Have You Seen Her? (Romantic Suspense, #2) in Romance Series Lists

Jul 29, 2008 Christa rated it it was amazing

Shelves: booksfree-com

Have You Seen Her? was a riveting romantic suspense novel. It is the second book in the series, and the hero, Steven Thatcher, also appeared in the previous novel,Don't Tell. I enjoyed the way that the relationship developed between the hero and heroine, Jenna Marshall, and even though Steven Thatcher made serious mistakes in his interactions with Jenna, it wasn't difficult to sympathize with him due to insecurities caused by his past. I thought that the hero and heroine were both wonderful char Have You Seen Her? was a riveting romantic suspense novel. It is the second book in the series, and the hero, Steven Thatcher, also appeared in the previous novel,Don't Tell. I enjoyed the way that the relationship developed between the hero and heroine, Jenna Marshall, and even though Steven Thatcher made serious mistakes in his interactions with Jenna, it wasn't difficult to sympathize with him due to insecurities caused by his past. I thought that the hero and heroine were both wonderful characters, and I was rooting for them all of the way. This book had an engrossing storyline and included some great secondary characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and am adding Karen Rose to my list of favorite romantic suspense authors.

Steven Thatcher, Special Agent for the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, is investigating the disappearance of a local high school cheerleader when she is found dead. Soon, a second young cheerleader vanishes, and Steven is afraid that a vicious serial killer is stalking young women. As Steven becomes submerged in the investigation, he still has problems to deal with at home. A widower with three boys, Steven has series worries with two of his children. Seven year old Nicky was kidnapped from his bed during the previous book, and his emotional suffering has taken away his spontaneity and joy. Seventeen year old Brad has gone from a polite, wonderful student to a surly, unkempt teenager failing his classes in a month's time. Steven is contacted by Dr. Jenna Marshall, Brad's concerned chemistry teacher. As soon as they meet, the two are attracted, but neither wants a relationship. As circumstances cause them to continue to meet, they are unable to deny their awareness and feelings for one another. As they try to carefully explore the possibility of a relationship, Steven's past causes him to misjudge Jenna's actions on several occasions. At the same time, Jenna is being terrorized for failing a high school football player, and Steven's lack of faith in her leaves her in greater danger. Steven knows that he loves Jenna and that her caring is improving the lives of his beloved sons. If Steven wants to have a future with Jenna, he must deal with the issues in his past while he races to find a serial killer whose actions are escalating.

I thought that this was a great book! The hero was flawed, but very likeable. The heroine had survived heartbreak in her past also, and she was very caring and compassionate. If you enjoy intense, page turning suspense with a touching romance included, you will enjoy this book. I would suggest reading Don't Tell prior to this book so that you will have a better understanding and appreciation for the hero. I loved the first two books in this series, and am ready to delve right into the next one. ...more

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Jul 06, 2008 ElaineY rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: law-enforcement-private-eye, crime-cop-procedurals, audiobook, touch-of-romance

REVIEW OF RE-LISTEN; MAY 3, 2022
Narrator: Robert G Slade

I've been slowly making my way through Karen Rose's books. I'd stop following her publications yyears ago and only resumed recently, listening to some of the later books and was pleasantly surprised to find I enjoyed them. Most of them, though I don't intend to listen to her two latest as they involve cults. That's so yesterday, been there done that and they bore me as much as organ harvesting and child/human trafficking themes.

I had to lau REVIEW OF RE-LISTEN; MAY 3, 2022
Narrator: Robert G Slade

I've been slowly making my way through Karen Rose's books. I'd stop following her publications yyears ago and only resumed recently, listening to some of the later books and was pleasantly surprised to find I enjoyed them. Most of them, though I don't intend to listen to her two latest as they involve cults. That's so yesterday, been there done that and they bore me as much as organ harvesting and child/human trafficking themes.

I had to laugh when I read my 2008 review of HYSH below. I did NOT feel the same way about Steven at all this time round! It's like I've been reading different books. I actually liked Steven in 2022 and have absolutely no recollection of him being whiny or having baggage. The story, however, failed to engage me and I ended up DNF'ing it halfway through. Perhaps if I stick it out I might see the Steven I saw back in 2008. On second thoughts, why would I want to do that!
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REVIEW OF AUDIOBOOK: JULY 2008

I can't give Have You Seen Her the same accolades as I've given the other Rose books, minus Nothing To Fear.

