Man with a Past

By: Jayne Ann Krentz

Length: 2 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Cole Stockton had a will of steel and a raw determination to go after what he wanted, including Kelsey Murdock. He'd invaded her life, assaulting her with his sensuality, tempting her to be reckless.

She sensed something dangerous about the man, in the secrets he refused to share, the past that still haunted him, the coiled tension that denied intimacy. For Cole, the past was a closed door. For Kelsey, that meant too many questions and no answers, and the best reason to walk away, before it was too late.

But when a simple business trip turns into a dangerous survival game, she is plunged into a world Cole knows all too well. Now Kelsey must trust he knows it well enough to keep them both alive.

©2000 Jayne Ann KrentzAll rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A. All characters in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Critic reviews

"Jayne Ann Krentz is one of the hottest writers in romance today." (USA Today)
"A master of the genre...nobody does it better." (Romantic Times)

interesting title but...

This story just didn't seem to fully develop as it went along. It seemed disjointed and very unbelievable. Certain plot insinuations were made but not followed through. Would not recommend.

abridged version not worth it

I have to say this is one of the worst abridged books I have ever heard. They cut out too much and what they did leave in made references to stuff they left out. As is the book is a horrible fascimile of the book. What is there is somewhat enjoyable as long as you have never read the book and don't mind the occasional reference to something you have no knowledge of.
Your better off with one of the authors unabridged books. However since this book is out of publication it does at least give you an idea of the original.

Man With A Past

This story was ok. I think I had higher expectations. I didn't like the male character that much, he was a little annoying. I also felt the story didn't flow as well as it could have from beginning to end, loose ends throughout.

Abridged to the point of nonsense

I happen to love Jayne Ann Krentz books and enjoyed this one when I read it years ago, however this abridged audio version is simply bad. So much was cut out of the story that if I hadn't previously read it I would have been hopelessly lost. The narration was excellent, the voice actor's performance surpurb, but the butchered story made it painfully confusing to listen to.

Disappointed

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

A better story. I love Janye Ann Krentz, but this story fell way short of what she usually writes.

What could Jayne Ann Krentz have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Developed the two main characters better. They just appeared with little plot development and were ready to make serious relationship commitments. The story just ended with a lot of unanswered questions. Even though this is fiction it was just not believeable enough.

Would you be willing to try another one of the narrator’s performances?

Maybe. I don't fault the narrator when the story is bad.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Sorry, but none.

not great. she's written better

don't like the narrator. story underdeveloped. she has written better. felt like nothing developed fully or resolved. plot was weak. beginning awkward.

Dated and poorly read

This is one of those stories that depend on the social mores of an older time which is now, thank goodness, gone. It's still an okay story, though. But the narration! One comment to the narrator: don't try to do voices. You're no good at them. And whose idea was it to do voices in the first place. I've never heard a female narrator that could do reasonable male voices, nor a male who could do female. In this instance, the female protag was read as if she were an ingenue rather than a career woman in her 30s. And the male protag! OMG. I can't even begin to tell you how bad that was. He came across as a skeevy stalker and not the least bit redeemable or appealing. Just ruined the whole thing.

As for the "abridged" designation...I didn't take the time to compare this with the book, but at under three hours, I think "condensed" would probably be a better term. I bought this as a trio of Jayne Ann Krentz novels, and the reading time for the three of them put together was under nine hours. I thought I was getting a bargain, but it was more like three chopped down novellas. Thank goodness for the return option.

Meh Performance

story was okay: cute but not overly exceptional, but the performance took me out of the story over and over again

Narrator

The female voice was OK but the Male voice did not fit the character at all. It was NOT a good male voice for any reading

good

This was my first book by this author. I thought it was good. It wasn’t something that I would rave about though. I will probably read or listen to another book by this author sometime in the future. I liked the characters enough...though I didn’t like how Cole was a bit overbearing with Kelsey. He wasn’t completely likable like some leading men. I liked that Kelsey wasn’t a submissive little mouse. She didn’t just run and do everything Cole wanted her to do just because he wanted her to do it. There were things to me that were not answered by the end of the book too. I am not sure I totally buy the HEA either. Overall it was an ok. I liked the narrator was great I enjoyed listening to them read the book. They did a good job at bringing the characters to life and adding to the story.