What did Cynthia facing constant danger do for the book?

[Nisha Ward]

Cynthia did a lot of senseless things throughout the book but I never got the feeling of "impending doom" coming upon her. Sky and Dan both came across as shallow and easily avoided if Cynthia had been willing to burn the letters and refuse to meet them in public. I would have thought her life was more threatened by the terrorists that were targeted in the cyber war, but her name didn't come up on their list. I've read some other crime thrillers where I was terrified for the protagonist and had no idea if they were going to be ok or not, but I never got that sense for Cynthia. I do believe she made some very stupid decisions in her initial interaction with Sky, but he came across as a love-sick playboy to me rather than a scary kidnapper.

It was more recklessness of her safety than surprised impending doom.

I'd argue that the only really dire thing that came out of that was the miscarriage and even that was wrapped up with relative ease.

[Dragonsend]

I have to agree with most here, sure she was in danger but it was not suspenseful enough.

[Erin Dydek]

Cynthia did a lot of senseless things throughout the book but I never got the feeling of "impending doom" coming upon her. Sky and Dan both came across as shallow and easily avoided if Cynthia had been willing to burn the letters and refuse to meet them in public. I would have thought her life was more threatened by the terrorists that were targeted in the cyber war, but her name didn't come up on their list. I've read some other crime thrillers where I was terrified for the protagonist and had no idea if they were going to be ok or not, but I never got that sense for Cynthia. I do believe she made some very stupid decisions in her initial interaction with Sky, but he came across as a love-sick playboy to me rather than a scary kidnapper.

It was more recklessness of her safety than surprised impending doom.

I see what you're saying and I agree that she really did put herself in some ridiculous situations. I guess I was disappointed that she would make such reckless mistakes because she was supposed to be a strong female character. Sky and Dan both seemed to have some serious flaws and immaturities that should have been apparent to a strong female (especially one who worked as a head of security). She should have had serious red flags about both of them and as a strong female and be able to stand her ground to fend them off by saying "no" or allowing her instincts to keep herself out of trouble. I think if the author would have made either Sky or Dan more threatening, and given Cynthia more common sense I would have been able to get a better feeling of "wow she is in a really bad spot." Instead, I kept feeling like she was in a stupid situation because of her own bad choices and I had to roll my eyes a few times.

[Erin Dydek]

I have to agree with most here, sure she was in danger but it was not suspenseful enough.

That's what I mean. She was definitely in some unsafe situations, but neither Sky nor Dan was portrayed as very threatening to me. They both just seemed too love-sick or immature to pose a real threat and Cynthia did not have enough common sense to keep herself away from them. A little more suspense would have made me fear for Cynthia, but that tension never came through clearly for me.

[Erin Dydek]

Cynthia did a lot of senseless things throughout the book but I never got the feeling of "impending doom" coming upon her. Sky and Dan both came across as shallow and easily avoided if Cynthia had been willing to burn the letters and refuse to meet them in public. I would have thought her life was more threatened by the terrorists that were targeted in the cyber war, but her name didn't come up on their list. I've read some other crime thrillers where I was terrified for the protagonist and had no idea if they were going to be ok or not, but I never got that sense for Cynthia. I do believe she made some very stupid decisions in her initial interaction with Sky, but he came across as a love-sick playboy to me rather than a scary kidnapper.

It was more recklessness of her safety than surprised impending doom.

I'd argue that the only really dire thing that came out of that was the miscarriage and even that was wrapped up with relative ease.

I agree with you Nisha. The miscarriage scene was the most intense one for me because I was actually concerned that something might be seriously wrong (especially with all the blood). Then all the sudden she was fine and had no real emotional struggle to overcome. I think she opened up briefly to the senator's wife, but I felt like there should have been a little more. Pregnancy messes with your hormones, and you get emotional when everything goes well, so I can only imagine the devastation when something goes wrong. It seemed that she had accepted that she was pregnant, and even as a "strong" female I was expecting her to have a harder time dealing with the miscarriage than the brief moments that she did.

