Review: True Colors by Joyce Lamb

True Colors by Joyce Lamb

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I was not particularly fond of True Vision when I read it last year. As a result, I sorta rolled my eyes when I saw books 2 and 3 on the RITA nominee list. However, what kind of ex-Romance Expert would I be if I read whatever I could from the nominee list? So while my expectations and enthusiasm were low, I actually thought this was a decent romantic suspense.

Firstly, True Colors is very dependent on True Vision. There is very little relationship development between Alex and John because most of the 'beginning' stuff happens in True Visions. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it underscores the importance of starting a series at the beginning.

Secondly, like True Visions, the book moves very quickly. I read the entire book in a little over an hour. The plot was tied and the action flowed swiftly. There was a secondary arc with a runaway teen that was interesting, but it had little to do with the overall plot.

Thirdly, I liked how Lamb handled the Big Bad. Via Alex's empathic gift, she humanizes the Big Bad and gives him a horrible back-story. The reader is forced to wonder if the Big Bad's childhood had been different, maybe they wouldn't have grown up to be a serial killer.

Fourthly, most of the stuff I didn't like about True Vision wasn't present in this book. However, my suspicion about Alex being wishy-washy proved valid and I didn't particularly like the way the book ended. While I liked John in True Vision, I felt like he wasn't a strong presence in True Colors. His existence in the book revolved completely around Alex and I wanted him to feel more like his own man.

Lastly, I think I gave this three stars because it didn't wow me and I'm not a huge fan of romantic suspense to begin with. A bigger fan would probably think this is four stars.

Warning! There is graphically discussed child sexual abuse and scenes of child physical abuse. In addition, there is implied animal abuse/torture. Since the reader spends some time in the Big Bad's head, there are also some creepy scenes about sexual sadism and violence towards women.