To Trust a Stranger

By: Karen Robards

Narrated by: Laura Hicks

SUSPICION. It burned through every nerve and fiber of Julie Carlson - the heartbreaking, infuriating suspicion that her husband was having an affair. To the rest of the world, Sid Carlson was a wealthy contractor with friends in highly influential places. But to Julie, he was a man who had cheated on their marriage vow. Heartbroken by her husband, Julie turns to a handsome stranger.

Mac McQuarry knew better than to mix women and work. And he had enough trouble of his own: The disgraced former cop had been demoted after an explosive shakedown of the Charleston police department. But when Julie Carlson hires him, Mac can't resist. Not only is she drop-dead gorgeous, but her husband was a player in Mac's inglorious downfall.

But what begins as a run-of-the-mill assignment spiced by a fiery flirtation suddenly spirals into a harrowing race for survival. Tracking the Carlsons' car down a lonely road one night, Mac witnesses an incredible hit that targeted Julie. Suddenly Mac and Julie have become the hunted. With the mob and the police in hot pursuit, they can rely only on each other as they crash their way through a maze of buried secrets and deadly deceptions.

©2002 Karen Robards (P)2012 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"A top-notch romantic suspense writer....[A] steamy novel." ( Booklist

On the Fence

What did you like best about To Trust a Stranger? What did you like least?

Overall I like this authors books and enjoy listening to them. I think her plots/stories are good, her characters are likable, or not - in a good way - depending on their place in the story. I find that this author tends to say the same thing 5 different ways which makes the book drag a bit. In this book I spent 25 miles listening to narrator wax on about how sexually deprived one of the main characters felt, by mile 15 I was telling my i-pod that I got it and to move on (I could not physically advance the program as I was driving on snow/ice covered roads and afraid to take my hands off the wheel).

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I thought the whole story was interesting.****SPOILER ALERT**** I'm not so sure I liked the way some of the characters ended up.

Which character – as performed by Laura Hicks – was your favorite?

I liked all the Characters - what I did not like was the southern accent of the main female character it almost seemed to contrived.

Did To Trust a Stranger inspire you to do anything?

Drive extra miles so I could find out what happened next.

Any additional comments?

I am all for a good vocabulary and enjoy when writers use good descriptive words. However, it almost feels that this author slips .75 cent words in because she thinks she has to rather than because they fit in with the context of the sentence and/or theme. Oh, and it seems that her favorite word is sardonic.

Bad narration.

Bad narration. Basic good story but too much unnecessary sexual details. Author said to compare to Sandra Brown. Not even close.

Okay

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No

Would you be willing to try another book from Karen Robards? Why or why not?

Have almost all of her books but this one was just okay

Did Laura Hicks do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

She was okay but still not better than the voices in my head when I read the books myself.

Great Book But Badly Done Southern Accents

Would you listen to To Trust a Stranger again? Why?

Yes. I love the story and love the way Karen Robards writes.

What did you like best about this story?

The plot and the romance.

What three words best describe Laura Hicks’s voice?

terrible southern accent

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The climax of the story was riveting and so well written.

Any additional comments?

Ms Hicks has a beautiful voice but she should stay away from southern accents. The character voices were inconsistent and sometimes confusing as to which character was speaking. The southern belle character sounded more ethnic than southern. The character in Drag sounded stupid and the African Americans accents were ridiculous.

Great book!

I love the book. I didn't much care for the narrator. 😔 she could have been a little less monotone.

Fast paced...could not wait for next chapter

What made the experience of listening to To Trust a Stranger the most enjoyable?

Grabbed interest from start to end

What other book might you compare To Trust a Stranger to and why?

Stands alone with story line,

Which scene was your favorite?

Before the end when the characters were hiding in the tree with the gators were in the water. Just waiting to see if they could manage to evade capture.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Trust, deceit and lies. Who is the enemy- who is your friend

Any additional comments?

Great listen. Hard to take a break

What Fun!!!

This is a fun story...I didn't get that from the introduction of the book. But it was really really funny in places. I loved these characters. And they were characters alright!

Engaging story and plot.

let me get the bad news over first. 1) Female lead Julie had several " to stupid to live moments". 2) Narrator did this weird crescendo voice raising thing when reading love scences. Otherwise, I loved the story. I loved the Male lead. I loved the romance . I loved the ending.

I love a good enemies to lovers.

...but this one comes with some southern charm and alotta suspense. I had a teeny bit of a hard time with some of the voices, but have already listened to this twice.

Another great listen

If you enjoy the premise of Karen Robards then you will enjoy this. Well presented characters and story line flows, keeping your interest until then end. Really enjoyed it.