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Book Reviews of Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1)

Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1)
Don't Tell - Chicago, Bk 1
Author: Karen Rose
ISBN-13: 9780446612807
ISBN-10: 0446612804
Publication Date: 9/2007
Pages: 482
Rating:
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 121

4 stars, based on 121 ratings
Publisher: Grand Central
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

35 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

MELNELYNN avatar reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on + 669 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 11
Although the premise and plot of this book has been done over and over, no one has done it better. The story of an abused wife and mother who finally takes action will not be new. However the tension, feelings, and fear of Mary Grace Winters is presented in a moment by moment way that keeps you on the edge of your chair, bed or floor. Wherever you choose to read. We are not kept in the dark about the feelings and motives of her husband or the man, (Max) who sees the kindness, generosity, and love that Caroline ( AKA Mary Grace ) has to offer. After seven years the worst happens and her policeman husband finds out she and her son are alive. With exquisite detail we follow him on his hunt. We follow Caroline as she finally becomes the woman she was meant to be. We see the dark edges of her soul and the ravages of horror meated out to her and her child. I could not put it down. You will not be disappointed. Spine-chilling suspense, unusual twists, and a great ending. Go for it.
reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on + 13 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
This is an excellent book and it kept my attention.
LENNY01 avatar reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on + 82 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
Excellent...lots of heartstopping thrills and a little romance...what a combination!
reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on + 44 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
good exciting read
mom24kids avatar reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on + 8 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
I was on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading this. I so wanted to go to the back of the book to see how it would end...Great read
reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on + 145 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Great book, great suspense!
reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on + 6 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I was very impressed with this mystery by Karen Rose. I enjoy her style of writing very much. She develops her characters well and throws in a curve ball in the action when you least expect it. I AM reading as many of her books as I can get my hands on.
GeniusJen avatar reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on + 5322 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Mary Grace Winters held the grand title of "punching bag". An abused wife with a bad-cop husband, Mary Grace had no choice but to take what he gave her. With no job, no skills, and no friends of her own, she had no one to turn to for help, had nothing to allow her to escape the life that she led. In turn, she lived for her son, Robbie, who one day had the horrible misfortune to find his mother lying in a pool of blood at the bottom of the cellar stairs, broken and battered.

Mary Grace used her months in the hospital to form a plan. She needed to escape, to run away, not just for her sake, but for the sake of her son. Rob Winters wasn't just a cop, but a cop that demanded respect and invoked fear not only in her, but in his fellow officers. So she dreamed, and she plotted, and she faked her own death.

Caroline Stewart was a woman with a wonderful job as the administrative assistant to the head of the history department of Carrington College. She's found her niche, and created a nice, sturdy world for herself, when her mentor and boss suddenly dies. Enter Max Hunter, a man larger than life, with a chip on his shoulder the size of a small country. He uses a cane, and should anyone mention it or show him the least bit of pity, he's prepared to use said cane upside their head.

When Caroline, a new woman who's almost put behind her the old world of Mary Grace, and Max, who can't, or won't, put behind his own, collide, much more than sparks start flying. Passion, mixed with pent-up anger, regret, and sorrow, abound from every page, along with enough humor thrown in to make you laugh out loud.

"Don't Tell" is romantic suspense at it's ultimate best. Ms. Rose is a wonderful story-teller, able to breathe life into her pages until you feel as if you're part of the story. I laughed, I cried, I yelled...and all from the words printed on these pages. If you've ever wondered if good can conquer evil, if you're not sure that the good guys sometimes do win, then this book is for you. Karen Rose goes down as a master of suspense in my book, and I can't wait to devour everything else she's ever written...and hopefully will keep writing long into the future.
reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on + 108 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I really really liked this book. I was not at all sure I'd like it as the subject was an abused wife who ran away from her husband, but it was very heart felt to learn of the courage of this and other women in this situation. New York Times calls it "Utterly Compelling"
reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on
Helpful Score: 1
Great book! I've read four of her books and am on the fifth one. They have all kept me on the edge of my seat. I couldn't put them down.
calevanik avatar reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on + 31 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This book had a really good story, but unfortunately it was wrapped up into a romance novel. I found the descriptions of sexual encounters to be a little offensive considering the main story of the book is about domestic violence. Not that I'm a prude, but the author cheapened the encounters with her language only pages after a very serious description of violence. Worth reading, but try not let the sex upstage the violence and strength the main characters has.
reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on + 194 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
"Utterly compelling...High-Wire suspense that keeps you riveted to the edge of your seat. Great,Great, Great!!!!
robinmy avatar reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on + 2106 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
After years of abuse at the hands of her cop husband, Mary Grace Winters takes her son and fakes their deaths. Now living in Chicago and using the name of Caroline Stewart, she is ready to trust her new boss, Max Hunter, with her secret. He is going through his own private battles and is making a new start too. But now the car she ditched has been discovered and her husband is hot on her trail, vowing to make her pay for stealing his son.

