Allreaders.com
Author Elizabeth Thornton booklist (click here)

Book Review By Katrina Lo
Strangers at Dawn by Elizabeth Thornton

Sara Carstairs had survived imprisonment after being acquitted in the murder of William Neville, her sister's husband. Although the jury ruled her out as innocent, Max Worthe knew that the acquittal was unfair and every year Max published in his newspaper the disappearance of William and the involvement of Sara to remind the public that he was still seeking justice for William's death. Sara had lived as a recluse for 3 years after her trial. She severed ties from her family fearing for their safety. The public still cast bad aspersion on Sara despite her acquittal. But after 3 years of hiding, Sara decided to go public in order to find a husband. She feared that William was still alive and was out to kill her in order to get his hands on her fortune when in her death it would be passed down to her sister, Anne. With the marriage of convenience she would get from her future husband, she would get completely control over her inheritance and she decided to divide it among her siblings so that William wouldn't get his hands on it. During her husband hunt, she met Max Worthe, whom made himself a friend to Sara. Max immediately knew that the woman was Sara Carstairs. He decided to keep his identity hidden in order to get the truth out of Sara. However Max was forced to reveal to Sara his identity as a reporter when he found out that Sara was in danger of marrying a man with huge financial debt. Sara felt betrayed and she knew that it was useless to run from Max. So she confided in him what happened in the past. But Max was unconvinced and since she still needed a husband, Max proposed that he would act as his pretend fiancée. Sara agreed as this would keep William away. When she returned to her home, her family disapproved of Max thinking that he was a fortune hunter. But Max was there to protect Sara from present threat and solve William's disappearance. Max was not convinced that William was the one who was threatening Sara. During his pretense relationship with Sara, Max fell in love with her. And he knew that Sara felt the same way despite her hesitancy to trust. Max convinced Sara they marry for real and Sara agreed relieved to be able to rely on someone strong after years of being independent and alone. But despite the protection of the marriage, Sara still got threats and it wasn't long when Sara was abducted. Max was terrified. He was close in solving the event that had transpired 3 years ago and now the killer had gotten Sara. Rounding up all the clues that he had, he rushed in to save Sara before it's too late.


Plot & Themes
Time/era of story
Marriage/Married Yes
Marriage subplot:
Action/suspense subplot? Yes
Action:
If one lover chases another... - he chases after her

Main Male Character
Profession/status:
Age/status: - 20's-30's

Main Female Character - 20's-30's
Profession/status:
Unusual characteristics:

Setting
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK
City? Yes
Small town? Yes

Writing Style
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
What % of story is romance related? - 80%
Focus of story - Her
How much dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
Back To Main Menu