All Night Long

Author: Jayne Ann Krentz

List Price: $24.95

Pages: 416

Publisher:  Putnam Adult (January 3, 2006)

Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.4

ISBN: 0385507968   

Some people have bad memories of their childhood hometowns; Irene Stenson has nightmares. As a teenager, Irene came home late one summer night after being out with her friend Pamela Webb, and discovered that both of her parents had been killed. Irene refused to believe that her father murdered her mother and then committed suicide, and soon afterward¹ left Dunsley. Seventeen years later, Irene, now a journalist, is still haunted by the events of that fateful night, but a cryptic² note from Pamela induces her to return home. But before Irene has a chance to meet with her, Pamela dies. When the police rule Pamela's death a suicide, Irene knows intuitively that there is more to the story. With the initially³ unwanted but soon very much welcomed help of sexy Luke Danner, an ex-marine and the owner of the lodge⁴ where Irene is staying, Irene begins her own unofficial investigation⁵ into Pamela's death only to discover that someone in Dunsley is keeping secrets that could prove to be deadly. Best-seller Krentz deftly⁶ mingles⁷ chilling danger and simmering sexual tension.

Book review

In the small Northern California town of Dunsley, Irene Stenson missed curfew because her best friend Pamela Webb deliberately⁸ kept her out late. When she finally arrives home she sees the murdered bodies of her parents on the kitchen floor. Their deaths were deemed murder-suicide and Irene left town and never returned or spoke⁹ to Pamela.

Seventeen years later, Pamela e-mails Irene asking her to come back to Dunsley because she has something important to tell her. She checks in at the Sunrise on the Lake Lodge and is immediately attracted to the owner Luke Danner who finds himself very interested in his boarder. When Irene arrives at Pamela's house, she finds her former friend dead, a bottle of empty pills and liquor near the body. The sheriff rules it a suicide but from the urgency of Pamela's message Irene thinks she was murdered. As a reporter she starts her own investigation because she believes there is a link between her parents' deaths and Pamela's demise¹⁰. Luke helps her and saves her life quite a few times because it is obvious someone is willing to kill to keep Pamela's secret hidden.

A Jayne Ann Krentz novel is always a joy too read and ALL NIGHT LONG is no exception. The protagonists¹¹ are drawn¹² true to life and are not as quirky as Ms. Krentz's characters usually are but that is because they are dealing¹³ with dark, troubling and dangerous situations and emotions. The mystery is very complex and filled with red herrings and unusual twists and turns. There is a secondary character, one of Luke's brothers, who deserves his own story.

Author introduction

Jayne Ann Krentz is the author of over 120 romances, including 27 New York Times bestsellers under various pen names. Before beginning her writing career, she earned a B.A. in History at the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC) and an M.A. in Library Science from San Jose State University. She then launched a successful career as a corporate¹⁴ and academic librarian, during which time she worked at Duke University’s library.

Krentz began writing serial¹⁵ romances in the late 1970s for MacFadden and Dell Candlelight Ecstasy¹⁶. She moved on to write for Silhouette¹⁷ and Harlequin before turning exclusively to writing novels in the early 1990s. In total, there are over 23 million copies in print of her books.

In addition to writing fiction, Krentz is the editor and a contributor to Dangerous Men and Adventurous¹⁸ Women: Romance Writers on the Appeal of the Romance, a nonfiction essay collection that won the prestigious¹⁹ Susan Koppelman Award for Feminist²⁰ Studies. Krentz has also been awarded the Jane Austen Commemorative Medal from Romantic Times magazine for her efforts in educating the public on behalf of romantic fiction.

Krentz sits on the Advisory²¹ Board for the Writers Program at the University of Washington Extension Program. She enjoys vegetarian²² cooking, and lives in Seattle with her husband.