What do you think?
Rate this book
The Glass Sisters #1
Thread of Fear
From New York Times bestselling author Laura Griffin, book one of The Glass Sisters series follows forensic artist Fiona Glass as she joins a small town sheriff in a race to catch a serial killer—a race that turns deadly when the killer targets Fiona...Forensic artist Fiona Glass is the best in the business—which is precisely why she's quitting. Her skill at mining victims' memories to re-create the faces of sadistic criminals has left her haunted and wary, and only Jack Bowman's dogged persistence convinces her to help him. The rugged police chief is hunting a serial killer who's targeting teenage girls. But what seems like a simple assignment is fraught with complications, including a searing attraction to Jack that's tempting Fiona to let her guard down in potentially dangerous ways. Jack never intended for Fiona to become so deeply involved in the case—or in his life. But every instinct tells him she's his best hope for finding a psychopath who's lurking in plain sight, growing more ruthless with each passing day. And now that Fiona is right in the killer's crosshairs, the only way to keep her safe is to unravel a small town's darkest secrets, one terrifying thread at a time...
385 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 30, 2008
297 people are currently reading
4,048 people want to read
About the author
Laura Griffin
52Ìýbooks3,701ÌýfollowersLaura Griffin is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than thirty books and novellas. She is a two-time RITA Award winner, as well as the recipient of the Daphne du Maurier Award. Laura got her start in journalism before venturing into the world of suspense fiction. Her books have been translated into fourteen languages. Laura lives in Austin, Texas, where she is working on her next novel.
Series:
* Texas Murder Files
*
*
*
* Moreno and Hart Mysteries
*
* The Borderline
Series:
* Texas Murder Files
*
*
*
* Moreno and Hart Mysteries
*
* The Borderline
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 230 reviews
May 8, 2020
"Fiona Glass was trained to notice faces, but even if she hadn't been, she would have noticed this one."
I'm going to preface this review by saying it might be a little rantish. You've been warned.
Since I'm going for honesty, I have to say that while this book is decent, it is far from great. Let's start with my least favorite thing, shall we? I was not a fan of the main male character's thought process when it came to romance. It came off as overly aggressive and unwarranted due to the aloofness, constant ghosting, and seemingly nonexistent feelings of the main female character. Most of the book it appeared as if he were driven by his raging hormones, rather than by any romantic inclinations. It wasn't until things started to get physical that I finally got the impression that the feelings might actually be mutual. Also, the immediacy of how everything happened at the end felt cheap and unauthentic. I started off liking the fact that the female character was independent and strong, but unfortunately that all went down the drain by the end. All of her autonomy and backbone were thrown out of the window for a man that she barely knew. That's just downright aggravating to me, and I'm calling bullshit.
All that aside, I did enjoy the crime elements. The cases were interesting and distressing, and in retrospect, those were it's most redeeming features. The plot seemed a little haphazard in places, jumping to other characters from a case covered at the very beginning of the book, and back again. Though confusing at first, it doesn't diminish the story once you realize what is happening.
I will be reading the sequel because it's about the sister - she's a hot mess and it might be good for a laugh - but my expectations are not high. I would only recommend this if you like any off the things that I just ranted about. If you don't, then I'd say pass on this one.
"'This is exactly what I want.'"
I'm going to preface this review by saying it might be a little rantish. You've been warned.
Since I'm going for honesty, I have to say that while this book is decent, it is far from great. Let's start with my least favorite thing, shall we? I was not a fan of the main male character's thought process when it came to romance. It came off as overly aggressive and unwarranted due to the aloofness, constant ghosting, and seemingly nonexistent feelings of the main female character. Most of the book it appeared as if he were driven by his raging hormones, rather than by any romantic inclinations. It wasn't until things started to get physical that I finally got the impression that the feelings might actually be mutual. Also, the immediacy of how everything happened at the end felt cheap and unauthentic. I started off liking the fact that the female character was independent and strong, but unfortunately that all went down the drain by the end. All of her autonomy and backbone were thrown out of the window for a man that she barely knew. That's just downright aggravating to me, and I'm calling bullshit.
All that aside, I did enjoy the crime elements. The cases were interesting and distressing, and in retrospect, those were it's most redeeming features. The plot seemed a little haphazard in places, jumping to other characters from a case covered at the very beginning of the book, and back again. Though confusing at first, it doesn't diminish the story once you realize what is happening.
I will be reading the sequel because it's about the sister - she's a hot mess and it might be good for a laugh - but my expectations are not high. I would only recommend this if you like any off the things that I just ranted about. If you don't, then I'd say pass on this one.
"'This is exactly what I want.'"
November 12, 2015
Originally posted on
Fiona Glass is an art teacher who sometimes freelances for law enforcement as a forensic artist. Just as she's resolved to cease the side work and focus on her art, she gets an impassioned plea for help from Jack Bowman, chief of police for a nearby town. He wants her help with a cold case and she's finding it difficult to resist him.
The cases were really interesting though I would have preferred more investigative procedurals to have a shot at deducing the outcome. I especially liked the case involving the child abduction as I learned a lot about how the work of forensic artists are effectively used in solving cases. There's a lot I've assumed about the process that was without foundation.
I had a like/dislike relationship with Fiona and Jack, primarily because of her irrational overreactions and his dishonesty. Separately they were interesting but together they were often annoying.
Overall, the pacing could have been better as so much culminated at the very end of the story, seeming rushed. I liked the story, even with these issues and plan to continue as there are quite a few unanswered questions related to the Glass sisters' history.
Fiona Glass is an art teacher who sometimes freelances for law enforcement as a forensic artist. Just as she's resolved to cease the side work and focus on her art, she gets an impassioned plea for help from Jack Bowman, chief of police for a nearby town. He wants her help with a cold case and she's finding it difficult to resist him.
The cases were really interesting though I would have preferred more investigative procedurals to have a shot at deducing the outcome. I especially liked the case involving the child abduction as I learned a lot about how the work of forensic artists are effectively used in solving cases. There's a lot I've assumed about the process that was without foundation.
I had a like/dislike relationship with Fiona and Jack, primarily because of her irrational overreactions and his dishonesty. Separately they were interesting but together they were often annoying.
Overall, the pacing could have been better as so much culminated at the very end of the story, seeming rushed. I liked the story, even with these issues and plan to continue as there are quite a few unanswered questions related to the Glass sisters' history.
May 5, 2015
3.5
Me ha gustado bastante, a pesar de los peros que le he encontrado, pero la historia me ha atrapado
Es una novela más de suspense que romántica. La relación entre ellos se forja de forma natural, pero en un breve lapso de tiempo, eso no me gusta, pero en su conjunto no queda forzada. Puede que al final, como lectora romántica, una conversación más larga hubiera quedado fantástica jajaja
El desenlace me ha quedado algo confuso.
Pero en general, la novela está bien escrita y, aunque no conozcamos a los personajes en profundidad, a la autora le basta para que nos hagamos a la idea de cómo son.
Digamos que me la he leÃdo rápido y ha sido al cerrarla cuando han salido los peros.
La historia de la hermana promete mucho!!!!
