Not So Innocent by Laura Lee Guhrke
published by Sonnet Books in November 2002
Sophie Haversham would give anything not to have the gift of foresight. After all, her “talent” has already cost her one fiancé. And reporting a crime that hasn’t happened yet is no easy task, especially to a tough, street-wise Scotland Yard detective.
Inspector Mick Dunbar doesn’t believe in visions, and he’s convinced Sophie is actually shielding a would-be murderer. Only when Sophie’s life is in danger does Mick realize he has fallen in love with this beautiful, courageous woman who can see into his very mind and heart, but will the knowledge come too late to save her?
Hmmm… I guess you want the honest truth right? Truth is, I didn’t finish the book ^_^; but wait and hear me out!! I love Laura Lee Guhrke’s writing and that is the reason I decide to read this book… and it did not disappoint, writing-wise. Not So Innocent was well-written, although the pacing might have been a tad slow, and had great characters.
I really liked Sophie and Mick… although, is 36 years old old or not? The setting of the book was in 1890’s in England… Now, 36 y.o. now is not very old, especially since the life expectency has increased… but in 1890’s? Anyway, I disgress. Sophie was a strong heroine. Sure, she wished that she didn’t have her “gift,” but that’s common with most psychics. She learnt how to live with it and although her life is not glamorous or glorious, it seems to content her. She refuses to settle for less than love in marriage, but at the same time, refuses to pretend not to have her powers which costs her previously. I think it shows strength of characters and is quite admirable in that era. As for Mick, he was a bit too stubborn for me, but it’s nothing new when a psychic faces a skeptical man in law enforcement… What I liked about him is how he didn’t care about nobility and, well, good manners LOL 🙂 He’s very straightforward and doesn’t doubt himself when he thinks he’s doing the right thing. As for the secondary characters, they were all entertaining and add some comical elements… such as Aunt Violet. Someone has recently commented on my blog how Ms Guhrke writes good characters and I have to agree.
So where did the book go wrong? It mainly has to do with the plot/main idea. Psychic heroine goes to report a murder that she’s seen in her dreams and victim turns out to be skeptical hero, who’s a detective. Yep, you got it. I thought the plot was a bit cliche. It probably wasn’t when it just came out… I mean, this book was released in 2002, so although not refreshing, I can see how people would have enjoyed it so much. However, 6 years later, especially after paranormal and psychics have become so popular, the plot fell a bit flat to me. Also, I read the ending… I know, I know… it’s bad, but I can’t help it… and so I knew who was the villain and that ruined it majorly for me. So words of advise, don’t read the ending first 😛 The thing is, even without reading the ending, some of the foreshadowing elements were obvious and you could easily have guessed the villain… but then, I guess the more important was the romance.
All in all, not a bad book… just a tad predictable which took away a bit of the enjoyment. Still worth to read if you’re a fan, because it’s well-written and has great characters, plus there’s some very funny scenes 😛
ps – I believe that this book was out of print… however, lucky you, it seems that it’s being re-printed by Pocket Books… It was due to come out this month, but it seems it might be difficult to find it.
You can check out more reviews from Nath on her personal blog Natuschan
and her joint review blog Breezing Through.