Hush: A Novel

Kate White's first standalone storyline novel Hush is a pretty good novel that does have the keep turning the pages factor and does keep you guessing for a fair way through, who the murderer is, who the cat shaver is and if indeed, they are one and the same. The main character in Hush is no where near as likeable as White's long running series female lead, Bailey Weggins. Lake isn't the brightest woman on the planet, nor does she believe in doing the right things ethically such as reporting the murder of her workmate Dr Keaton, to police as somehow she believes there is a small chance she will loose full custody of her two kids if she does. Lake thinks nothing of letting her cat roam free outside at a holiday house with the knowledge that it is killing wildlife, but justifies that by the fact it is having a good time. Problem for Lake and her cat though is that it's highly possible someone out there is aware of her behaviour and isn't impressed. Someone keeps calling and hanging up, the police also seem to be rather suspicious of her, someone seems to be helping them along those lines of thought at the fertility clinic where she is temporarily consulting at coming up with a marketing plan. Does someone know she was with the victim before he died and had fallen asleep outside when it happened? Will they tell the police jeopardising her custody of her children? Did the victim know something about the clinic that got him killed? If so does the murderer assume he shared those secrets with her in the bedroom. Is she in danger? Is Smokey the cat? Are her kids? Lake doesn't know but the only way to make sure her kids are safe when they return from camp and she doesn't loose custody of them is to work out if there is something going on at the clinic and if so who killed Dr Keaton?

Although Lake isn't too bright, ethical or likeable, she does need to be all these things for the storyline to work.

I don't read many mystery/thriller books, (mostly because I don't like the whole women-in-jeopardy-thing) but once I picked up Kate White's Hush, I found I couldn't put it down.

Lake Warren (why do they always have names like that?) is going through a bitter divorce, and now her soon-to-be ex is suing for full custody of their two children. She runs her own small marketing firm, and she is in the middle of working on a big presentation for a hot-shot fertility clinic.

She makes the mistake of sleeping with one of the playboy doctors at the clinic who ends up murdered after their tryst. If she tells the police she was there, she could lose custody of her children. Instead, she decides to find out who the murderer is. Oh yeah, and someone is calling her and leaving frightening messages on her phone. Is it her ex-husband or the real murderer?

There is also something odd going on at the clinic. Was the doctor killed by a jealous husband, because of gambling debts, or did he find out something illegal was being done at the clinic?

The author does a good job creating characters with believable motivations. Any mom can relate to panicking at the thought of losing her children, and making bad decisions because of that fear.

White also paces the action in the novel so well, it's a real page turner. Lake gets herself into more than a few jams, and your pulse will race as she extricates herself. I will say that one of those jams involving water was a little over the top for me, but it was scary.

The mystery of who killed the doctor keeps you guessing right up until the end, and I have to confess I was surprised. The setting of Manhattan is used to good effect, you really get a good sense of the city.

If you're looking for something to take you out of your day and you have a few hours on your hands, pick up Hush. Just remind yourself to breathe while you're reading it.

I don't normally give bad reviews on books because everyone is different but this book was so horrible I had to say something. Literally nothing happens in the book. It's written in 3rd person narrative. The entire book is literally just the thoughts of the protagonist. None of what she thinks is real. Nothing. There's very little action or dialogue. It's just a big inner monologue of thoughts from the protagonist; who happens to be the absolute luckiest person in the world. There's nothing suspenseful or thrilling about the book. The characters are boring because you don't ever get to see anything other than the inner monologue of the protagonist. I have no idea how this author is a bestseller. I will never read anything else from her again.

When you think the worst has happened, how will you cope with something even more malevolent? These are questions for our heroine Lake Warren. Finding out that her estranged husband Jack is suing for custody of their children seemingly pales when, after a one-night stand with a colleague, Lake finds him murdered in the bed. And from there, things turn even more deadly.

She knows that her presence at the victim's apartment will arouse suspicion, so she doesn't turn to the police...Her custody case and all. But as everything spirals out of control and she finds herself smack in the middle of a dark mystery at the fertility clinic where she works, she feels totally alone. And who can she trust? Everyone she knows could be part of some scandalous dealings at the clinic.

From the first sentences in this story, I was hooked. Lake was a well-drawn and believable character who just kept stepping into the midst of one kind of jeopardy or another. As each character entered the storyline, I found myself wary of each one. Even the kindest of characters was suspect in my mind...the story unfolded in such a way as to enhance the suspense and save the telling details until the very end. Flipping pages as rapidly as possible, I finally reached the satisfying conclusion.

When it comes to thrillers, Hush: A Novel was definitely a winner, and so is Kate White. Five stars for the suspense, the thrill rides, and the vivid characters that brought the plot to a grand finale.