Como primer contacto con una autora, me he quedado satisfecha
Reseña completa:
Me ha gustado bastante, a pesar de los peros que le he encontrado, pero la historia me ha atrapado
Es una novela más de suspense que romántica. La relación entre ellos se forja de forma natural, pero en un breve lapso de tiempo, eso no me gusta, pero en su conjunto no queda forzada. Puede que al final, como lectora romántica, una conversación más larga hubiera quedado fantástica jajaja
El desenlace me ha quedado algo confuso.
Pero en general, la novela está bien escrita y, aunque no conozcamos a los personajes en profundidad, a la autora le basta para que nos hagamos a la idea de cómo son.
Digamos que me la he leÃdo rápido y ha sido al cerrarla cuando han salido los peros.
La historia de la hermana promete mucho!!!!
Como primer contacto con una autora, me he quedado satisfecha
Reseña completa:
November 20, 2014
I remember really not liking this one, too bad my review is lost. I just know that I did not like the heroine nor the hero and that the plot was shitty, predictable and idiotic.
So I just found some parts of my old review, thought I'd share them with y'all:
If I had to describe Thread Of Fear in a few words they would be LACKING - RIDICULOUS - UNINTERESTING and BORING. It's supposed to be a romantic suspense... the romance was a bust. The relationship between Fiona and Jack was not explored at all. They meet, they're "attracted" to each other but she doesn't want another relationship with a cop, he insists, they have 10 seconds (it was super embarrassing) of sex then nothing. He insists again but he lies to her, she's hurt, some time later they have sex again (longer this time! yay) and JUST. LIKE. THAT she tells him that she loves him. Like, when did that happen??!! Then he leaves her, instead of saying something nice/profound or saying he loves her back he says: "Take care, now", umh okay.
Then, something big happens, they save each other lives and JUST. LIKE. THAT he loves her back.
It was just unbelievably ridiculous. The book was not focused on anything, like it could have been more focused on the suspense part but NO. Actually there were two cases, the book starts with Shelby (the little girl) chatting with that guy so I thought that this was gonna be the big case but turns out it was actually just a side story who was not related at all to the big one. It was told just because Fiona had sketched the perv.
The romance was not good at all, the plot even less, the secondary characters were uninteresting. Jack was a jerk. I thought I would like him but nope. He was a liar, an asshole and he couldn't even contain himself for more than 10 FREAKING SECONDS.
So I just found some parts of my old review, thought I'd share them with y'all:
If I had to describe Thread Of Fear in a few words they would be LACKING - RIDICULOUS - UNINTERESTING and BORING. It's supposed to be a romantic suspense... the romance was a bust. The relationship between Fiona and Jack was not explored at all. They meet, they're "attracted" to each other but she doesn't want another relationship with a cop, he insists, they have 10 seconds (it was super embarrassing) of sex then nothing. He insists again but he lies to her, she's hurt, some time later they have sex again (longer this time! yay) and JUST. LIKE. THAT she tells him that she loves him. Like, when did that happen??!! Then he leaves her, instead of saying something nice/profound or saying he loves her back he says: "Take care, now", umh okay.
Then, something big happens, they save each other lives and JUST. LIKE. THAT he loves her back.
It was just unbelievably ridiculous. The book was not focused on anything, like it could have been more focused on the suspense part but NO. Actually there were two cases, the book starts with Shelby (the little girl) chatting with that guy so I thought that this was gonna be the big case but turns out it was actually just a side story who was not related at all to the big one. It was told just because Fiona had sketched the perv.
The romance was not good at all, the plot even less, the secondary characters were uninteresting. Jack was a jerk. I thought I would like him but nope. He was a liar, an asshole and he couldn't even contain himself for more than 10 FREAKING SECONDS.
September 26, 2010
Quality writing. Excellent mystery suspense. Not predictable. Interesting characters and events.
STORY BRIEF:
Fiona is an artist who draws pictures of criminals by interviewing victims and witnesses. The FBI uses her as much as possible because she is better than anyone else � she has a psychic intuition for this. She teaches college art classes and is painting pictures for a first gallery showing. She wants to stop working on FBI cases because they take tremendous energy and haunt her. But when she hears about new victims, she can’t say no, she needs to help. Jack is a police chief in a small Texas town. He has a hunch that a recent local murder is linked to another attempted murder from 11 years earlier. He talks Fiona into helping him by interviewing Lucy, the victim from 11 years earlier and drawing a picture of Lucy’s attacker. Fiona senses a relationship between Lucy and Jack. Most of the book is about the serial killer Jack is after. A lesser amount of time is spent with the FBI hunting another serial killer Fiona helped with.
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
Many mysteries spend too much time on the mystery and not enough time developing a romantic relationship for me. But not so here. I loved the time spent developing the relationship, which was not predictable. My one complaint is that I wanted an epilogue to clarify who the bad guys were, why they did what they did, and how and why two of them were connected with each other. I also wanted to know what sentencing/jail time would happen. But even though I didn’t get all my answers, it was still a great way to spend my time.
DATA:
Story length: 371 pages. Swearing language: strong. Sexual language: none. Number of sex scenes: 2. Total number of sex scene pages: 10. Setting: current day Austin and Graingerville, Texas. Copyright: 2007. Genre: romantic mystery suspense.
OTHER BOOKS:
Laura’s books can be read as stand alones, but I recommend reading book 1 before 2, and reading book 3 before 4. Characters and events are introduced in books 1 and 3 which continue into the sequels. Besides, I think books 1 and 3 were slightly better than their sequels.
The Borderline Series:
4 stars. Book 1. One Last Breath. Copyrt 2007. Review Date 5-3-09.
3 stars. Book 2. One Wrong Step. Copyrt 2008. Review Date 5-10-09.
The Glass Sisters Series:
5 stars. Book 3. Thread of Fear. Copyrt 2007. Review Date 5-10-09.
4.5 stars. Book 4. Whisper of Warning. Copyrt 2009. Review Date 4-11-09.
The Tracers Trilogy:
4.5 stars. Book 5. Untraceable. Copyrt 2009. Review Date 11-27-09.
CAUTION MINOR SPOILERS:
One of the conversations intrigued me about the characters - when Jack lied to Fiona. She left him because of the lie. But she took him back again. I liked the following (edited). Fiona asks Jack “Do you know what she’s talking about? Don’t lie.� Jack says “No idea. I wouldn’t lie to you.� Her eyebrows arched. “Going forward,� he clarified. “I won’t lie to you.� Shoot, now what had he done? He’d just made a promise that would be hell to keep. Not that it mattered. She could tell when he was lying anyway.
The ending was not typical with one saying I love you and the other saying it back. In this story, one said it earlier, the other never said it, but at the end clearly showed it with some neat actions. It was different, a twist.
