Tainted

Suspense, thrills, racing hearts, and heartbreak are just a few words that I would use to summarize Tainted by Brooke Morgan. From beginning to end, I was utterly engrossed within the story, turning page after page to see what would happen next. Never was there a spot within the story that was lacking, nor anywhere were my attention was diverted from the story and its characters. Tainted is one of those books that I can honestly and truly say that I loved the story and plot line, but felt very borderline with the main character. I have to admit to feeling incredibly frustrated with Holly, the main character. She seemed to be very submissive and willing to push aside many "odd" occurrences and very strange behavior, by Jack. The old saying "Love is Blind" definitely applies, though not in a good way. In retrospect, Ms. Morgan does a wonderful job portraying a psychologically disturbed man through Jack. My favorite characters are Henry, Holly's Grandfather, and Billy the father of Holly's daughter who skipped town when he found out that she was pregnant. Henry is such a delightfully spunky character with a wonderful soul, and Billy caught my appeal with his perseverance and desire to right the wrongs that he made in the past. In addition to excellent characterization, Brooke Morgan does a marvelous job of bringing the scenery of Cape Cod to life. The reader feels as though they are there as each and every scene plays out. One rather unique aspect, I thought, was the fact that throughout Tainted, the author would take the reader into the minds of a character. This does not occur very often, but it was a very interesting twist and the transitions flowed rather smoothly, when they did occur. Here are a couple of excerpts that stood out to me: pg. 67 She heard the soft slap of a small series of waves hitting the beach, a subtle undertow from a passing ship. Even noise was quiet on nights like this, she thought. The crickets didn't chirp as shrilly, the hum of boat motors took on a lower tone. Everything was dampened down by the moisture and darkness. "Someone once told me that you can't move forward if you're looking over your shoulder at the past. It sounds trite, I know." Jack took her hand in his. "But trite works sometimes." pg. 143 "Jack. Please. Stop it. Those are my parents. They're what I have left of my parents." Tears were now cascading down her face. This couldn't be happening. Not to them. They were happy. They were in love. Everything was going right. But the man who would hug her to him at night and tease her and excite her was starting at her with an impenetrable, unfeeling expression. She didn't know what to do, could only stand watching helplessly as he tied up the ends of the garbage bag and hauled it outside. Holly could hear him take the top off the trash can, she could hear the sound of the bag full of pictures being thrown in. And the lid crashing back down. Tainted is an excellent book for any re

This book is very engrossing - the characters are well developed, the descriptions of the Cape are beautifully rendered, and the story has some real surprises. I couldn't wait to get home each night to continue reading it, to return to Shoreham and to get back into the lives of Holly and Jack. I found the juxtaposition of innocence and evil quite haunting, and I think Morgan's pace of unfolding the mystery was just right. Interestingly, my husband and I rarely enjoy the same books, but we both loved this one, as did our daughter - it is a must read!

I really loved this book! It is hard to put down because I was so engrossed in finding out the real story of this mystery man, and I empathized with our heroine who fell deeply in love and thought she had found a great new life with a husband she adored. This book is fast paced, wonderfully written, and a real thriller. I thoroughly recommend it!

I picked up a copy of Tainted from London before it came out in the U.S. There was a buzz there about how good the book was. Brooke Morgan writes beautifully. Her characters develop slowly and carefully. After you are drawn in and think you know what is going to happen, Tainted turns in to a compelling, page-turing thriller. Literally, was late to a meeting because I could not put it down.