"Lake opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out. her breath seemed dead-bolted in her chest. She knew she needed to get closer, to check if Keaton was alive. But she couldn't move." [p.37]

....With that kind of writing this book had me turning the pages and not wanting to stop reading until I had finished the story. I really needed to know who killed Keaton and why. At the beginning I liked Lake and could totally commiserate with her in regards to having a vindictive ex-spouse. But as the book progressed I wondered if her actions were really what any of us would have done had we been in her shoes. The further into the story I read, the more improbable the plot became. About 3/4 of the way into the story, my desire to know the outcome sort of petered out and I was getting a bit weary of all the running, strange phone calls, and Lake's ability not to fall apart. Come on....she woke up to a man who had his throat slashed. I'd be calling someone!!! After all of the time I invested in reading this story I was the most disappointed in the way the author conveniently wrapped everything up within the last 18 pages. It almost felt like the author realized that she didn't want to go past 341 pages so she better tie up all the loose ends, make Lake into a hero, and call it good.

Recommend? I'm on the fence... it didn't knock my socks off, but it wasn't terrible either. So what to say? If you enjoy thrillers and have liked Kate White's work in the past then I believe you will enjoy this one. I would certainly read another book by White because I never judge an author by one body of work.

Forty-four year old marketing consultant Lake Warren has recently divorced her spouse Jack. However, he sues for full custody of their young children. Her divorce lawyer Robert Kotchkiss empathically tells her that to insure Jack has nothing even remotely scandalous that will give him an issue to hammer her within court; he goes so far to state to her don't date .

Lake is providing her consulting services to the Park Avenue Fertility Center where she meets Los Angeles based medical consultant flirtatious Dr. Keaton. Ignoring her lawyer's admonition for now as the kids are away and thinking spontaneous sex before becoming a nun, she and Keaton make love in his penthouse where she falls asleep. When she awakens with a nasty headache she finds Keaton dead. Fearing that the cops will consider her as a person interest, which is the perfect issue for Jack to use against her, she investigates who murdered Keaton. However, her fear factor explodes when she realizes someone is stalking her.

With the Blond investigative reporter Bailey Weggins taking a well deserved respite, Kate White provides a refreshing stand alone thriller of a woman trying to cover her indiscretion which leads to deeper and deeper troubles for her. Fast-paced once the heroine turns to amateur sleuthing while Archer the detective knows she is concealing something. Fans will appreciate this fine suspense filled tale of a woman in peril depending on no one but herself to find the killer in order to extract herself from the cops accusing her and ultimately a stalker watching her for who knows what

Harriet Klausner

Suspense from the first page to the last!

Lake Warren, the main character, makes some hasty decisions when she finds herself in a sticky situation and brings the reader on a murder mystery with twists and turns which will keep readers guessing all the way through.

Whenever I read a mystery, I try and keep track of every detail, trying to get one step ahead of the author. This time, I truly had no idea who the murderer was until the very end. I love it when I'm surprised! The pages turned quickly, yet I still couldn't turn them fast enough!

The only downside? Lack of sleep! This was one I didn't want to put down, not until 1 o'clock in the morning (waaaay past my bedtime!).

Hush was a fast-paced, entertaining, murder mystery, which I highly recommend!

Lake Warren is a marketing consultant. Her current client is an infertility clinic. Lake is currently going through a nasty divorce. Her ex-husband wants full custody of the children in order to try and get Lake to claim less in the settlement.

Lake goes home with one of the doctors at the infertility clinic and wakes to find him murdered in bed. Instead of calling the police, Lake leaves the house and pretends she was never there. This was Lake's biggest mistake. The killer has targeted Lake. If Lake goes to the authorities now, they will know she was in the house that night. Can Lake stop a killer before she ends up at the bottom of the lake?

This is the first book I have read by Kate white which is amazing to me as I really enjoy this genre of books. I really liked this book but there was one fault I had with it. The main character, Lake Warren kind of got on my nerves with her less than fighting attitude. Yes, towards the end, Lake became more assertive but by than it was a little too late for me. While there weren't many twists, they were appropriately placed in the plot. This book moved at a fast pace, which I really enjoyed. The identity of the killer was a bit of a surprise. This is because of the things that happened to Kate, which I couldn't imaging that type of person could do those things. I do have to say that I won't stay "Hush" about this book.

Originally posted at [...]

Full of secrets, sins, and suspense, Hush by Kate White whisks the reader into Lake Warren's world that is filled with chilling, hair-raising events that escalate at every turn.

With her life coming unraveled, Lake rages at herself because she let her "pathetic need to be desired" overrule her good judgment. Now, she could lose custody of her children and might even be charged with murder. Even though she is a mature 44 years old and a successful marketing consultant, she is out of her depth as she searches for answers about questionable practices at a fertility clinic and the murder of a doctor. Afraid to "come clean" with the police, she treads a dangerous path. After her cat Smokey suffers abuse, Kate runs on adrenaline much of the time as she rushes pell-mell from one lead to the next in an effort to find the truth.

