Don't Say a Word

By Rita Herron

Book Overview

Groomed by a covert group of elite killers, Damon left the secret society to join the FBI after a mission went brutally wrong and an innocent woman died. When his brother is arrested for murder, Damon investigates and finds a "Jane Doe" who holds the key to the case, along with a darker terror--one that threatens to expose Damon's deadly secrets and destroy them all. Despite the danger, he's drawn to the nameless beauty, igniting a passion that burns hot between them. But with a madman out to silence her forever, Damon knows he must deny their love. And to stop the man responsible, he must return to the one place he has desperately tried to leave behind--the dark shadows of a killer's mind.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0373772173
• ISBN13: 9780373772179
• Release Date: August 2007
• Publisher: Hqn
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.42 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.2" x 6.6"

Customer Reviews

Good book until....

...the last few chapters which made little sense and were unbelievably far fetched, particularly the last chapter which left me going "huh?" I found the paranormal aspects and the surgery itself, since it's been in the news lately, interesting. But all these people being connected to each other was simply too coincidental, as was the strong family resemblance amongst the Dubois family. Since I don't want to ruin the ending for anyone, let's just say it was very convoluted and made no sense at all.

Awesome until the end

After a mission gone awry leaves an innocent woman dead, former mercenary Damon Dubois has returned to his post-Katrina bayou home and joined the FBI. When a body part (and later the rest of the faceless body) is unearthed in the swamp, his youngest brother Antwaun, an undercover detective in the NOPD is implicated in the crime due to his association to the victim Kendra White, who was an undercover reporter investigating the mob and police corruption. When a Jane Doe with amnesia and recent facial reconstruction is discovered with a striking resemblance to the victim, Damon wonders if she might not be the key to the crime, or Kendra herself. As he falls deeper for her, the two try to determine her identity and relationship to the victim, not realizing how the case and the colliding of their pasts could alter his family forever. Herron's latest bayou romantic mystery picks up where the wonderful "Say You Love Me" leaves off. There's plenty of romance, edge of your seat thrills, and plot twists to keep you glued to the book. But as much as I loved it, I hated the ending/epilogue. It was too convenient and unnatural, and fell apart for me.

action-packed investigative romantic suspense

The woman's hand is found sticking out of the swamp of the bayou; Antwaun Dubois recognizes the ring on her finger that he gave her several months ago before she vanished. The police believe he committed her murder. His brother FBI Special Agent Damon Dubois refuses to believe his sibling committed a homicide so he decides to prove otherwise. In the Bayou, Damon meets Crystal, who looks like the sister of the deceased. Crystal cannot remember anything about her past suffering from amnesia. Damon believes she is the key to the murder, but also believes she is his sibling's beloved so he hides his feelings from her. As they work together to recover her memory and look for clues to who she is, they fall in love. However, someone wants her to never remember her past, especially her recent history; if that means killing her so be it. DON'T SAY A WORD is an action-packed investigative romantic suspense that is filled with twists and turns and cleverly uses the Bayou and post Katrina New Orleans as a backdrop. The story line is fast-paced with an incredible climax. Although the romantic subplot between Crystal and Damon seems forced, Rita Herron provides a strong thriller that will have suspense fans wondering what spin is next while romance readers will be a bit disappointed. Harriet Klausner

Suspense Thrills, Courage, the Redemptive Power of Love

Rita Herron's DON'T SAY A WORD is a thrilling read that combines both elements of the genre of Romantic Suspense and adds a touch of the supernatural. The suspense twists and turns and keeps the reader guessing so that even the epilogue presents new surprising details. The hero and heroine struggle against darkness and demons, internal and external, and yet the chemistry between the two is so powerful that their struggle manifests the redemptive power of love. Antwaun Dubois, the black sheep of his family, has been arrested for the murder of Kendra Yates. His brother Damon, an FBI agent and former member of the E-Team, a trained covert group of elite assassins, investigates the gruesome murder hoping to discover the serial killer and free his brother. His trail leads to a mysterious Jane Doe in a hospital. Her eerie resemblance to the victim and cutting edge medical technology complicate the case. Crystal, as she has been named, has amnesia and terrible injuries caused from a horrific fire and yet she might hold the secret to the case, a case that threatens to reveal the deadly dark secrets that Damon has held at bay since he left the E-team. As her memories emerge, can Crystal put together the pieces quickly enough to save herself from the madman? Whom can she trust when all those around her seem to want something from her? Is the passionate chemistry between her and Damon enough to survive both their inner secrets and the killer as he stalks new victims or will their love only put them at greater risk? Rita Herron magnifies the level of romance and suspense in DON'T SAY A WORD through the hero's fight against some deep inner demons as he feels drawn to this woman --- so much that the desire to protect her encourages him to face those demons which he has tried very hard to repress previously. In addition, Crystal feels an inexplicable growing trust for Damon despite her amnesia and the forces putting her very life at risk. The suspense and the plot intricacies that emerge through the investigation, twisting and turning so that the suspense itself is a finely constructed, multi-leveled creation. Although fast-paced, DON'T SAY A WORD is not a simplistic easy-to-figure-out thriller but rather a carefully layered mystery whose details and interconnections only unfold as the last page is read. For suspense lovers, the surprises are thrilling! In addition, Rita Herron develops important themes for our times that make this book expand beyond just a fun thrilling read. The chemistry and developing love between the hero and heroine is so strong, despite the darkness that threatens to engulf them, that the reader captures a glimpse of the redemptive power of love. This theme of love and redemption expands in ripples outward to other characters, not only in the Dubois family, but beyond. As several characters wrestle with their past secrets, Herron creates an idea of heroism includes an individual hero's possible shortcomings and experience. Even the mi