This is a fast moving romantic suspense story that I highly recommend. I'll definitely be reading more books by this author in the future. My rating: 4.5 Stars.
reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on + 5 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
very captivating read
reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on
Another great Karen Rose book. Karen's books are great because they are suspence filled from beginning to end. Best to look on her website and read them in order because the characters continue throughout her books.
reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on + 7 more book reviews
Excellent read, I enjoy the books by Karen Rose
charligirl728 avatar reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on + 18 more book reviews
This was the first book I've read by Karen Rose, and I plan to read more. There was a mix of suspense and romance.
reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on + 13 more book reviews
Just started reading Karen Rose and LOVE her.
emmer avatar reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on + 70 more book reviews
Wow....what a book. This was passed on to me from a co-worker and I thoroughly loved it! If you like intriguing books, then this one is for you!
reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on + 115 more book reviews
Wow! Karen Rose is phenomenal. Her style makes you feel like you're seeing everything unfold right before your eyes. The imagery is so realistic that it's creepy.
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Rob Winters is a wife-beating, homicidal...COP! 7 years earlier, his wife, Mary Grace, finally got tired of the beatings and ran with their son after faking their deaths. The two moved to Chicago, changed their names and went on with their lives...until the day her car was pulled from the lake with no bodies inside. Furious, Rob uses his connections (legal and illegal) to find out Mary Grace's new name and whereabouts and goes on a murderous rampage, intent on punishing his estrnged wife and taking back his son.
reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on + 116 more book reviews
Since escaping her abusive cop husband and moving to Chicago seven years earlier, Mary Grace Winters has reinvented herself. With the help of a safe house for battered women, she changed her name to Caroline Stewart and her son\'s to Tom and secured a secretarial position at Carrington College. But unbeknownst to Caroline, her husband is on her trail, determined to reclaim his son and kill anyone who stands in his way. Meanwhile, Caroline struggles to live a normal life and open her heart to the love of a good man, Max Hunter. A handsome history professor and former NBA star, Max still bears physical and emotional scars from a long-ago car crash. But as their whirlwind romance progresses, enhanced by generous doses of steamy sex, Max realizes that Caroline\'s reluctance to commit stems from her past fears, not repulsion over his injury. Despite one stormy scene, in which Caroline and Max fling insults at each other and compare scars, first-time author Rose handles her subject matter well. She informs without preaching and allows her characters to sort through their emotions in a mature manner. As gripping as a cold hand on the back of one\'s neck, but tempered by lovable characters and a moving romance, this assured debut bodes well for Rose\'s future books.
reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on + 419 more book reviews
I enjoy this author. My favorite of hers so far.
reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on + 16 more book reviews
I have loved all of Karen Rose's books. She keeps you in suspense and your always guessing till the end. She also adds romance well without over doing it and turning it into a D.S novel. Her characters are ones you can relate to in some way.
reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on + 17 more book reviews
Not bad, they made a movie out of this one
reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on + 45 more book reviews
THIS IS A GOOD BOOK THAT I ENJOYED READING.
reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on + 12 more book reviews
It was a desperate plan. But Mary Grace Winters knew the only way to save herself and her child from her abusive cop husband was to stage their own death. Now all that remains of thier former life is at the bottom of a lake.....
reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on
fantastic book! Very suspenseful and well written!
reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on + 133 more book reviews
A good suspense novel that keeps you reading despite the rather predictable outline of a story.
reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on + 175 more book reviews
I read this one out of order, but it didn't matter. It was another great romantic suspense by Karen Rose.
gigi avatar reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on + 355 more book reviews
If you like a romantic supsense novel then I'm sure you'll like this one, but it's not my taste.
darkcoffeeclouds avatar reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on + 114 more book reviews
This book is very similar to Stephen King's Rose Madder which I just happened to have read last month. The basic story line is the same.

An abused wife is put in the hospital by her husband but she can't get help because her husband is a cop. The other local police don't believe he would abuse his wife and just take his word for it that she is clumsy. When he comes to visit her in the hospital her tells her she better keep quiet or he'll finish the job next time. She knows he will. She finally comes up with a plan to escape with her son and lives for several years before he figures out what happened and comes looking for her. She had just met someone and had fallen in love with him but she knows she can never marry him because she is still married to her husband.

I enjoyed this book even though I don't like romance. The story kept me interested and even when I wasn't reading I was thinking about it.
reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on + 70 more book reviews
This about a wife and child who escape from an abusive cop husband they stage their own deaths........
Char avatar reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on + 135 more book reviews
A nail-biter, Mary Grace knows the only way to get her and her son away from her abusive husband, who's also a cop, is to disappear. Sh'e almost forgotten the nightmare of 9 years ago and has fallen in love with Max, who has scars of his own. But then her husband has found her trail and is closing in on her.
reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on + 43 more book reviews
I did not particularly like this book. The story line has been done so many times that I knew what was going to happen before it did. My friend loved it, so it's up to you.
reviewed Don't Tell (Chicago, Bk 1) on + 60 more book reviews
It was a desperate plan. But Mary Grace Winters knew the only way to save herself and her child from her abusive cop husband was to stage their own death. Now all that remains of their former life is at the bottom of a lake. With a new identity she and her son have found refuge hundreds of miles away. She has almost forgotten the nightmare she left behind. She even takes a new love. But her past is about to collide with the present when her husband uncovers her trail and threatens her hard-won peace. Step by steop he's closing in on her and everything and everyone she loves. A real gripper.