Amber Morn (Kanner Lake Series #4) | Brandilyn Collins

Amber Morn (Kanner Lake Series #4) | Brandilyn Collins | High Tension Finale

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Amber Morn (Kanner...

	Amber Morn (Kanner Lake Series #4) Brandilyn Collins Zondervan, 2008 - 336 pages average customer review:based on 20 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Tense, Painful, Tight....

Amber Morn is a big departure from the previous books in the series. Far more characters were given point of view scenes and the action focused heavily at the Java Joint.

When I cracked the cover and read the first few pages I was uncertain how I'd end up feeling when it was all said and done. A group of gunmen and a public place full of innocents is ripped from way too many newspapers in way too many cities. I was far more horrified than if a minor character had shown up dead and I got to watch the mystery and ugliness unfold. This time I was forced to walk through the unfolding terror with no clue who might come out alive and who might not. Chickens beware, Amber Morn is intense.

Nearing the end I began to think there was no way this could turn out pretty or even be resolved. Collins is a masterful writer. She pulled it off and it was believable. Interestingly, I'm glad she has closed the Kanner Lake series. I care enough about the characters that I want Collins to leave them alone and let them get on with the activities of living, in all meanings of the word. I'm glad a sneak peek at her next series shows up at the end of the book. I'm ready to follow her where she's headed next. If you are a Collins fan, you will be, too.

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High Tension Finale

The Scenes and Beans blog crew come together for the last time. The final book of the Kanner Lake series rounds up all the characters in one giant mess before saying goodbye.

Bailey Truitt started the Scenes and Beans blog at her café, Java Joint. When she started it, she couldn't have known that the blog would be used in a hostage situation right there in Kanner Lake.

Bailey and the rest of the crew gather in Java Joint to celebrate the publishing contract that S-Man will sign at the party. However, the party gets a bit of an interruption. Heart-pounding drama fills every page as Kanner Lake is turned inside out during the hours the Wicksell family chose to force the authorities to release T.J., the youngest Wicksell who was convicted of murder.

I enjoyed the update on the lives of the bloggers. This book can be enjoyed as a single book, but is the perfect ending to the very entertaining series.

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Fourth entry a fitting end to terrific series

Amber Morn by Brandilyn Collins is the fourth and final book in the Kanner Lake Series. Kent Wicksell's son T.J. is in prison for a crime he claims he didn't commit, so Kent and his other two sons, Mitch and Brad, decide that the only way to get the world to hear of his innocence is to take the bloggers from Scenes & Beans blog hostage when they gather for a party. All the favorites from the previous three books are back and ready to celebrate S-Man's signing of his book contract. But these three volatile men storm in, shoot one of them, and in a systematic way set about getting their story out to the world. Only police chief Vince Edwards can negotiate with the Kent and find out the truth about T.J. Collins is known for writing Seatbelt Suspense, and she lives up to that title again in this book. The scenes are fast and furious leaving me often breathless. I had one small disappointment with this book: the Wicksells were completely unsympathetic, and while I know there are monsters like that in the real world, it would have made for a more complex story. Collins continues to develop the other characters and move their stories forward to a satisfying conclusion.

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Collins Delivers!

This is one fast-paced novel. It's kind of like watching a whole season of "24" in one sitting. Short chapters, each from a different character's point of view, lend themselves to the escalating tension of the situation and the explosive finale. Fans of Collins' Kanner Lake Series will not be disappointed with this final book. If you're coming at this fresh (I haven't read the first three books in the series) don't dispair, you'll still get a kick out of this one. Although you'll have a lot more fun if you start at the beginning!

4th book in the series is my least favorite, still a great read

Brandylin Collins closes out her Kanner Lake series with the most thrilling premise yet. All the regulars are planning to meet at Bailey Truitt's Java Joint to celebrate Ted Dawson's signing of a two book publishing contract. Kent Wicksell and son's Brad and Mitch know this because they've been reading the Scenes and Beans blog, a blog kept by the regulars of the Java Joint. Kent and family arrive at the Java Joint just as the party has started. They are loaded with weapons and plenty of ammunition and they invade the Java Joint and take everyone hostage. They have one demand. Kent's youngest son, T.J., must be relased from prison. Kent just knows that TJ is innocent and believes he can prove it.

All the regulars are there, including Paige from the first book and Carla Radling from the third. Vince Edwards, the police chief and recent hostage negotiator trainee, is forced into being in charge of the stand-off and negotiating with Kent. Bailey is worried about her husband, who is on new medication. One character is shot and no one knows if they will live. Leslie is moving out of town and boyfriend Ted doesn't know if their relationship will last.

The scope of this novel is impressive. Collins wraps the entire plot around the hostage situation at the Java Joint and the safety of the characters trapped inside. The most intriguing plot point for me was the actual innocence of TJ. Were Kent, Brad and Mitch right, even though they were insane for taking hostages. Was TJ really innocent? This point is covered, then dropped, then picked back up again at the end of the novel. This plot point could have been much stronger.

I enjoyed this novel but believe it was the worst of the series. To me, it had way to many points of view. I didn't have a problem with all the characters from the previous novels being involved in one situation, but it really bothered me that each character, even the smallest ones, had their own point of view chapter. There were probably over 20 different points of view presented in the novel and that was way to many for me to get involved in the story. Overall, Amber Morn is a good conclusion to a series where I have come to know and enjoy. I understand why Collins chose to include the entire town in the story, I just wish she had narrowed the focus to a smaller group of characters.

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reviews: 1, 2, page 3, 4

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