STORY BRIEF:
Fiona is an artist who draws pictures of criminals by interviewing victims and witnesses. The FBI uses her as much as possible because she is better than anyone else � she has a psychic intuition for this. She teaches college art classes and is painting pictures for a first gallery showing. She wants to stop working on FBI cases because they take tremendous energy and haunt her. But when she hears about new victims, she can’t say no, she needs to help. Jack is a police chief in a small Texas town. He has a hunch that a recent local murder is linked to another attempted murder from 11 years earlier. He talks Fiona into helping him by interviewing Lucy, the victim from 11 years earlier and drawing a picture of Lucy’s attacker. Fiona senses a relationship between Lucy and Jack. Most of the book is about the serial killer Jack is after. A lesser amount of time is spent with the FBI hunting another serial killer Fiona helped with.
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
Many mysteries spend too much time on the mystery and not enough time developing a romantic relationship for me. But not so here. I loved the time spent developing the relationship, which was not predictable. My one complaint is that I wanted an epilogue to clarify who the bad guys were, why they did what they did, and how and why two of them were connected with each other. I also wanted to know what sentencing/jail time would happen. But even though I didn’t get all my answers, it was still a great way to spend my time.
DATA:
Story length: 371 pages. Swearing language: strong. Sexual language: none. Number of sex scenes: 2. Total number of sex scene pages: 10. Setting: current day Austin and Graingerville, Texas. Copyright: 2007. Genre: romantic mystery suspense.
OTHER BOOKS:
Laura’s books can be read as stand alones, but I recommend reading book 1 before 2, and reading book 3 before 4. Characters and events are introduced in books 1 and 3 which continue into the sequels. Besides, I think books 1 and 3 were slightly better than their sequels.
The Borderline Series:
4 stars. Book 1. One Last Breath. Copyrt 2007. Review Date 5-3-09.
3 stars. Book 2. One Wrong Step. Copyrt 2008. Review Date 5-10-09.
The Glass Sisters Series:
5 stars. Book 3. Thread of Fear. Copyrt 2007. Review Date 5-10-09.
4.5 stars. Book 4. Whisper of Warning. Copyrt 2009. Review Date 4-11-09.
The Tracers Trilogy:
4.5 stars. Book 5. Untraceable. Copyrt 2009. Review Date 11-27-09.
CAUTION MINOR SPOILERS:
One of the conversations intrigued me about the characters - when Jack lied to Fiona. She left him because of the lie. But she took him back again. I liked the following (edited). Fiona asks Jack “Do you know what she’s talking about? Don’t lie.� Jack says “No idea. I wouldn’t lie to you.� Her eyebrows arched. “Going forward,� he clarified. “I won’t lie to you.� Shoot, now what had he done? He’d just made a promise that would be hell to keep. Not that it mattered. She could tell when he was lying anyway.
The ending was not typical with one saying I love you and the other saying it back. In this story, one said it earlier, the other never said it, but at the end clearly showed it with some neat actions. It was different, a twist.
November 26, 2010
This was a 4 star book until the end! Then I wanted to beat Fiona with my stupid stick! Bam, bam bam!
Jack is a gruff, manipulative Police Chief, Fiona is a gifted Forensic Artist. Seems like a good story. For the most part the story was good, it's Fiona I had a problem with.
I can't say I was pleased with Fiona as a character, she had her good points but the stupid ones far outweighed them in my mind in this book. She is NOT a cop, yet she interviews witnesses, goes traipsing off following a suspected kidnapping murderer, and when Jack tells her to stop following the bad guy who has killed lots of women, she hangs up on him. Um NO. Stupidity. Gah. Bah. Ugh. Also the back and forth of "Oh I want to quit doing this, and then jumping into the fray irks me. Just make a dam decision. Also, she wasn't as fleshed out as a character. Some things were hinted at, and I wonder if we will ever learn more about her past. Was she raped? Does she have a physic talent? Things like that.
Courtney, is Fiona's mess of a sister. What was her deal always coming on to every guy she sees, and she comes on to Jack right in front of Fiona and it's all, "Oh, she's just checking out my future boyfriends?" I think I'd be all like, "Hey I know we are sisters, but back the fuck off my man biatch!" or something, but they just laugh it off. To each their own I guess.
Jack, for the most part I enjoyed him. But my hangups with him were less than anyone else.
I have issues with books where the police defer to civilians.. because yea, like that would happen?
Jack is a gruff, manipulative Police Chief, Fiona is a gifted Forensic Artist. Seems like a good story. For the most part the story was good, it's Fiona I had a problem with.
I can't say I was pleased with Fiona as a character, she had her good points but the stupid ones far outweighed them in my mind in this book. She is NOT a cop, yet she interviews witnesses, goes traipsing off following a suspected kidnapping murderer, and when Jack tells her to stop following the bad guy who has killed lots of women, she hangs up on him. Um NO. Stupidity. Gah. Bah. Ugh. Also the back and forth of "Oh I want to quit doing this, and then jumping into the fray irks me. Just make a dam decision. Also, she wasn't as fleshed out as a character. Some things were hinted at, and I wonder if we will ever learn more about her past. Was she raped? Does she have a physic talent? Things like that.
Courtney, is Fiona's mess of a sister. What was her deal always coming on to every guy she sees, and she comes on to Jack right in front of Fiona and it's all, "Oh, she's just checking out my future boyfriends?" I think I'd be all like, "Hey I know we are sisters, but back the fuck off my man biatch!" or something, but they just laugh it off. To each their own I guess.
Jack, for the most part I enjoyed him. But my hangups with him were less than anyone else.
I have issues with books where the police defer to civilians.. because yea, like that would happen?
August 19, 2015
Terminado 8'5/10
Disfruté mucho con la lectura, me mantuvo con el interés en todo momento y eso hizo que lo terminara en poco tiempo, reconozco que las novelas con este toque policÃaco cada vez me gustan más. Que la parte romántica no sea el pilar de la historia no me molestó, algo que suele ocurrirme a menudo, pero en este caso estaba tan atrapada por la trama que no me importó.
El final es simplemente delicioso.
Disfruté mucho con la lectura, me mantuvo con el interés en todo momento y eso hizo que lo terminara en poco tiempo, reconozco que las novelas con este toque policÃaco cada vez me gustan más. Que la parte romántica no sea el pilar de la historia no me molestó, algo que suele ocurrirme a menudo, pero en este caso estaba tan atrapada por la trama que no me importó.
El final es simplemente delicioso.
June 6, 2016
Pronto la reseña en el blog
Pues la verdad es que me ha gustado mucho. Iba sin ningún tipo de expectativa,a penas habÃa leÃdo un par de reseñas y me ha sorprendido muy gratamente. Lo tenÃa abandonado, pero ayer me leà de un tirón las hojas que me quedaban, pues no podÃa parar de leer. Me ha parecido muy del estilo de Sandra Brown -en los que prima más el suspense que la historia de amor- o Linda Howard. Una autora a la que tendré en cuenta a partir de ahora.
August 4, 2012
My first book by this author. A very nice romantic suspense. There was a good balance of solving the mystery and developing the romance. The heroine was not particularly TSTL which was good. The hero was well written as an good cop and an ordinary man. The relationship was not predictable which was interesting. Nicely done and I'll try some more from this author.
November 15, 2016
3,5 â� me ha gustado. pero no me a entusiasmado. y el final lo encontré precipitado.
December 19, 2016
One of my favorite books in this terrific series.