First, Steven Thatcher is a wimp, his whining and hanging on to his baggage made him the most unattractive man I've come across in a romance. That he was the hero truly made this book a loser. Special Agent, Neil, deserved the girl, not Thatcher, and Jenna should have stuck to her conclusion that Thatcher would always be suspicious of any man who so much as spoke to her. I just couldn't see how Jenna could have her HEA with a man like that. Each time Steven went into his childish knee-jerk reaction, I was willing Jenna to forget the guy and look at Neil instead.

I was also disappointed over how dumb the police were not to guess who the real killer was. All I can say is that I'm so glad I didn't read this book first when I decided to try Karen Rose. It would have put me off completely and I'd have missed the not-to-be-missed books of the two Reagan brothers. ...more

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Feb 13, 2009 Shawna rated it really liked it

Shelves: hero-abused-scarred-tortured-angst, hero-i-wanna-smack, heroine-i-adore, serial-killer-on-the-loose, villain-creepy-azz-killer, 4-stars, hero-mix-of-alpha-beta, hero-undeserving-of-heroine, hh-widow-or-widower, romantic-suspense

4 stars – Romantic Suspense

This was my second read by author Karen Rose, and it's a very good romantic suspense; but I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as her first book, Don't Tell. The plot is tightly drawn, the villain is uber creepy, scary, and sadistic, the heroine, teacher Jenna Marshall, is spunky and endearing, and the suspense is edgy and intense, but the hero, Special Agent Steven Thatcher, who played a key role in Don't Tell, really got on my nerves in this one.

Steven’s treatment of Je ...more

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Jul 27, 2010 Julianna rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-romance, romantic-suspense, read-2011, desert-island-keepers

Reviewed for THC Reviews
"4.5 stars" Have You Seen Her? was another exciting romantic suspense from Karen Rose. The serial killer mystery part of the book was taut with suspense. Although the real killer was definitely at the top of my suspect list, Ms. Rose certainly made me second guess myself several times, making the journey to discovering his identity enjoyable. She also threw in a little twist that I didn't see coming. I thought the romance aspect could have been just a wee bit better. For Reviewed for THC Reviews
"4.5 stars" Have You Seen Her? was another exciting romantic suspense from Karen Rose. The serial killer mystery part of the book was taut with suspense. Although the real killer was definitely at the top of my suspect list, Ms. Rose certainly made me second guess myself several times, making the journey to discovering his identity enjoyable. She also threw in a little twist that I didn't see coming. I thought the romance aspect could have been just a wee bit better. For some reason I can't quite put my finger on, I didn't feel the connection between the hero and heroine quite as deeply as I would have liked. Perhaps it was because their relationship developed rather quickly over the course of only a few weeks, which isn't really my favorite way for a couple to fall in love. However, their romance was still good. Stephen and Jenna are both wounded souls who very much need each other, but they're also both rather stubborn and after being deeply hurt in the past, don't want to feel needy. As a consequence, this led to some amusing arguments, as well as intense passion. I felt that Stephen held back the truth about his first wife from Jenna a little too long, but otherwise, they communicated quite well for two people who had just met and were still getting to know each other.

I had really liked Stephen in Karen Rose's first book, Don't Tell. When he's on a case, he's more than just a cop. He truly cares about the victims and their families. It's what drives him to be a great detective, but it also puts a strain on his family relationships, especially with his kids. Stephen is definitely not a perfect dad, but he is a great one, nonetheless. He really loves his boys and although he has some problems with them, it just made him all the more relatable to me. Stephen was a very nice guy who certainly didn't deserve the cruel way in which his first wife abandoned him and their children. Because of that, Stephen has issues with trusting women, but that was understandable. However, it does lead to some problems with Jenna, and even I got a little miffed with him when he got jealous and spitefully left Jenna alone at the school even though he supposedly feared for her safety. That seemed like a rather dumb move for such a smart man, and I couldn't help but side with her when she temporarily broke off their relationship because of it. Luckily, Jenna was a pretty patient woman and eventually heard him out and forgave him. On the up side, the thing I really loved about Stephen was that he is a rare celibate hero who actually believes that if he has sex with a woman he better be prepared to marry her, and so consequently doesn't sleep around. The romance seas are brimming with playboy heroes, so I couldn't help but find Stephen's perspective utterly refreshing.

