Virtual Book Tour for A Shot in the Dark by Jennifer Burrows

Join author Jennifer Burrows on her virtual tour for A Shot in the Dark, presented by Reading Addiction Book Tours from September 15- October 11, 2013.  Please leave a comment or question to let Jennifer know you stopped by.  You can follow her tour stops here.  

A Shot in the Dark

By Jennifer Burrows

Publisher:  Jennifer Burrows

Release Date: July 11, 2013

Genre: Drama

Length: 253 Pages

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Book Details:

Most of the patients that are brought to the trauma bay in the ER remain nameless, and for the most part, faceless. For Laney Pearson and the rest of the staff, this makes it easier to move past the senseless death and destruction that they see on an almost daily basis.  But all of that changes for Laney when she finds herself trying to pump the life back into a young motorcycle rider who arrives by helicopter more dead than alive.

Skyler Smith has all the makings of the next great motocross rider, right up until he crashes while trying to perform the trick that will secure his future.  From the time his motionless body is lifted off the track, the question becomes not when his next race takes place, but whether he will live to see another day. And now there is mounting evidence that the tragedy was no accident

Laney can never envision this boy’s crash and the ensuing investigation will have such an impact on her own life, but in the days that follow, she discovers a life within her she never knew existed.  While the police sort through the mounting evidence from the crash, Laney has to sort through her own feelings for the handsome trauma surgeon that she previously never gave a second thought.  Is he really as charming as he seems, or is there another reality hiding beneath the surface? And just how long has he been watching her?    

Buy Links:  Amazon  │Barnes & Noble 

Jennifer Burrows

Jennifer is a Registered Nurse, and she holds a Master’s degree in Nursing Administration.  She has 15 years of experience working in the Emergency Room and the Intensive Care Unit of a major trauma center.  While she is equally adept at all facets of patient care, Emergency room nursing is her passion, and is the inspiration for this story.  Currently, she resides in Southern California with her husband and their three amazing boys.  This is her first published novel, with the sequel expected soon.

Website:  www.jenniferburrows.net 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jenniferburrowsbooks

Twitter: @jenburrows234 

Blog: www.jenniferburrows.net 

My Review

An interesting blend of several genres, A Shot in the Dark by Jennifer Burrows, is in my opinion a mixture of contemporary romance, medical procedural and romantic suspense.   While Ms. Burrow’s book lives up to, and occasionally exceeds some of my expectations, like any debut novel there are some issues which I hope will be resolved as Ms. Burrows gains more writing experience.  Even with some problems, I know I'm looking forward to reading more of her work. 

A dedicated nurse, Laney Pearson works in the busy trauma bay of her hospital’s ER.  While Laney, and the rest of the medical staff get along, they all know it’s dangerous to get too invested in any one patient, they can’t save them all.  When a young man, Skyler Smith, is brought into the ER as a result of a motocross accident, everything in Laney’s life changes one way or another. 

Secretly attracted to a Laney Pearson, trauma surgeon Josh Stone is assigned Skyler’s case. A gifted doctor, he’s determined to do the best for his patient and expects the best from everyone around him.  While starting a romance with Laney while they are both working to heal the same patient isn’t the best timing, it does give them a source of contact.   While at first everyone assumes Skyler’s accident was just that , “an accident”, the police investigation begins turning up some disturbing evidence.  As the investigation continues, Laney discovers she’s possibly being stalked.  Wondering what’s really going on, Laney begins to have doubts about the people she’s become involved with.

While Ms. Burrows does a very good job with the medical portion of the story, I did feel there was just a touch of “overkill” with all of the medical jargon.  While Skyler’s injury is an important part of the story, and his medical care is equally important, I just felt the volume of it detracted from the rest of the story.  I also think it threw the pace of the story off.    

Ms. Burrows does a good job developing most of the characters in the story and most of them are likable.  She added a touch of humor when it was necessary, and the dialogue between Laney and Josh was good, occasionally snarky and pretty much what you would expect from two people who work in the same profession.  Skyler’s mom, Rebecca, and Stephen, the police officer assigned to investigate Skyler’s accident, are also well developed and there are definitely signs of an attraction between them as well. 

Will Josh and Laney be able to help Skyler heal from his traumatic injuries?  Will Laney discover who seems to be stalking her?  You’ll have to read A Shot in the Dark to find out.  I do have to warn you the story ends on somewhat of a cliffhanger, so I'm looking forward to seeing what happens to these characters next.

My Rating:  3.5 out of 5 Crowns

FTC Disclosure:  I received a complimentary copy of this book as a part of a book tour in exchange for a fair and honest review.