September 11, 2020
Laura Griffin is really good when she’s writing about people. Here, I think you can see her working her way toward the Tracers series. This has all the elements - workplace politics, political corruption, family complications - but without that almost wish-fulfillment-y science lab angle. That said, the lab lets Griffin dial up the plots to eleven, and dial up the characters, too (more work, more stress, more murder) and so in comparison this feels a little unfinished. Not unpolished, exactly, but half-baked.
The next book is better, though - I like that she follows through on characters, lets Courtney grow up, brings back Nathan and Alex - and the Tracers series has incredibly compelling moments. This might have come first, but I came to it last, and it suffers in comparison.
The next book is better, though - I like that she follows through on characters, lets Courtney grow up, brings back Nathan and Alex - and the Tracers series has incredibly compelling moments. This might have come first, but I came to it last, and it suffers in comparison.
August 1, 2013
review to come :)
June 6, 2016
I've got notes and more notes, mostly about some things I feel like nit-picking, though not so much about the story itself as much as about the characters... and some of the story. There probably won't be a full review, but I've got a few opinions I can just do a quick blurb on this book. But for now, it's bedtime for me.
Take note, at least there was enough anticipation and suspense to keep me hooked until the conclusion, and it didn't feel tedious; this is always a good thing, though after I have the chance to get my thoughts together, my impression may not have changed much.
Review to come soon.
***
Okay, so here it is. I've got a lot of quibbles with this story altogether. I'm leaning more towards a 2.5 star rating, but the fact that I DID get caught up in the overall premise gave it a good one star. I liked Fiona enough, but a lot about her personality bugged me. She get's half a star. The pacing was also a good plus and with a few things here and there, it gets a whole of one more star. Tallied up: 2.5 stars total. And so that I'm fair, I took off about two stars just for Jack Bowman alone, because I just can't stand him. Normally I like a lot of the main male characters in romantic suspenses, but Jack... *sigh*
The good parts of the book I've already mentioned. The story started off rather slow, but as the case progressed, I got into it and couldn't put it down for good reasons. I didn't have any "I can't wait until this book is over" moments, which is always a good thing. The murder mystery had a lot of promise, basing off of an eleven year old crime and trying to connect it with some present day crimes and some unknown missing persons cases. And I also liked the Forensic Artist angle as well. We've seen all aspects of the investigations surrounding detectives and agents, but I like seeing other aspects of the forensic scene become involved as well (i.e. medical examiners, forensic scientists, crime scene investigators, criminal profilers... the like). And I KNOW that the investigative process usually doesn't include the other branches following leads, doing their own investigations, and interviewing witnesses. But I also realize that these are works of fiction, and the suspense is in the fact that our other branches like to overstep their bounds a little bit, thus effectively putting themselves into danger (a la suspense crime novels).
I'll buy it because it makes for some decent crime thrillers.
And now, my quibbles about the story... a lot of it seemed to have been left out in the cold. And there was a lot of interweaving of story lines that didn't seem to have anything to do with one another. I will admit, I enjoyed the Shelby kidnapping case, but it could have been a whole other book on it's own since it had little to do with the main crime that was being investigated. Then there's Courtney's side anecdote involving Nathan and stuff ensuing... I'm not sure where we were going with that, but if it was supposed to tie into some later parts of the series or other books... well, I'm still confused.
The side characters (even the main culprit) were all bland. Courtney had an explosive personality, which was fine as Fiona's little sister. But we also hint at some sort of mysterious, traumatic past that happened during their childhood... and then it just disappears. Will it show up in the next book? Or are we done with flashbacks?
Fiona was a slipper/doormat/swaying blade of grass combination. I wanted her to be stronger and pursue what SHE wanted for herself. It irked me that she allowed other people to influence what SHE wanted to do with her life. If you want to be a painter full time, go be a painter full time. If you can't let go of the Forensic Artist job, then don't look so pained to have to take a new case every time. I couldn't really tell if she finally ended up in the place where she's finally happiest. Or maybe that was the point of the story. I don't know. Because her constant giving in to taking new cases made me feel bad for her, thinking that maybe she was just someone who had a hard time letting others down so didn't know how to say "no" to them. In the end, I wasn't sure what to make of her, especially when it came to her personal life and it seemed like she really, really just made it a point to let people walk all over her.
Courtney pushed herself into Fiona's life and left messes left and right. I'm all for sisterly love and all, but it's not really healthy for the elder sister to let her younger sister just traipse around getting into trouble all the time without saying anything. This made Fiona meek and a bit of a pushover. And then she goes and let's Jack Bowman into her life so that he can manipulate and manhandle her whenever he feels like it. He lies to her, keeps her at a distance, comes on to her whenever he feels like it, lies to her, leaves her hanging, treats her like an outsider, lies to her, and he makes it perfectly clear that he's really just interested in sex. Oh, and did I mention that he lies to her? A lot?
Which brings me to Jack. Oh... Jack. I decided that he is a Grade A Jack-Ass.
He's pushy. I give him props for being a good investigator and being persistent. Sometimes you have to be persistent. And if he'd just had that trait going for him, then it would have been fine. But Jack goes beyond persistent and just become forcefully pushy... and manipulative. Okay, so I'm fine with him being a bit persistent and manipulative to get what he wants. Women do it all the time.
But then he starts to supply his double standards everywhere.
He needs Fiona to help him with his case so that he can get his big break. This is a cold case and he needs all the help he can get. He misleads Fiona into interviewing a woman who had been victimized eleven years ago; while angry at first, Fiona agrees, but lays down her disclaimer: eleven years ago is already too long ago and we may not find anything useful, these conditions aren't ideal. He wants her to try and sketch the possible suspect anyway. And then the results come out exactly like she'd predicted... so now Jack is disappointed with her. Really?
But that's okay, because he's sexually attracted to her, so let's keep her around for a little longer anyway so he can get his sexual frustration taken care of. And, you know, it's all about sex anyway, because he doesn't really mention anything about her personality or the like... he just keeps looking at her boobs and her butt. That's fine too. Sexual attraction is totally legit.
But now that he's gotten to know her, suddenly he knows what's best for her? He's not happy that she's trying to help him some more? Following leads? Interviewing another witness and sketching another possible suspect? No. He wants her to stay out of the case; this isn't a field for her and she should just go back to her paintings and her art galleries.
Excuse me? First, you drag her into your case when she's adamant about staying out of the law enforcement scene. Then you make her uncomfortable by trying to sleep with her. And then you decide that maybe you're "da man" after all and you need to keep your woman away from the dangers of law enforcement? Where the heck does he come off making those decisions for her in the first place anyway? You're just the guy who wants to sleep with her because she's got a luscious ass and big boobs. You have no say over her life, so even if she wants to put her life in peril by following up on a few leads that might help your cold case investigation because you couldn't think about those leads, you have no right to tell her to stay put.
And the lying! But I'll be frank. Maybe Fiona should have been a bit more forthcoming about how she feels about people lying to her. If she didn't like it, she should have said so since to her, lying comes too naturally with police officers. And when he lied to her the first three times, maybe she should have just walked away. Instead, she lets him continue to lie to her, continue to omit information, and just lets him get away with it.
