Overall, I thought this was a alright story. The fact the author used lots of the story to describe stuff was really annoying though. There were a lot of parts where I felt I was more skimming through, while looking for something to happen or just reading the dialogue.Questions/Comments:I couldn't help but notice how every so often the author would throw in a big word. A big word for me is typically one that I've (or my smart hubby) have ever heard of. For ex: alacrity, enervating, truculence, deleterious, disgorged, and atavistic.At the beginning of the story, the first Maddie wakes up and realizes she'd had a bad dream...yet, didn't actually know she'd had one? Minus her heart beating fast? Not sure about that...of course it's possible to not remember the bad dream right after from waking, but not even knowing you had on? Why do the bad guys, when they get up close and personal to the victim, always have bad breathe? If she knew he was going to kill her, hence, he automatically shot at the bed he had thought she was in, why didn't she try to make noise when she heard people in the hall? I mean, it's like either have him torture/terrify you before you die, or just die quickly.If the killer hadn't known there were 2 women with the same name in the hotel, why did he go after both? Or when he did realize his mistake, that indeed there were two...how would he have known which one was the one he wanted considering he was sneaking up on them in their sleep? What father, no matter who he was, would say to their DAUGHTER 'don't grow up to be a pussy!' ?? Seriously. Isn't that a comment for a male? Natty is define as smart and fashionable. Maddie describes both Sam and Jon with this word. Sam, when he was looking like a crappy homeless man, and Jon when he was all spiffy looking after their important meeting with the dog food lady. Referring to both these guys, looking completely opposite....don't think that works.When Maddie was leaving after her meeting and saw Sam, why did she think he was 'following' her? I mean he had just been in the same building. Why would anyone think that the killer was a hitman? I mean would a hitman usually be bragging about his kills? Kinda doubtful!How was Maddie's 'hidden getaway car's' battery not dead after 3 months of not using it? What would she have done if it had been?If it had been 7 years since she ran away from the mob, what made her think that they would be looking for her? If they were, had she changed her name? The fact that she never mentions that leads me to believe she didn't. Therefore, it wouldn't have been hard to find her. Why would they have been after her to begin with? I never understood that part. Why hadn't Maddie pretended to know how about the killer? I mean she never asked Sam why someone would be after her and Sam never told her what was going on either. Didn't either one find it strange that neither was talking about it?So you can hit a guy really hard in the head with a hammer and seconds later, he's waking up? When the bad guys get her she tells them that she hid the strongbox "near where we used to live in Baltimore" (326) but then later when she's telling Sam about it she says, "The thing is, I left the strongbox behind when I left Baltimore, but they don't know that." (336) Huh? Yes, they do! So Maddie, Sam, and Zelda are running through the woods. Why didn't either of them pick the dog up? I seriously can't imagine they're able to run that fast with a tiny dog trailing behind them.I did find it funny that Whynn and the gang found Sam and Maddie right when they ran into the bad guys and again when Ken Welsh was about to kill Maddie.It was strange that given the fact they were running for their lives, that they basically stop to have sex.....twice. So Ken Welsh created a new life for himself. He had previously been an FBI agent in Baltimore. Then changed his name to Smolski and rejoined? How would that been possible. And considering Maddie recognized him, I assume he didn't change his appearance and yet, he never worried that someone from the Baltimore branch or another FBI agent would recognize him?The ending was kinda strange too. You finally find out who the killer is and it's like the author didn't really care or didn't think that was an important part. One second you read the killers name, the next they've moved on to Maddie and blah, blah, blah. It's like it was fast forwarded.
In Bait, a failed attempt is made on Maddie Fitzgerald, a young woman who runs an advertisement agency. This same killer is being hunted by the FBI agent Sam McCabe. Maddie is resistant to any FBI protection because of her checkered past. She changed her name and took on a new life after fleeing from the mob. She returns to St. Louis where the killer continues to come after her and McCabe and company protect. But really the novel is about the developing romance between Maddie and McCabe.This novel fails in so many different ways. The first thing is that the novel is one big cliché. First there is the woman with the past who is being protected by the FBI and surprise, surprise she develops a relationship with the law enforcement officer trying to protect. I think I've read that story about a dozen times. There are so many elements of the plot and characters that feel worn and tired. Maddie is resistant to McCabe and is hostile toward him yet naturally they wind up together. To make matters worse, the writers uses dozens of cliché phrases throughout her novel. The believability is non-existent. I can only suspend my disbelief so far and that does not include a professional hitman who taunts the FBI agents that are after him. I should have just stopped reading at that point. A professional would never risk getting caught like that. The explanation that is provided at the end is lame. Furthermore, the plot is really inconsequential and is treated that way. It's really just a backdrop to the romance that develops. This is a weak novel, and I would recommend skipping it.Carl Alves - author of Blood Street
What do You think about Bait (2005)?
I love action movies and books but like all things they follow some sort of formula, if you really pay attention to the details you know who the killer is one third through the book/movie. I felt that this book rambled on way more than necessary. Don't get me wrong details are very VERY important but a lot of things could have been cut out in the book,but I love the story the whole alpha male FBI protecting a "wimpy" women who shows a lot more strength then she knows she has, against the mob. I especially liked the ending..just when you thing its over BAM! plot twist something else happens. which is good it makes it standout more. love when this happens.
—TheCookBook7
3 STARS"It's a business trip that takes advertising agency owner Maddie Fitzgerald to New Orleans, but it is hardly business as usual when a man breaks into her hotel room and tries to kill her. Barely escaping with her life, she soon finds herself face-to-face with FBI agent Sam McCabe. Unnerved by his questions - and his good looks - Maddie is told she's been targeted by an elusive killer whom McCabe has been tracking for weeks. It appears her attack was a case of mistaken identity and a shaken Maddie is given the all-clear to go home. McCabe is ruffled, not just by Maddie's sexiness, but by an inescapable feeling that's she's got something to hide. So when she is attacked for the second time, McCabe insists that the only way to catch the killer is to use her as bait." (From Amazon)I enjoyed this romantic suspense mostly because of teh sparks between Sam and Maddie.
—Kris - My Novelesque Life
FBI Special Agent Sam McCabe is tracking a serial killer who leaves one-word clues to the identity of his next victim. When the next clue is the name "Madeline", the search for the next victim starts. But, they're too late. In a New Orleans hotel, a woman named Madeline Fitzgerald has been murdered. But, surprisingly, there is a second woman with the exact same name staying at the hotel too. This Maddie was attacked in the middle of the night and somehow got away from the killer. In order for Sam to figure out which Maddie was the target, he needs to use her for bait to entice the serial killer out of hiding.This is romantic suspense at it's best. Maddie doesn't trust the FBI because of things in her past and really thinks she can handle the whole situation on her own. Of course, Sam knows that isn't possible and pledges to keep her safe. Good twist as to the identity of the killer. My rating: 5 Stars.
—Robin
