The Forgiven

by Amanda Stevens

Book Overview

In a place that had been named for paradise, evil had come to call. Paradise lost...and found? Naomi Cross knew evil. She'd felt its presence when her daughter disappeared, years ago, and she felt it... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0373226306
• ISBN13: 9780373226306
• Release Date: September 2001
• Publisher: Harlequin Books
• Length: 249 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 4.2" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

GREAT OVERVIEW ENDING TO "EDEN'S CHILDREN"

A pretty realistic plot where the characters don't have a clue about what is going on. The trouble is they were stumbling through their clues while we could mentally jump ahead of them. Taryn DeWitt has some trauma to deal with, and who was helping her? She is determined to find out who killed her mother. Alex DeWitt was still the number one suspect in lieutenant James Robicheaux's eyes in the murder of his wife, Aubree. Then again we are led to suspect Foley Boudreaux of having an affair with Aubree. So who is the character that attacks Naomi Cross in her Spenser Hotel room? And the lieutenant wonders how this 200 pound man got between Naomi and the switchblade. Poor old Joseph Bellamy ends up losing all the way around. Which is generally the case in bad tempered people. Naomi is sure that she has lost one child but found another in Taryn. She logically knows that she can't separate Taryn from her father. But she can't give her up if she proves to be her child. A mother will do anything for her child, even marry a man she hardly knows, to protect that child. And to feel an attraction on top of it just heightens the response. But to hop in bed with such fragile security? Very questionable. This has turned out to be an excellent trilogy - it holds your interest with the twists to the plots - and keeps you coming to read the resolutions to each parties trauma. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED trilogy - -M - Well worth reading.

A Nice End to the Eden?s Children Saga

In "The Innocent" and "The Tempted" we found out that Naomi Cross gave birth to twins on the night two hurricane's hit Eden, Mississippi. Sadly, one of the girls, Sela, dies at birth, and the other, Sadie, is kidnapped five years later."The Forgiven" takes place fifteen years after the birth of the twins. Their mother, Naomi Cross, has devoted her life to finding missing children and is a Director for the Children's Rescue Network. When another child is taken from the same playground on the anniversary of Sadie's disappearance, something is discovered that sends Naomi reeling. Just maybe both of her daughters were born healthy on that stormy night. Just maybe one of them was given to the wrong mother!We follow Naomi Cross' search to New Orleans, where she meets up with Alex DeWitt, an oil tycoon whose wife was mysteriously murdered and who's daughter, Taryn, is a rebellious teenager.The prospect of Taryn being Naomi's daughter and not Alex's brings to two together in a search for truth - and romance blossomsThis Harlequin Intrigue novel puts a nice end to the Eden's Children saga.A Harlequin Dreamers review by Tiffany Ann.

What happens when the mystery overwhelms the romance.

While The Forgiven does features a tight, emotionally well grounded mystery, I felt that the romance was a tad weak. Perhaps it was the constraints of the category format, which only seemed to allow for one segment of the romantic suspense plotline to be examined. Here it's the mystery, which, as I have already said, is quite good. Alex and Naomi are sympathetic heroes, but some of their actions feel strange and unrealistic for people who are total strangers and facing such different legal challenges. But these are minor quibbles, The Forgiven's individual moments are better than the sum of those parts and that, coupled with its cast of strong characters, makes the novel almost impossible to put down - I read it in one day. Highly recommended.

The Forgiven

Amanda Stevens brings the Eden's Children saga to a lovely close in "The Forgiven." Ten years after her daughter Sadie was kidnapped, Naomi Cross learns a secret that sends her to New Orleans--and Alex DeWitt. She believes Alex's daughter is hers. Alex has no intention of losing his daughter to this stranger. Can they dare to work together to unravel the truth about the daughter she believes they share?Like book two, "The Tempted," "The Forgiven" is an engrossing emotional drama and a true page-turner. Everything that made that book good is present in "The Forgiven." This book stands with Ms. Stevens's strongest, a story with deep emotion and strong characters. The premise faced by the main characters is heartbreaking and Stevens fills their story with her usual moving prose. Naomi and Alex are instantly sympathetic. "The Forgiven" is less melodramatic and more emotional than "The Tempted," making this story that much more effective. This is the kind of book that shows you don't need lots of explosions and action scenes to make a fast-paced read. The story here is mystery and character oriented and flies by.One weakness that's unusual for Ms. Stevens is the mystery. The intrigue is surprisingly weak for one of her book. The clues aren't dropped with Ms. Stevens's usual grace, and many readers may figure out the ending long before it comes. This is partly because there is really only one solution that makes much sense here. Stevens tries to keep the secret to the end. This results in scenes where we think the characters will catch on, only to have them jump to clearly wrong solutions instead of the more obvious true one. It can be very frustrating watching the characters miss the obvious truth time and again before it finally comes out. However, the romance and character drama are so strong that this flaw is a minor one. Two words of warning: this book SHOULD NOT be read unless you've read Book Two in the series, "The Tempted." This book flows directly from that one, and the entire plot of "The Tempted" is summarized in the first few pages of "The Forgiven." It can be read on its own, but you won't be able to go back and read the other one later. Also, the back cover copywriter does the reader a disservice by once again revealing late developments in the book."The Forgiven" is a very nice end to another solid Stevens miniseries.

One of Harlequin's Best

Amanda Stevens has GOT to be one of Harlequin's most up-and-coming writers. "The Forgiven" is probably the best Intrigue I've ever read. This story is wonderfully written and full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the very end. The romance that unfolds between the hero and heroine is extremely well done. So well done, that it made with cry with happiness at the end.