Beyond Escape is a unique novel that involves romance, a little mystery, and murder.
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After separating from her husband of twenty years, Kim is in desperate need of an escape. Retreating to her parents’ home in Texas for a month, Kim encounters ample distractions, the best being Camilo, an alluring Latino man seventeen years her junior. However, when returning to Texas unearths memories of a long-ago lover, Kim discovers her unintentional involvement in a series of dangerous escapades, bringing her deeper into her past than she ever cared to venture. Beyond Escape follows Kim as she pursues a trail of drugs, murder, and secret love affairs that were meant to stay buried
Excerpt
Kim set the receiver of the antique-looking phone gently back in its cradle, although she felt more like slamming it down. She sat for a minute staring at it, the one thing she insisted on keeping when she and Alex split their personal property, the accummulation of stuff they had acquired over the past twenty years. Kim reached for her throat, feeling first a swelling ache and then the tears, tears that she didn’t want to shed. They streamed down her face as she sobbed uncontrollably.
After a few minutes, she lifted her head, pushed a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, and wiped her hands across her face, drying her wet eyes. She cleared her throat and focused on the conversation she had just had with Kathleen Woods, her attorney.
“The papers are are all signed,” Kathleen had said in a hushed, monotone voice. Kim sat in silence as she listened to the words. “Alex hired a good attorney,” Kathleen continued, “one even better than me. I may be known as the Dragon Lady, but his lawyer is ruthless — and good at it, too.” That’s it; it’s finalized, Kim had thought as she listened to Kathleen’s voice. While she hadn’t gotten her fair share, Kathleen reassured her it was the best they could do.
Alex made a respectable wage as a financial planner and the last few years had been good ones for her. She and Alex had enjoyed some luxuries they hadn’t been able to afford in the past. She was going to have to make some changes in her spending habits, and those frequent getaway trips were now a thing of the past.
Kim got up from the couch and looked around the tiny apartment she had rented only eight weeks earlier, when she filed for divorce. “I’m divorced,” she said softly to herself. The thought of it was bad enough, but saying it outloud made it real.
Professional Reviews
A little intrigue, impossible to put down
At eighteen, Kim goes from Maine to Texas with mark and his wife, Maite. Starting as just friends, Mark and Kim's relationship moves forward. Fast forward twenty years, recently divorce Kim returns to Texas to visit her parents for a month's vacation. This visit brings her past affair back up and she is convinced she needs to know the truth about what happen to Mark. The visit also brings Camilo into her life. Making her realize her life isn't over, especially with the attention for a much younger, hot man, a.k.a. Camilo.
I very much enjoyed Beyond Escape. Watching as Kim relives her past even when headed into uncharted territory. It caught my attention and held it until the last page. The stories of drugs, murder, and secret love affairs were amazingly intertwined. Some of the stories I could see where they were headed or where I thought they were headed, then it would do a 180 and go a totally different way. The fact that Camilo, which started as a distraction, ended up fitting perfectly into the story web made the novel so much better.
Kim won me over when she decorated her parent's house for Christmas, even though they hadn't really celebrated in years. Getting back to old family traditions made her so loving. The days and nights she spent with her mom and dad, who she referred to as Nina and Jack, showed how loving and caring of a daughter she was.
I highly recommend Beyond Escape. A little romance, a lot of intrigue makes this novel impossible to pass up.
From Readers Views
'...Deborah Jensen's writing is smooth and enticing. The conversations with the story flow and the reader feels like she is right here listening in. Jensen's character development is imaginable and appropriately expanded.
I thoroughly enjoyed Beyond Escape by Deborah Jensen. The story flowed without any hitches therefore making it a well rounded chick-lit; a little romance, a little mystery, and a little adventure. Recommended!' ---- Irene Watson for Reader Views
From Author of the Bachelor Farmers
'Nuances of the Midwest color this engaging novel with a main character familiar to anyone who's ever had love problems... This is a wonderful story about family secrets...' -- --Brenda Sorrels, author of The Bachelor Farmers
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