At first, I figured, you know, it's not a big deal. You guys are working on a professional level and the lying is just standard "this is a confidential case" type of deal. And about his personal life, it's really none of her business anyway. But then he started getting personal and the lying continued into their personal interests and THAT was where I just... well, I planked.
SPOILER PARAGRAPH
SPOILER PARAGRAPH OVER
Anyway...
Now that my rant is finished... well, I guess as far as the subject matter went, I DID enjoy the book to an extent. If I didn't get all headed up, I probably wouldn't have much to talk about. Needless to say, I admired Fiona and her talent and skill. I admired her on and off independence. But I don't really admire her personal life much. And I just didn't like Jack.
I have plans to read the rest of the series, which, to be honest, I'm only reading because I'm interested in the Tracers series and these two books are prequel-like books that lead into Tracers. But this particular book left a lot of things open-ended that I hope get addressed in the next book... though I'm sure won't happen since it would be a bit out of place.
Hate me and my review, for I like happy endings and relationships that I can actually understand. And is it really too much to ask for a couple where the partners respect each other enough NOT to be Jack-Asses about it?
Take note, at least there was enough anticipation and suspense to keep me hooked until the conclusion, and it didn't feel tedious; this is always a good thing, though after I have the chance to get my thoughts together, my impression may not have changed much.
Review to come soon.
***
Okay, so here it is. I've got a lot of quibbles with this story altogether. I'm leaning more towards a 2.5 star rating, but the fact that I DID get caught up in the overall premise gave it a good one star. I liked Fiona enough, but a lot about her personality bugged me. She get's half a star. The pacing was also a good plus and with a few things here and there, it gets a whole of one more star. Tallied up: 2.5 stars total. And so that I'm fair, I took off about two stars just for Jack Bowman alone, because I just can't stand him. Normally I like a lot of the main male characters in romantic suspenses, but Jack... *sigh*
The good parts of the book I've already mentioned. The story started off rather slow, but as the case progressed, I got into it and couldn't put it down for good reasons. I didn't have any "I can't wait until this book is over" moments, which is always a good thing. The murder mystery had a lot of promise, basing off of an eleven year old crime and trying to connect it with some present day crimes and some unknown missing persons cases. And I also liked the Forensic Artist angle as well. We've seen all aspects of the investigations surrounding detectives and agents, but I like seeing other aspects of the forensic scene become involved as well (i.e. medical examiners, forensic scientists, crime scene investigators, criminal profilers... the like). And I KNOW that the investigative process usually doesn't include the other branches following leads, doing their own investigations, and interviewing witnesses. But I also realize that these are works of fiction, and the suspense is in the fact that our other branches like to overstep their bounds a little bit, thus effectively putting themselves into danger (a la suspense crime novels).
I'll buy it because it makes for some decent crime thrillers.
And now, my quibbles about the story... a lot of it seemed to have been left out in the cold. And there was a lot of interweaving of story lines that didn't seem to have anything to do with one another. I will admit, I enjoyed the Shelby kidnapping case, but it could have been a whole other book on it's own since it had little to do with the main crime that was being investigated. Then there's Courtney's side anecdote involving Nathan and stuff ensuing... I'm not sure where we were going with that, but if it was supposed to tie into some later parts of the series or other books... well, I'm still confused.
The side characters (even the main culprit) were all bland. Courtney had an explosive personality, which was fine as Fiona's little sister. But we also hint at some sort of mysterious, traumatic past that happened during their childhood... and then it just disappears. Will it show up in the next book? Or are we done with flashbacks?
Fiona was a slipper/doormat/swaying blade of grass combination. I wanted her to be stronger and pursue what SHE wanted for herself. It irked me that she allowed other people to influence what SHE wanted to do with her life. If you want to be a painter full time, go be a painter full time. If you can't let go of the Forensic Artist job, then don't look so pained to have to take a new case every time. I couldn't really tell if she finally ended up in the place where she's finally happiest. Or maybe that was the point of the story. I don't know. Because her constant giving in to taking new cases made me feel bad for her, thinking that maybe she was just someone who had a hard time letting others down so didn't know how to say "no" to them. In the end, I wasn't sure what to make of her, especially when it came to her personal life and it seemed like she really, really just made it a point to let people walk all over her.
Courtney pushed herself into Fiona's life and left messes left and right. I'm all for sisterly love and all, but it's not really healthy for the elder sister to let her younger sister just traipse around getting into trouble all the time without saying anything. This made Fiona meek and a bit of a pushover. And then she goes and let's Jack Bowman into her life so that he can manipulate and manhandle her whenever he feels like it. He lies to her, keeps her at a distance, comes on to her whenever he feels like it, lies to her, leaves her hanging, treats her like an outsider, lies to her, and he makes it perfectly clear that he's really just interested in sex. Oh, and did I mention that he lies to her? A lot?
Which brings me to Jack. Oh... Jack. I decided that he is a Grade A Jack-Ass.
He's pushy. I give him props for being a good investigator and being persistent. Sometimes you have to be persistent. And if he'd just had that trait going for him, then it would have been fine. But Jack goes beyond persistent and just become forcefully pushy... and manipulative. Okay, so I'm fine with him being a bit persistent and manipulative to get what he wants. Women do it all the time.
But then he starts to supply his double standards everywhere.
He needs Fiona to help him with his case so that he can get his big break. This is a cold case and he needs all the help he can get. He misleads Fiona into interviewing a woman who had been victimized eleven years ago; while angry at first, Fiona agrees, but lays down her disclaimer: eleven years ago is already too long ago and we may not find anything useful, these conditions aren't ideal. He wants her to try and sketch the possible suspect anyway. And then the results come out exactly like she'd predicted... so now Jack is disappointed with her. Really?
But that's okay, because he's sexually attracted to her, so let's keep her around for a little longer anyway so he can get his sexual frustration taken care of. And, you know, it's all about sex anyway, because he doesn't really mention anything about her personality or the like... he just keeps looking at her boobs and her butt. That's fine too. Sexual attraction is totally legit.
But now that he's gotten to know her, suddenly he knows what's best for her? He's not happy that she's trying to help him some more? Following leads? Interviewing another witness and sketching another possible suspect? No. He wants her to stay out of the case; this isn't a field for her and she should just go back to her paintings and her art galleries.
Excuse me? First, you drag her into your case when she's adamant about staying out of the law enforcement scene. Then you make her uncomfortable by trying to sleep with her. And then you decide that maybe you're "da man" after all and you need to keep your woman away from the dangers of law enforcement? Where the heck does he come off making those decisions for her in the first place anyway? You're just the guy who wants to sleep with her because she's got a luscious ass and big boobs. You have no say over her life, so even if she wants to put her life in peril by following up on a few leads that might help your cold case investigation because you couldn't think about those leads, you have no right to tell her to stay put.
And the lying! But I'll be frank. Maybe Fiona should have been a bit more forthcoming about how she feels about people lying to her. If she didn't like it, she should have said so since to her, lying comes too naturally with police officers. And when he lied to her the first three times, maybe she should have just walked away. Instead, she lets him continue to lie to her, continue to omit information, and just lets him get away with it.
