False Pretenses (Contemporary Romantic Thriller Book 1)

I was almost bored with it at first but strangely I couldn't stop reading it. Originally I read Impulse her second book first. Intense from the beginning to end. But this one will ease you into the world of the writer. So I recommend this book and I loved it in the end. The characters make you feel as though they are real. The erotic portion is slow to build but the book makes up for it with substance.

Catherine Coulter is my favorite author. False Pretenses is an earlier novel, and this was the second time I have read it. I've never read a novel of Coulter's that I didn't love. She has a special way of writing that is recognizable in each of her books. She's the best in her genre, in my opiniion.

I have read all of Catherine Coulter's FBI Suspense thrillers (The Cove, The Maze, The Target, The Edge) so I decided to try one of her revised contemporary suspense novels. False Pretenses did not even come to the FBI thrillers. False Pretenses and Beyond Eden have a TON OF ROMANCE in it and not much suspense. Elizabeth Carleton is married to Timothy Carleton, a very rich man. He gets stabs with an ice pick and is killed. Elizabeth goes on trial for his murder but is proven innocent. Timothy's whole family is fighting a war to try and get Timothy's business and his money away from Elizabeth (the heir). This novel is mostly a family bickering session. Near the end of the novel Elizabeth trys to discover who killed Timothy, is it the mysterious person who testified on her behalf, her new lover, or a business associate? If you want SUSPENSE, try the novels I earlier mentioned. False Pretenses should just be classified as a romance novel.

Catherine Coulter has had two careers as an author. Initially, she wrote romances. More recently, her FBI series has been consistently worth reading. In between, she tried her hand at romantic suspense. False Pretenses(1988) has an extraordinarily gripping plot setup. Elizabeth Xavier, an internationally acclaimed concert pianist in her mid-twenties, marries Timothy Carleton, the head of a conglomerate who is thirty years older than her. Three years later, the marriage is breaking down. One evening, while Elizabeth is wandering around Central Park sorting through her options, someone stabs Timothy through the heart with an icepick. The tabloid press goes wild. Elizabeth has a strong motive; she is still her husband's heir. Her late husband's family is out for her blood. The publicity hungry DA manages to get her indicted for murder. Although the case against her isn't all that strong, she fears the wave of public passion will drag her under.
Dr. Christian Hunter, a wealthy socialite psychologist, returns from a year in Europe. He calls Elizabeth's attorney to explain that the night of the murder he had spent the evening with Elizabeth discussing music . He remembers it vividly because he is a fan of her. The DA can't shake Dr. Hunter's testimony and she is acquitted. The only problem is that Elizabeth knows full well
that she has never met Dr. Hunter in her life.
Elizabeth can't go back to the concert stage. She could attract vast crowds, but not because they are interested in classical music. She turns her formidable brain and willpower to learning how to run a big business, with the aid of a hand-picked group of hotshots. She falls in love for the first time in her life, only to discover that her lover and confidant is on the Carleton family's payroll. She finds herself in an all-out struggle with the Carletons, who regard her as a gold digger and who sincerely believe she killed Timothy. Eventually, attempts on her life begin to take place.
All of the characters are well drawn and plausible. Each one speaks(and thinks) in his or her own unique voice. While the plot twists and turns, it plays fair. Nor are the characters static. Some turn into much better people than they were in the beginning. I believe this to be far and away the best book Ms. Coulter has ever written and one of the ten best romantic suspense novels I have ever read. I am only sorry it has never been made into a movie.

For a simple woman loving only to play music, life has dealt a very special hand to Elizabeth. First she is indicted for the murder of her millionaire husband, later she is the center of two man's lifes.
Catherine Coulter has done it again. The plot is very entertaining and she keeps the suspense going throughout the book. The characters are real and express their emotions well. Good thing she does not mix any sexual direction with the main plot. It is truly a book of suspense and fiction.
Good read.

This is my first Catherine Coulter contemporary that I have read, I have all of her romances. And to be perfectly honest, I wouldn't have read this one if she hadn't e-mailed me and asked me to. I did enjoy it. The main characters were captivating and interesting. The plot was fast moving and kept you guessing "who done it" until it was revealed and then it was "when will he strike for the kill" that kept you reading till the end. I read this book in 6 hours and couldn't put it down. A definate good read!

Catherine Coulter's FALSE PRETENSES was her first contemporary suspense novel and it was an excellent beginning in a new genre.
The plot is intricate as Elizabeth Carleton's good life erupts in shambles. Elizabeth is a concert pianist and her husband, wealthy tycoon Timothy is murder with an icepick while she is taking a walk. No one believes her story and she is arrested for murder.
A fast read that will keep you guessing until the end.
Nash Black, author of WRITING AS A SMALL BUSINESS and HAINTS, both of which were finalists in the 2009 Indie Awards.

I completely agree with the Brad! Catherine Coulter has proven that she can right fantastic thrillers (even romantic ones), but this one left me yawning. It is not often that I put a book down without finishing it, but I could not sustain my interest long enough to see it through. Although I thoroughly enjoyed all of her FBI books - especially the Maze - I did not care one bit what happened to Elizabeth or her romantic interest.

Catherine Coulter never fails to deliver. This is a good, summer read. Romance with some intrigue. Not the best intrigue I've ever read, but worth your time while sitting at the pool. I enjoyed it, overall.

No Child Left Behind? The True Story of a Teacher's Quest

Coulter always delivers and this one is no exception. I loved this book! Great story and great characters. As usual, I couldn't put it down. Coulter has such a knack for dialogue and tension. I enjoy her contemporaries, like False Pretenses, as much as her historicals.

Catherine Coulter is an excellent writer when it comes to historical romances and FBI stories. But I had no desire to find out what happened to Elizabeth. I really did not like any of the people that she was involved with and I didn't trust any of them. So I didn't care who really did it. I found myself skipping to the end to discover the killer.