Jenna is a wonderfully caring woman who is struggling emotionally as the second anniversary of her fiancé's death approaches. As a teacher, she truly desires to give her students the best education she possibly can and always looks out for their well-being. It's her mindful attitude regarding Stephen's son, Brad that led to her meeting Stephen in the first place. She's fabulous with all of Stephen's boys, especially little Nicky who was still recovering from the trauma of being abducted just six months earlier (Don't Tell). I really enjoyed their scenes together as Jenna gave Nicky lots of love and special attention. She has a major soft spot for animals too and has two dogs that she saved from being euthanized and then trained them to guard her extremely well. She also does plenty of volunteer work at the animal shelter and the hospice where her fiancé passed away. Jenna may be a very nice person, but underneath it all, she's a tough-as-nails lady with a brown belt in karate. I love how she stood up to a bullying parent and wouldn't back down on the failing grade she gave his son even though her weaselly principle wouldn't support her in that decision and she started receiving threats because of it. All throughout the story, but especially when she had to go up against the killer, Jenna showed great courage, fortitude and strength of spirit.

Have You Seen Her? boasts a plethora of supporting players that I occasionally had a hard time keeping straight. In spite of that, I have to say that they were all rendered extremely well and each had his or her own very important role to play. Stephen's family is warm and wonderful. Brad is initially quite sullen, but I figured out very quickly what his problem was. Nicky is as cute as a button. It's sweet how Aunt Helen is always trying to play matchmaker to Stephen, and her banter with Matt was LOL funny. Stephen's priest friend, Mike was a good sounding board for Stephen's problems with both his boys and Jenna. Jenna's fiancé's family has become hers, and although she doesn't get along so well with her almost sister-in-law, everyone still loves and cares about her very much, as does her “nosy” neighbor, Mrs. Kasselbaum, who was a funny old lady. Stephen assembles an extremely talented investigative team to solve the string of murders, and each person on the team has their own personality and abilities that they bring to the table to get the job done. Neil Davies the lead investigator for the murders in Seattle joins them too. I had to admire his determination to put the killer behind bars after his own investigation went south, but on the other hand, he irritated me a bit when he tried to put the moves on Jenna. Then of course there was the Lutz family who give a whole new meaning to creepy. Unlike with most of Karen Rose's books, it doesn't look like the characters from Have You Seen Her? carry over to future books at this time, the only exception being Stephen who it appears may have a secondary role in Kill for Me. All in all, everything came together to make Have You Seen Her? a great read. With two winners in a row, Karen Rose has earned a spot on my favorite authors list, and I'm really looking forward to reading more of her novels soon.

Note: Karen Rose has a highly interconnected character web throughout all of her books, and they are considered something of an unofficial series. Although it appears that each book stands well on it's own story-wise, I think the reading experience would probably be enhanced by reading the books in the chronological order in which they were written, which is what I intend to do. A complete list including the recommended reading order and character connections can be found on Karen Rose's website. ...more

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Oct 14, 2011 ♥ Vonda M. Reid ♥ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: romantic-suspense

Overall Rating: 5 // Action: 4 / Emotion: 5 / Romance: 5 / Sensuous: 4 / Suspense: 5 // Humor: 11 / Tears: 8

Karen Rose's Have You Seen Her? is a 5-Star book of Romantic Suspense. It features: {1} a flawed, realistic, gorgeous alpha hero, full of intelligence, integrity, angst and compassion; {2} an amazingly intelligent, talented, gorgeous, self-sufficient, confident, stand-up-for-herself alpha heroine; {3} incredibly well-developed, interesting supporting characters that add great depth to ...more

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Mar 26, 2008 jenjn79 rated it really liked it

Shelves: reviewed, info-full, genre-romance-suspense, stars-4, author-karen-rose

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 14, 2017 Wendy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, romantic-suspense, series, stand-alone, 2017

4.5 stars

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May 05, 2009 Marnie rated it liked it

I was really loving this book and couldn't put it down but the ending was a let down. It seemed really familiar and the hero's jealousy ridiculous. The author played it a little too far. ...more

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