At first, I figured, you know, it's not a big deal. You guys are working on a professional level and the lying is just standard "this is a confidential case" type of deal. And about his personal life, it's really none of her business anyway. But then he started getting personal and the lying continued into their personal interests and THAT was where I just... well, I planked.
SPOILER PARAGRAPH
SPOILER PARAGRAPH OVER
Anyway...
Now that my rant is finished... well, I guess as far as the subject matter went, I DID enjoy the book to an extent. If I didn't get all headed up, I probably wouldn't have much to talk about. Needless to say, I admired Fiona and her talent and skill. I admired her on and off independence. But I don't really admire her personal life much. And I just didn't like Jack.
I have plans to read the rest of the series, which, to be honest, I'm only reading because I'm interested in the Tracers series and these two books are prequel-like books that lead into Tracers. But this particular book left a lot of things open-ended that I hope get addressed in the next book... though I'm sure won't happen since it would be a bit out of place.
Hate me and my review, for I like happy endings and relationships that I can actually understand. And is it really too much to ask for a couple where the partners respect each other enough NOT to be Jack-Asses about it?
August 24, 2022
Forensic artist Fiona Glass is the best in her field, but the job has gotten the best of her and she is ready to quit. When police chief Jack Bowman comes to her asking for help tracking down a killer who is targeting teen girls, his persistence makes her change her mind and work one more case.
I found this story to be very interesting and intense. Fiona is a great character with an interesting background story and a very interesting sister. I actually can't wait to read book 2 because Courtney Glass is the main character in it.
The murders in this story are brutal and make no sense (not that murder ever does), but seeing how Fiona talks with scared witnesses to get the information she needs is enlightening. She is very good at her job.
Jack Bowman is a very intense man who wants to get the job down. I saw a romance with him and Fiona right from the start. The chemistry was obvious here.
I found this story to be very interesting and intense. Fiona is a great character with an interesting background story and a very interesting sister. I actually can't wait to read book 2 because Courtney Glass is the main character in it.
The murders in this story are brutal and make no sense (not that murder ever does), but seeing how Fiona talks with scared witnesses to get the information she needs is enlightening. She is very good at her job.
Jack Bowman is a very intense man who wants to get the job down. I saw a romance with him and Fiona right from the start. The chemistry was obvious here.
November 27, 2021
I love Laura Griffin books and I kind of expected to simply love this one, too, but sadly I didn't. Fiona was an enjoyable MC and at first I liked the chemistry between her and Jack, but at some point in the book he just became ... too much. Too much taking things in his own hands, too much pressure on her and that ending? Holy shit, that creeped me out, to be completely honest. If someone just decided to move into my apartment while I'm too weak and healing to discuss this, I'd be kicking his ass out of the door faster than he could say "consent". Which, by the way, seems to be a word Jack is not aware of.
April 25, 2019
I could write a review but Naomi Lahn already echoed my thoughts perfectly in hers! Snippets in italics belong to her.
/review/show...
If I had to describe Thread Of Fear in a few words they would be LACKING - RIDICULOUS - UNINTERESTING and BORING. It's supposed to be a Romantic Suspense... the romance was a bust. The relationship between Fiona and Jack was not explored at all. They meet, they're “attracted� to each other but she doesn't want another relationship with a cop, he insists, they have 10 seconds (it was SUPER embarrassing) of sex then nothing. He insists again but he lies to her, she's hurt, some time later they have sex again (longer this time! yay) and JUST.LIKE.THAT she tells him that she loves him. Like, when did that happen??!! Then he leaves her, instead of saying something nice/profound or saying he loves her back he says “Take care, now�
Then, something BIG happens, they save each other lives and JUST.LIKE.THAT he loves her back. RIGHT ... RIGHT!
It was just unbelievably ridiculous. The book was not focused on anything, like it could have been more focused on the suspense part but NO.
Actually there were two cases, the book starts with Shelby (the little girl) chatting with that guy so I thought that this was gonna be the big case but turns out it was actually just a side story who was not related at all to the big one. It was told just because Fiona had sketched the perv.
The romance was not good at all, the plot even less, the secondary characters were uninteresting.
Jack was a jerk. I thought I would like him but NO. He was a liar, an asshole and he couldn't even contain himself for more than 10 SECONDS.
I can only echo that there was no chemistry or building of a relationship & that there was no need for a secondary case. I was so ticked at all the unanswered questions at the end.
Fiona needs to make up her mind about the job. Jack is an arse to roll out of bed with her & go running to Lucy & then lie about it & to say "Take care, now" right after she declared her love? Unbelievable!!!
/review/show...
If I had to describe Thread Of Fear in a few words they would be LACKING - RIDICULOUS - UNINTERESTING and BORING. It's supposed to be a Romantic Suspense... the romance was a bust. The relationship between Fiona and Jack was not explored at all. They meet, they're “attracted� to each other but she doesn't want another relationship with a cop, he insists, they have 10 seconds (it was SUPER embarrassing) of sex then nothing. He insists again but he lies to her, she's hurt, some time later they have sex again (longer this time! yay) and JUST.LIKE.THAT she tells him that she loves him. Like, when did that happen??!! Then he leaves her, instead of saying something nice/profound or saying he loves her back he says “Take care, now�
Then, something BIG happens, they save each other lives and JUST.LIKE.THAT he loves her back. RIGHT ... RIGHT!
It was just unbelievably ridiculous. The book was not focused on anything, like it could have been more focused on the suspense part but NO.
Actually there were two cases, the book starts with Shelby (the little girl) chatting with that guy so I thought that this was gonna be the big case but turns out it was actually just a side story who was not related at all to the big one. It was told just because Fiona had sketched the perv.
The romance was not good at all, the plot even less, the secondary characters were uninteresting.
Jack was a jerk. I thought I would like him but NO. He was a liar, an asshole and he couldn't even contain himself for more than 10 SECONDS.
I can only echo that there was no chemistry or building of a relationship & that there was no need for a secondary case. I was so ticked at all the unanswered questions at the end.
Fiona needs to make up her mind about the job. Jack is an arse to roll out of bed with her & go running to Lucy & then lie about it & to say "Take care, now" right after she declared her love? Unbelievable!!!
September 4, 2015
Thread of Fear
4 Stars
An engrossing mystery that keeps you guessing but the romance could have been better.
Fiona and Jack have great chemistry, however, it is difficult to connect with them as individuals. Fiona comes across as aloof and emotionally reserved while Jack has an annoying habit of being economical with the truth. Important details about their backgrounds are gradually revealed but by then it is too little, too late.
The serial killer plot is what makes this a worthwhile read. The initial set-up grabs you right off the bat and increases in tension and suspense to keep you on the edge of your seat. Fiona's occupation as a forensic artist adds a compelling layer both to her character and to the mystery, and the small town vibe is entertaining. The climax is also well-written and satisfying although the Fiona does lean toward being TSTL and the motivation for the crime could have been explained in more detail.
On a final note, this book and its sequel, Whisper of Warning precede Griffin's Tracers series and a number of characters are set up here to get their own books. Fiona's uninhibited sister, Courtney, is the heroine of the sequel and Nathan's story is the first of the Tracers books (which I have already read and enjoyed). Looking forward to continuing both series.