[Nisha Ward]

Cynthia did a lot of senseless things throughout the book but I never got the feeling of "impending doom" coming upon her. Sky and Dan both came across as shallow and easily avoided if Cynthia had been willing to burn the letters and refuse to meet them in public. I would have thought her life was more threatened by the terrorists that were targeted in the cyber war, but her name didn't come up on their list. I've read some other crime thrillers where I was terrified for the protagonist and had no idea if they were going to be ok or not, but I never got that sense for Cynthia. I do believe she made some very stupid decisions in her initial interaction with Sky, but he came across as a love-sick playboy to me rather than a scary kidnapper.

It was more recklessness of her safety than surprised impending doom.

I see what you're saying and I agree that she really did put herself in some ridiculous situations. I guess I was disappointed that she would make such reckless mistakes because she was supposed to be a strong female character. Sky and Dan both seemed to have some serious flaws and immaturities that should have been apparent to a strong female (especially one who worked as a head of security). She should have had serious red flags about both of them and as a strong female and be able to stand her ground to fend them off by saying "no" or allowing her instincts to keep herself out of trouble. I think if the author would have made either Sky or Dan more threatening, and given Cynthia more common sense I would have been able to get a better feeling of "wow she is in a really bad spot." Instead, I kept feeling like she was in a stupid situation because of her own bad choices and I had to roll my eyes a few times.

One of the things that struck me was how she only put up minimal protest with Sky right from the start. Here was a stranger who was controlling her actions from the moment they met and he somehow got enough of her personal information to find where she lived, yet she still trusted him more than Dan?

[Dragonsend]

I have to agree with most here, sure she was in danger but it was not suspenseful enough.

That's what I mean. She was definitely in some unsafe situations, but neither Sky nor Dan was portrayed as very threatening to me. They both just seemed too love-sick or immature to pose a real threat and Cynthia did not have enough common sense to keep herself away from them. A little more suspense would have made me fear for Cynthia, but that tension never came through clearly for me.

To be honest, I wanted Dan to be a good guy, but it seemed the author was afraid to commit either way. He was kind of just there. One vague scene, poorly written did not bring the jilted, ex-boyfriend-stalker -policeman, part of the book into the plot in a prominent way. Then he helped her in her own house and this could have been an apology/confrontation scene. He was just on the fence either way. Blah!

[Tiffanyli]

Usually it would be, but I found it very disappointing. The type of situations the character was put in, and her characteristics made it so frustrating and difficult to read.

[Nisha Ward]

I have to agree with most here, sure she was in danger but it was not suspenseful enough.

That's what I mean. She was definitely in some unsafe situations, but neither Sky nor Dan was portrayed as very threatening to me. They both just seemed too love-sick or immature to pose a real threat and Cynthia did not have enough common sense to keep herself away from them. A little more suspense would have made me fear for Cynthia, but that tension never came through clearly for me.

To be honest, I wanted Dan to be a good guy, but it seemed the author was afraid to commit either way. He was kind of just there. One vague scene, poorly written did not bring the jilted, ex-boyfriend-stalker -policeman, part of the book into the plot in a prominent way. Then he helped her in her own house and this could have been an apology/confrontation scene. He was just on the fence either way. Blah!

The thing about Dan is that she really tried to make him seem terrible, but then had Sky doing similar things in way worse ways. Dan shows up out of nowhere and helps her in her home? Sky does the same thing much earlier and is creepier about it because he has no consensual way of knowing where she lives. Dan places a bug on her car to track her by GPS? Sky didn't do that but what he did do was breach the privacy of someone he'd only known for a few hours without their permission and use that knowledge for his own personal gain.

I'm not excusing Dan. Some of the things he did were way out of line, but he was preferable to Sky.

[Ferdinand_Otieno]

Usually it would be, but I found it very disappointing. The type of situations the character was put in, and her characteristics made it so frustrating and difficult to read.

Did they feel imaginary...not really grounded....floating scenes!

[Dragonsend]

That's what I mean. She was definitely in some unsafe situations, but neither Sky nor Dan was portrayed as very threatening to me. They both just seemed too love-sick or immature to pose a real threat and Cynthia did not have enough common sense to keep herself away from them. A little more suspense would have made me fear for Cynthia, but that tension never came through clearly for me.

