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    Dying to Please
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    Dying to Please
    Unavailable
    Dying to Please
    Audiobook10 hours

    Dying to Please

    Written by LINDA HOWARD

    Narrated by Susan Ericksen

    4.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Loyal. Beautiful. Professional. Impeccably organized. Potentially lethal. Sarah Stevens is a woman with many distinct qualities. First and foremost a butler par excellence, skilled at running large households smoothly and efficiently, she is also a trained bodyguard and expert marksman - indispensable to her elderly employer, a courtly gentleman whom Sarah has come to respect and love.

    Then one night she thwarts a burglary in progress, a courageous act that awards Sarah her requisite 'fifteen minutes of fame' with the local press. But the exposure is enough to catch the attention of a tortured soul who, unbeknownst to Sarah, will stop at nothing to have her for himself.

    Sarah's perfectly ordered life is shattered when tragedy strikes: her beloved employer is brutally murdered. The detective investigating the case assures Sarah that she is not a suspect. Until lightning strikes twice. There's a second killing - and this time, despite a lack of evidence connecting her to the crime, Sarah cannot escape the shadow of guilt.

    The only option left for Sarah is to carry on with her life. But she doesn't realize that a deranged stalker is luring her into an elaborate trap...one in which she, once ensnared, might never escape. For Sarah soon finds herself at the mercy of a man who will tend to her every whim, smother her with affection, and crush her in his all-consuming embrace.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateMay 16, 2017
    ISBN9781543611281
    Unavailable
    Dying to Please
    Author

    LINDA HOWARD

    Born in Newport, Rhode Island, I grew up in neighbouring Middletown with parents who lived to be on the water. After graduating from Middletown High School in 1984, I attended the University of Rhode Island where I double majored in journalism and political science. I graduated in 1988 and went to work for a small community newspaper, the writing equivalent of boot camp. We worked like dogs for almost no money, but we had a lot of fun and learned so much about writing, editing and life.    I lived in Rhode Island until I was 26 when I did something I had vowed to never do while growing up in a Navy town—I married a Navy guy and moved from the smallest state in the U.S. to Rota, Spain, where he was stationed. To say the change in my life was dramatic is putting it mildly! We had the time of our lives in Spain from 1992 to 1995, where I also earned a master's degree in public administration through a program offered to the military by the University of Maryland. Our daughter Emily was born there three months before we returned to the states.    After we moved to Rhode Island in August 2002, I started to get more serious about the book but still wasn't able to get very far. A year later, in November 2003, my mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The next nine months were a roller coaster ride, during which I turned to the book more and more often, seeking an escape from the nightmare of my mother's illness. By early August 2004, I had four solid chapters that my mother was the first to read. I made her cry, she said. She died on August 31, 2004.    Something that had lain dormant for years kicked into gear in the aftermath of my mother's death. I asked myself—what are you waiting for? What meaning will it have to finally write that book if you wait until neither of your parents—the two people who always said you had it in you—aren't around to read it? I firmly believe my mother is sending me these amazing characters who continue to pop up out of nowhere and lead me on one great adventure after another. How else can I possibly explain the incredible things that have happened in the years since she died?    I finished Jack's book, "Treading Water," on May 18, 2005, and published it along with its two sequels, Marking Time and Starting Over, in late 2011. (Read more about The House That Jack Built.) I've finished a few since then, including "Line of Scrimmage," which was the first to be published in September 2008.    I finally sold to Sourcebooks Casablanca in late 2007. Line of Scrimmage was my first published book in September of 2008. Love at First Flight followed in July of 2009. In early 2010, I sold Fatal Affair to Harlequin's new Carina Press digital-first imprint. Fatal Affair was released in July 2010, followed soon after by Fatal Justice, Fatal Consequences, Fatal Destiny and Fatal Flaw. Fatal Attack will be out in November 2012 and the early books in the series will be released in mass market paperback through Harlequin's HQN imprint beginning in the fall of 2013. Going back to 2010, authors were getting more and more excited about the opportunity to publish direct to readers via Kindle, Nook, Kobo and later the iPad. I decided to test the waters and published True North in November 2010 and The Fall in December 2010. Everyone Loves a Hero was released from Sourcebooks in February 2011, and I followed that with the release of the following books in 2011: The Wreck, Maid for Love, Fool for Love, Ready for Love, Georgia on My Mind, Treading Water, Marking Time and Starting Over. Many of these books had been written for years and were waiting for the right avenue to get to readers.    When people ask me what led me to the decision to self-publish, my reply is always the same: "No one was interested in these books except my readers." And boy have they shown me the love for my self-published books! The McCarthy's of Gansett Island Series, which now also includes Falling for Love, Hoping for Love, Season for Love and soon, Longing for Love, has turned me into a bestselling author on Kindle and Nook. The success of that series also led to the recent sale of my Green Mountain Country Store series to Berkley publishing. Watch for the debut of that series in 2014. Readers can also look forward to much more from Gansett Island, much more from Sam, Nick and the Fatal Series gang, and another book in the Treading Water series called Coming Home, which I hope to have out by Christmas 2012. It will pick up Reid and Kate's story from Marking Time ten years later—a story readers have asked me to write. 