4 Stars
An engrossing mystery that keeps you guessing but the romance could have been better.
Fiona and Jack have great chemistry, however, it is difficult to connect with them as individuals. Fiona comes across as aloof and emotionally reserved while Jack has an annoying habit of being economical with the truth. Important details about their backgrounds are gradually revealed but by then it is too little, too late.
The serial killer plot is what makes this a worthwhile read. The initial set-up grabs you right off the bat and increases in tension and suspense to keep you on the edge of your seat. Fiona's occupation as a forensic artist adds a compelling layer both to her character and to the mystery, and the small town vibe is entertaining. The climax is also well-written and satisfying although the Fiona does lean toward being TSTL and the motivation for the crime could have been explained in more detail.
On a final note, this book and its sequel, Whisper of Warning precede Griffin's Tracers series and a number of characters are set up here to get their own books. Fiona's uninhibited sister, Courtney, is the heroine of the sequel and Nathan's story is the first of the Tracers books (which I have already read and enjoyed). Looking forward to continuing both series.
August 29, 2011
I really like Laura Griffin's writing and consider her to be one of the best finds I've had in ages.
this is her third book and although I didn't think the romance was as strong as her first two books, I did enjoy it. Laura always has a great plot with a good story that keeps moving at a swift pace.
This one however, was a little slow off the mark but once I was sucked in I stayed there. I also had a little difficulty picturing the leads in my mind both physically aswell as mentally/emotionally. this made it difficult to believe the chemistry. The heroine was very reserved and slow to trust which was how I think Laura wanted to portray her actually.
Overall I enjoyed this book and I have eagerly started the second book in this series "Whisper a Warning".
This is an author I'm really interested in and if you like a good romantic suspense with intelligent and skillful writing she's for you too.
this is her third book and although I didn't think the romance was as strong as her first two books, I did enjoy it. Laura always has a great plot with a good story that keeps moving at a swift pace.
This one however, was a little slow off the mark but once I was sucked in I stayed there. I also had a little difficulty picturing the leads in my mind both physically aswell as mentally/emotionally. this made it difficult to believe the chemistry. The heroine was very reserved and slow to trust which was how I think Laura wanted to portray her actually.
Overall I enjoyed this book and I have eagerly started the second book in this series "Whisper a Warning".
This is an author I'm really interested in and if you like a good romantic suspense with intelligent and skillful writing she's for you too.
April 20, 2015
Esta es una historia que me apetecÃa mucho leer, que ha cumplido con casi todas mis expectativas. La trama de suspense engancha, los personajes están bien caracterizados, la relación de los personajes avanza lentamente, nos da tiempo a conocerlos, vemos sus miedos e inseguridades y creo que esto es un gran punto a favor de la verosimilitud.
Me ha gustado poder leer una historia como esta, pues su género no es el que más se publica, no estoy acostumbrada leer novelas románticas asà y el cambio ha sido positivo, además, creo que la autora se preocupa por cuidar los detalles que sirven para ambientar la historia en este género policÃaco y que cuida bien los detalles. Ahora bien, creo que sà me ha faltado un poco más de acción, sobre todo en el desenlace de la trama policÃaca.
Me ha gustado poder leer una historia como esta, pues su género no es el que más se publica, no estoy acostumbrada leer novelas románticas asà y el cambio ha sido positivo, además, creo que la autora se preocupa por cuidar los detalles que sirven para ambientar la historia en este género policÃaco y que cuida bien los detalles. Ahora bien, creo que sà me ha faltado un poco más de acción, sobre todo en el desenlace de la trama policÃaca.
July 19, 2015
A pesar de que hace tiempo que empecé este libro, tengo que decir que no lo dejé apartado porque fuera malo sino porque me apetecÃa leer otra cosa.
Está bien escrito y los personajes están bien definidos.
Jack es un tipo duro al que siempre ha hecho las cosas a su manera y no planea darse por vencido para tener a la mejor artista forense a su disposición y esa no es otra que nuestra protagonista.
De Fiona no sabemos mucho hasta que Jack va sabiendo cosas, conocemos a la protagonista al mismo tiempo que él.
Mención aparte merecen los personajes secundarios, especialmente Courtney, la hermana de Fiona. De la que espero y deseo conocer su historia.
Por todo estoy le doy algo mas de un 3.
Está bien escrito y los personajes están bien definidos.
Jack es un tipo duro al que siempre ha hecho las cosas a su manera y no planea darse por vencido para tener a la mejor artista forense a su disposición y esa no es otra que nuestra protagonista.
De Fiona no sabemos mucho hasta que Jack va sabiendo cosas, conocemos a la protagonista al mismo tiempo que él.
Mención aparte merecen los personajes secundarios, especialmente Courtney, la hermana de Fiona. De la que espero y deseo conocer su historia.
Por todo estoy le doy algo mas de un 3.
November 22, 2015
Great read! I really enjoyed my first read by this author and will definitely be continuing with the 2nd book in The Glass Sisters series. Thread of Fear is an intense, tightly woven suspense book with just the right touch of romance, angst, and mystery. I was surprised to learn the identity of one of the villains revealed near the end as I never saw it coming. Thread of Fear is a well written, heart-touching read. A Must Read!
April 25, 2018
The suspense is fantastic. I mean top-notch, edge of your seat stuff. The romance is beautiful. I do wish it had more heat thought. They really have a great chemistry with each other up to a point. The secondary characters are also entertaining. I’m excited to read Fiona’s sisters story. If you like romantic suspense than you have to read Thread of Fear!
September 7, 2022
I’m knocking this down a star just for how much of an utter tool Jack is. Honestly i should probably knock it down another star for how pathetic Fiona was. She had no spine, she pretended to stand up for herself and then just keeled over. I get that it’s hard to have boundaries but i was really baffled by her capitulation (and like the fact that she found it totes lovable and hot) when he steamrolled her.
March 20, 2022
The more I read about Laura griffin's male characters the more I hate them. They always treat the heroin like shit without being sorry. Maybe I liked one but don't remember which one. But yeah definitely hating jack. He's an asshole. I don't know how Fiona fell in love with him while he constantly made her feel cheap. And from Jack's pov she was not more important than a laid off half of the book. Actually if I divide it like three part thn it'll go like part one - he seems charming doing everything to use her for his case, part two - trying to get on her pant treating her like a cheap f, part three - feeling guilty cause he inserted her in this mess. No love here gentleman. So when he actually behaves like a good boyfriend at the end it felt meh. He behaves like a jerk, if Fiona snap they argue and next chapter we see Fiona regretting those and jack going on with his usuals. He never even apologize he just goes and have sex with her. And I hate Fiona for caving everytime. Girl you deserve better. And what's the shit with jack and Lucy? Why she behaved like that when she found out jack slept with Fiona? Did they had anything going on? He even felt guilty wtf! Lucy still loves him and he still has soft spot for her but why lie?? Double shit asshole jack. Why he lied to Fiona if there's nothing between him and Lucy? Really if someone hurt me time and time like these without even apologizing I would have cut them like a cold turkey. But no Fiona cave every time he comes to have sex. I really liked her character in the beginning she's talented, professional and straight forward (yeah she let people walk all over her but she was never spineless) but on the way she became like this so called timid heroin, pathetic around the hero which disappointed the hell out of me.
