. This is one of the most sensual books I ever read, and by this I mean I was right inside the characters' skins, seeing through their eyes and breathing their air. The heroine is a psychic hired by a small town to help the chief of police solve a crime, and the hero is the inevitable sexy cop who thinks she's a fraud. I picked up the book expecting the usual treatment, but Theresa Weir's is _so_ unusual and compelling. I've read all of her books, and she still surprises me every time.

BAD KARMA is a suspenseful story filled with dark, ominous overtones, yet it is also a romance that slowly and carefully reveals the incredible resiliency of the human spirit. Cleo Tyler is the kind of woman who will travel by train for seemingly endless days just so her dog, Premonition, won't be frightened by confinement in the cargo hold of an airplane. She is also the sort of person who doesn't have to think twice (well, maybe twice) when the chief of police of a hot, dusty little Missouri town calls on her to use her supposed psychic powers to locate a missing key. If the horoscope-reading top cop wants to pay lots of money for what will probably be a futile effort, then so be it. When a skeptical Daniel Sinclair shows up to meet Cleo at the station, however, this bad boy makes it very clear that her presence in the community isn't supported by every member of its police force. In Daniel's jaded opinion, "Miss Clara Voiyant" is a scam artist of the first order, and he's not going to waste any more time in her company than he has to--even if some very hot and elemental feelings seem to arc between them whenever necessity brings them together.As Cleo is caught up in the swirling undercurrents that lie just below the surface of this tightly-knit community, we witness a very painful and steady decline into a mental state that makes life almost unbearable for her. It is that very vulnerability, when it is revealed painful by painful layer, that touches something deeply hidden in Daniel's heart--a heart he'd thought was beyond anyone's reach. Is it possible for two such wounded human beings to find what they need, solace and healing, in each other? That question, and many others, are answered in unexpected ways as the story rushes toward a shattering climax. Darkness and light--that's what readers consistently find in all of Theresa Weir's books, and she blends these elements in such compelling ways that her books, once begun, are nearly impossible to put down. In BAD KARMA, the author again brings us a character-driven story line that provides a veritable roller-coaster ride of emotion right to the very end. I especially liked the secondary characters in this book. Daniel's brother Beau is mentally slow because of a brain injury at birth, but the bits and pieces of his life that flow through the story are often what provides the "light" that contrasts with the "darkness." Most of Ms. Weir's previous books have been unforgettable reads for me, but I definitely think she's hit her stride with this one. If you love being pulled into a story that just won't let go, don't miss BAD KARMA. Simply stated, it's wonderful!  ~Connie Ramsdell for Bookbug on the Web