To be honest, I wanted Dan to be a good guy, but it seemed the author was afraid to commit either way. He was kind of just there. One vague scene, poorly written did not bring the jilted, ex-boyfriend-stalker -policeman, part of the book into the plot in a prominent way. Then he helped her in her own house and this could have been an apology/confrontation scene. He was just on the fence either way. Blah!

The thing about Dan is that she really tried to make him seem terrible, but then had Sky doing similar things in way worse ways. Dan shows up out of nowhere and helps her in her home? Sky does the same thing much earlier and is creepier about it because he has no consensual way of knowing where she lives. Dan places a bug on her car to track her by GPS? Sky didn't do that but what he did do was breach the privacy of someone he'd only known for a few hours without their permission and use that knowledge for his own personal gain.

I'm not excusing Dan. Some of the things he did were way out of line, but he was preferable to Sky.

Interesting thought and a very true one. I would have wanted to move or have one of my security people watching the house! I was creeped out by Sky's approach, spouting about abortion pills that was just one step too far to me! Other than the stalking!

[Nisha Ward]

To be honest, I wanted Dan to be a good guy, but it seemed the author was afraid to commit either way. He was kind of just there. One vague scene, poorly written did not bring the jilted, ex-boyfriend-stalker -policeman, part of the book into the plot in a prominent way. Then he helped her in her own house and this could have been an apology/confrontation scene. He was just on the fence either way. Blah!

The thing about Dan is that she really tried to make him seem terrible, but then had Sky doing similar things in way worse ways. Dan shows up out of nowhere and helps her in her home? Sky does the same thing much earlier and is creepier about it because he has no consensual way of knowing where she lives. Dan places a bug on her car to track her by GPS? Sky didn't do that but what he did do was breach the privacy of someone he'd only known for a few hours without their permission and use that knowledge for his own personal gain.

I'm not excusing Dan. Some of the things he did were way out of line, but he was preferable to Sky.

Interesting thought and a very true one. I would have wanted to move or have one of my security people watching the house! I was creeped out by Sky's approach, spouting about abortion pills that was just one step too far to me! Other than the stalking!

The letters too. Every time he said something along the lines of "I know where you live" I was expecting a Scream-esque phone call.

[Ferdinand_Otieno]

The thing about Dan is that she really tried to make him seem terrible, but then had Sky doing similar things in way worse ways. Dan shows up out of nowhere and helps her in her home? Sky does the same thing much earlier and is creepier about it because he has no consensual way of knowing where she lives. Dan places a bug on her car to track her by GPS? Sky didn't do that but what he did do was breach the privacy of someone he'd only known for a few hours without their permission and use that knowledge for his own personal gain.

I'm not excusing Dan. Some of the things he did were way out of line, but he was preferable to Sky.

Interesting thought and a very true one. I would have wanted to move or have one of my security people watching the house! I was creeped out by Sky's approach, spouting about abortion pills that was just one step too far to me! Other than the stalking!

The letters too. Every time he said something along the lines of "I know where you live" I was expecting a Scream-esque phone call.

It seemed to be passing up the serial-killeresque horror vibe.
The "I'm in the house"

[Nisha Ward]

Interesting thought and a very true one. I would have wanted to move or have one of my security people watching the house! I was creeped out by Sky's approach, spouting about abortion pills that was just one step too far to me! Other than the stalking!

The letters too. Every time he said something along the lines of "I know where you live" I was expecting a Scream-esque phone call.

It seemed to be passing up the serial-killeresque horror vibe.
The "I'm in the house"

Yup. I'm confused as to why the author thought adding that would be charming.

[Tera_26]

Did you feel that a protagonist who seemed to be in ever present danger and just barely survived was good for the book? Did she make the story more thrilling?

What can I think of someone who works in a place that you must take care of both who you talk to, who you deal with, she has a police boyfriend, and Cynthia blindly trust in a person from nowhere, of course it brings more feeling that something bad is going to happen to her, because how she went with him and how she drank a drink without knowing what it had, She was a too confident character, if we focused on a current reality in which women must be very careful about everything around