Hush teems with furtive characters with many of them having private agendas--none of which seem geared to Lake's best interest. None of these characters are developed in depth. However, they all contribute to the reader getting to know Lake's strengths and weaknesses helping to create empathy for this stressed out woman and mother. Multi-tasking becomes the order of the day as Lake tries to keep some normalcy in her life while dealing with a soon-to-be ex-husband and outwitting those who would have her dead.

Kate White in Hush touches on current issues that many women deal with in today's society while entertaining the reader with fast-paced events that tumble over each other at times. She also weaves into all the action, Lake's introspection so the reader gets to know Lake as she comes to know herself, her strengths, and her weaknesses.

Hush grabs the reader's attention immediately and never lets go until the last word is read.

I never put spoilers in my reviews.
This author knows her stuff; writing a well crafted tale that grabs hold of you and just doesn't let up. She seamlessly braids coincidence, false leads and murder, building to the shocking climax.
Ms. White has penned another winner. You won't regret this book.

I really hate it when characters are dumb. You know what I mean - like in the horror movie when the character goes into the dark basement....Well, our character Lake Warren does that. And more.

The plot centers on Lake who is a marketing consultant with a fertility clinic as her client. She is going through a divorce in which her husband has requested full custody of their 2 children. Lake's lawyer warns her to be above reproach to help in her custody battle. But our friend Lake can't deal with this simple, practical advice and has a one night stand with a doctor from the clinic where she is consulting.

So now, let's couple the dumb irresponsible character with an implausible plot - while Lake is napping out on the good doctor's balcony recuperating from their tryst, someone sneaks into the doc's apartment and murders him.

Oh, come on.

The book then turns into an unoriginal amateur-must-investigate tale. Skip this one.

When I read the reviews describing this book as a "smart thriller", I was wondering if we were referring to the same book. In this very contrived story, this reader found no satisfaction in the resolution of the mystery.

Lake Warren engages in a one night stand with a Dr. in the fertility practice for which she is consulting. Yet, the author doesn't show any real chemistry between the 2. Without giving away the story, it is difficult for this reader to identify with a protagonist who is witness to a murder and not only doesn't come forward, but lies to the police.

The author uses the convenient tactic to have the protagonist's two children away in summer camp, so that she never has to fully develop them as characters. Also, there are so many characters; some with similar names, and some presented very briefly, that it is difficult to keep track. I read lots of "thrillers"; skip this one and choose Barclay's Never Look Away or Hoben's Caught for a much more satisfying read.

This most definitely had me turning pages to see what was happening next. I can totally see why the main character really didn't know who she could trust. Is she asking for help from the wrong person. Mystery, murder, and plenty of twist and turns.

Read a great review of this book describing it as a smart thriller and was very disappointed. Although the stories of women encountering infertility were poignant and rang with some truth, mostly however I found this novel dumb and predictable. What I cannot figure out is how this book was published with so many editorial problems. Three characters in a row, in unconnected dialogue exclaim that they must "dash" as they are leaving ... Really?

This book is highly predicable and definitely not a smart thriller. Lake Warren is one of the dumbest selfest protagonists I have had this misfortunate of reading. She constantly lies to the police, friends, and her own lawyer and can barely remember the lies she tells. Ugh I am very glad I got this book from a library instead of paying for it. I got so bored with the flat characters I just started skimming through unnecessary banter when necessary just to get through the book. This was a very disappointing read.

At times I thought the lead character Lake Warren was just too stupid to live. She got herself into messes that she just didn't think through. Overall, it was a good book and I liked it alot. Lake is a media consultant for a fertility clinic in NYC. She is in the middle of a custody battle over her son and daughter when she finds herself involved in a murder and several personal attacks.

I have enjoyed all of Kate White's other mysteries - they're light, fun and engrossing. This one, however, has minimal character development, and was rushed to a weak conclusion. The author employs the rather cheap tactic of trying to conclude every chapter with a cliffhanger, which creates underwhelming suspense. Then, the plot is tied up in about 10 pages at the end: there's no real build-up. Furthermore, there are some subplots that build throughout the entire story, (such as the main character's divorce and custody battle) that seem to have no relevance, and are wrapped up in mere sentences at the very end. It appears Kate White has discovered a successful formula to writing mysteries, and has learned to produce them on auto-pilot. Since she's already experienced so much success, her books will automatically shoot up the NYT's Bestseller List regardless of the work. This book had an interesting premise, and the potential to be so much more, had more time been put into it, but instead it was clumsily rushed. I've noticed this same phenomenon with lots of other writers. By the time they hit their fourth, fifth, sixth books - they've just become a machine, churning out a book a year and raking in the money. It's too bad, really.