Book Review: Brown-Eyed Girl

Title:  Brown-Eyed Girl
Author:  Mariah Stewart
Pages:  342
Publication Date:  2000
Version:  Paperback
Genre:  Adult Fiction/Romantic Suspense

Summary Via Goodreads.com:
"NOTHING IS AS IT APPEARS...IN THIS TWISTING NOVEL FROM THE NATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF DEAD EVEN 
A fashion magazine features editor, Leah McDevitt is haunted by the memory of her cherished younger sister, Melissa, who vanished years ago. Missy, whose extraordinary eyes -- one blue, one brown -- may have lured her abductor to her....When Leah receives a letter from death row inmate Raymond Lambert, she eagerly agrees to pay him the long-standing reward for information about Melissa -- even if it means coming face-to-face with a notorious serial killer. 
But before Lambert can impart his secrets, he himself is killed. Devastated but determined, Leah heads to the Maine woods to seek out private investigator Ethan Sanger, who authored a book about Lambert in exchange for yet another of Lambert's terrible secrets. Leah and Ethan strike a sparking passion with the power to heal their painful pasts. But someone has his eye on Leah...someone who knows more than he should...and who won't be satisfied until Leah sees the truth with her own eyes."

My Review:
This was my first read of Stewart's.  This book was okay for me.  I did enjoy the characters and the main line of the plot very much.  The characters were very well developed, almost to a point of too developed.  This book is based on a lot of feelings and pasts of the characters and not so much on actions by the characters.  I found there was a lot of "dead air" so to speak in the writing.  It seemed just too drawn out at times, mainly in the very beginning of the book.  The writing, however, as far as descriptions and vividness was fantastic!  I kept plugging along with it and am glad I did because it was a good read.  It just perhaps could have been condensed a bit into a shorter book if all the lag time was taken out or was cut down.  Like I said, the book was a pretty good read though.  The characters of Ethan, Leah, Holly, and Tom were just great.  I loved the relationships between them all and how they came to develop deeper throughout the book.  Not too sure I would seek out this author again though.  The author just didn't connect with me through the book like others I have read, but that is why there are so man authors out there.  You won't connect with and love every one of them.  Bottom line here?  It is a good romantic suspense read, just a bit long.  If you can stick it out it is well worth it though for the characters and bottom line of the plot.  

4/5 Stars