How can you keep having sex with someone when the other person blurt out I love you and you don't feel the same?
And I hate how everyone tell her that if she didn't want to she wouldn't have said yes to them. I'm a pushover I know how hard it is to say no a single time and how it feels if someone guilt trips you again and again until you cave. Which exactly what jack did. And he had the guts to say she wanted to say yes otherwise she wouldn't have done it. No her opinion didn't matter to them. Yes she felt obliged to do the work cause she's good but hell with the theory that deep down she always wanted to do that. And at the end when Fiona was following the serial killer jack told her to stay put he's coming. She stayed put but he went somewhere else. Are you fkidding me? She was alone god knows where waiting for you and you didn't bother to inform her your change of plans. And when he finally called and tried to convince her to turn around his exact words I'm quoting "Is this some bullshit from your past?" 🫡
The mystery was okay but they should have made everything clear at the end. And I was so pissed at jack that I didn't care what the heck was happening. I just wanted to finish it.
How can you keep having sex with someone when the other person blurt out I love you and you don't feel the same?
And I hate how everyone tell her that if she didn't want to she wouldn't have said yes to them. I'm a pushover I know how hard it is to say no a single time and how it feels if someone guilt trips you again and again until you cave. Which exactly what jack did. And he had the guts to say she wanted to say yes otherwise she wouldn't have done it. No her opinion didn't matter to them. Yes she felt obliged to do the work cause she's good but hell with the theory that deep down she always wanted to do that. And at the end when Fiona was following the serial killer jack told her to stay put he's coming. She stayed put but he went somewhere else. Are you fkidding me? She was alone god knows where waiting for you and you didn't bother to inform her your change of plans. And when he finally called and tried to convince her to turn around his exact words I'm quoting "Is this some bullshit from your past?" 🫡
The mystery was okay but they should have made everything clear at the end. And I was so pissed at jack that I didn't care what the heck was happening. I just wanted to finish it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 29, 2011
Laura Griffin is fast becoming one of my favorite authors. I read this series backwards, but that's OK because they can be read as stand alones.
Fiona Glass is trying to end her career as a forensic artist and just concentrate on being an Art teacher at the community college and having her art shown in a gallery. She is plagued by the memories of the abused and the sadistic abusers. The problem is that she becomes emotionally involved in the cases, but she is the best in the business.
Jack Bowman, small town Texas sheriff, needs her to interview a woman who was tortured and raped by a sicko that he believes is tied to some recent disappearances. He does not tell her the case was 11 years old and the vic was his x girlfriend. He has no problem with persistence and turning on the charm (in a sweet hulking beautiful hunka hunka kind of way)to get Fiona to agree to help.
There is a lot of suspense going on in this story that will keep you turning these pages. Sexual suspense, emotional suspense and the whole crime suspense.
Fiona Glass is trying to end her career as a forensic artist and just concentrate on being an Art teacher at the community college and having her art shown in a gallery. She is plagued by the memories of the abused and the sadistic abusers. The problem is that she becomes emotionally involved in the cases, but she is the best in the business.
Jack Bowman, small town Texas sheriff, needs her to interview a woman who was tortured and raped by a sicko that he believes is tied to some recent disappearances. He does not tell her the case was 11 years old and the vic was his x girlfriend. He has no problem with persistence and turning on the charm (in a sweet hulking beautiful hunka hunka kind of way)to get Fiona to agree to help.
There is a lot of suspense going on in this story that will keep you turning these pages. Sexual suspense, emotional suspense and the whole crime suspense.
August 10, 2015
Thread of Fear is a fast paced romantic-suspense that keeps you guessing to the very end. The heroine, Fiona, is a complex character and it takes most of the book for her to be revealed. She has quite a few martyr and TSTL moments, but overall you can understand why.
Fiona is an artist who teaches at a local community college in Austin, TX. She also is a police sketch artist with a reputation for working tirelessly with traumatized victims. But the police work is taking its' toll on her and she wants to quit and pursue her painting. She keeps getting dragged back in. First with the FBI case of a kidnapped 10 year old girl and then with a small town cold case and recent murder. The small town case is attached to Jack, the small town chief of police. Even as Fiona keeps saying no, Jack relentlessly pursues her to do sketches for his case. She does and ends up involved with both Jack and deeply with the case, which puts her in danger.
Fiona is an artist who teaches at a local community college in Austin, TX. She also is a police sketch artist with a reputation for working tirelessly with traumatized victims. But the police work is taking its' toll on her and she wants to quit and pursue her painting. She keeps getting dragged back in. First with the FBI case of a kidnapped 10 year old girl and then with a small town cold case and recent murder. The small town case is attached to Jack, the small town chief of police. Even as Fiona keeps saying no, Jack relentlessly pursues her to do sketches for his case. She does and ends up involved with both Jack and deeply with the case, which puts her in danger.
June 19, 2013
More like a 3.5 star for me...The story was excellent and held my interest all the way through. The bad guy was really bad...lol...and the resolution of the case was well done. So, what's the problem, you ask? I just didn't like Jack. It's more likely for a female character to irritate me, so that's saying something. I don't think Fiona made him 'work for it' at all. There was one point where she she should have run far and fast and he should have had to do some serious groveling. He was just too emotionally unavailable. Usually alpha males are that way, at first, but are able to pull it out for "the one." That's what makes it so cool/sweet/hot. So, nut shelling: great plot/story/case/side characters but romance was unsatisfying for me. I was pulled in to the story line, though, and will read the next one...which I've heard is better.
May 14, 2009
Forensic artist Fiona Glass draws the faces of criminals based on careful interrogation of witnesses. She is drawn into a serial killer case in Texas by Jack Bowman, chief of police in some small hick town. Fiona feels greatly for one witness a 10 year old boy whose sister has been abducted from their home. When the 10 year old boy is kidnapped as well, Fiona happens to be there and follows the truck. Luckily she has a cell phone and is able to call Jack for assistance.
This is my first time reading this author and it certainly won't be my last. What an amazing book! The mystery was intense and the romance was slow and sweet. This grabs you from the first chapter and just doesn't let go until the last page.
This is my first time reading this author and it certainly won't be my last. What an amazing book! The mystery was intense and the romance was slow and sweet. This grabs you from the first chapter and just doesn't let go until the last page.
August 22, 2015
The heroine is an artist who has the uncanny ability to talk with traumatized children and to produce amazing "portraits" of the suspects. She is herself traumatized by these encounters, the horrid situations that the children who are victims suffered, and she wants to say no to law enforcement requests. Very compelling story, the first in the author's Glass Sisters duo.
I read these books before, but I wanted to return to them as I've begun the author's Tracers series and wanted to see whether any back stories are present here.
I read these books before, but I wanted to return to them as I've begun the author's Tracers series and wanted to see whether any back stories are present here.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 230 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.