Killer Dolls by Angelica Hart and Zi

THE PAGAN & THE PEN BOOK REVIEWS

Title:  Killer Dolls 
Author: Angelica Hart and Zi

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Publisher: Champagne Books

Genre: Romance/Suspense

Length: 106 pgs. Other: M/F

Reviewed by: Keri Stratton Alley

About The Book: After bio-terrorists use ricin to kill a man, they plan to attack innocent children by using ricin filled handcrafted dolls created by Letti Noel.  After years of building her business, Letti now longs for romance and commitment, and thinks she might have found it in Taut Johnson.  Only unbeknownst to her he is an FBI agent working undercover to find the terrorist.  He knows he can't allow a relationship to develop until the case is over, yet finds that he is unwittingly falling for Letti, and now she is in danger, bringing back the past and a fear that he cannot protect those he loves.

Meanwhile, children are in increasing danger.

Meanwhile, there is another death. 

Meanwhile, Taut's deceit threatens their growing love even as the stalking terrorists threaten their lives.

The Review: I was torn in giving a rating for this book.

On one hand, I loved the extensive vocabulary employed by the authors. It’s not often I get to read a romance novel with such an impressive vocabulary. There were occasional turns of phrases that verged on poetic. I genuinely liked the two main characters, Lettie and Taut, and their budding romance was an enjoyable diversion.

On the other hand, at times the extensive vocabulary was overemployed, leaving scenic descriptions sounding more like clinical reports than suspenseful fiction. And twice, in the middle of a love scene the authors referred to Lettie’s pudendum. Pudendum? I know what it means, but the word gave the scenes a medical feeling that was off putting enough so the rest of the scene lost its spark. And that’s too bad, because the sex scene without the use of the word pudendum was sizzling.

The authors have an interesting descriptive style that takes a few chapters to get into. “The vehicle converged into a wooded area, it known for frequent fornication by lovers who had only a car and no money for a room.” And I was confused by the repeated and elaborate descriptions of the sexcapades of Lettie’s coworkers at the beginning of the book. These very personal bits of information just weren’t relevant to the story; they didn’t advance the plot, or give insight into Lettie’s character, and most of the people discussed never appeared in the book again. The terrorist plot that is the background for Lettie and Taut’s romance could have used a bit more development to add to the suspense. I felt as though the book struggled to be both a romance novel and a suspense/thriller but never fully accomplished either one.

Pagan Elements: none

Cover (Rated 1-10): 3

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