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    Reviews for Dying to Please

    4.5/5

    90 ratings11 reviews

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    • 5/5
      My first read by this author, although I rarely write a review I have throughly enjoyed it and and currently downloading my second in hopes it will be as good as the first! Thanks to the author for sharing your talents! I loved bursting into laughter at times, and feeling for the characters along the way as well, truly a great read! And thanks for the audio form - as a busy person I can continue my love of reading thru audiobooks!
    • 5/5
      Great book. I am ready for the next book. I loved the reader. I am familiar with the voice.
    • 5/5
      A very enjoyable read with excellent narration and strong storyline. Strong, self assured characters added to the appeal of this book.
      Even though the reader (as I did) likely solved the mystery before the characters, it continued to be a compelling read just waiting for the characters to put the pieces together to solve the mystery.
      The romance was PG rated, and added to the book.
    • 2/5
      DNF. It felt very sexist. I try to make allowances for the time period things were written in, but this was too much. Maybe someone else will like it.
    • 5/5
      I read Dying To Please when it came out in paperback years ago. When I saw Susan Ericksen was the narrator, I immediately bought this book. The audio version is way better than the paperback. It was as if I were reading the book for the first time. Susan Ericksen does a phenomenal job voicing all of the characters. The storyline is great. It's the perfect mix of romance and mystery and it holds your attention. The chemistry between Cahill and Sarah was hot. And, the sex scenes! Dear Lord, the sex scenes were steamy and hot! Just like I like them. If you've never read a Linda Howard book, I would definitely recommend this be your first book by her.

      2 people found this helpful

    • 3/5
      This is an older book - some outdated notions which detract from the story. Too much ink devoted to emotions of the characters, for my own personal preferences in literature, but still not bad. Did not remain a mystery to the end - bad guy revealed too soon. Still enjoyed it, so rating it three stars.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      This book is romantic suspense, heavy on the relationship drama and light on the suspense. I loved some parts. The dialogue/banter between the two main characters had me chuckling at times. I liked both characters and the storyline was interesting, if not a bit predictable. Unfortunately, for me, too many things didn't work. I found the story dragged, with lots of repetitious inner thoughts about the merits of each character getting involved in a relationship with the other. I didn't actually see much of a relationship. The two characters only seemed to interact when having sex. Then, at the end when the killer is revealed, the story feels suddenly rushed. I didn't think the investigation aspect was well thought out or enacted. The last of several times that Sarah is considered a suspect verged on the ridiculous. Overall, the drawbacks took away from otherwise great writing and made this on okay read.

      2 people found this helpful

    • 4/5
      I really like the main character in this -- a female butler who is also trained as a bodyguard!
    • 4/5
      I love books about strong women...reading the back cover that's what it sounds like this book is about and she is. The whole story just conspires against her...good story though!!
    • 3/5
      Attractive female butler is suspected of murder in the deaths of her first employer, a retired judge; and the next couple to employ her. A passionate romance with the detective investigating the murders doesn't keep her from being a suspect, but the real killer turns out to be a seemingly mild-mannered banker who wants this butler all to himself.
    • 4/5
      Sarah Stevens likes her job as a butler and bodyguard to a retired Judge. As his only full-time employee she's quite close to him and really likes her job. When he dies she finds herself at a loss but then finds herself a new job. When those employers die she finds herself as a major suspect.It's an interesting read that I really enjoyed. Sarah is a very interesting character with a lot of backbone.