Falling awake

Isabel Wright thought that the new director of the Belvedere Center for Sleep Research wanted to meet to discuss her promotion; instead, Isabel is informed that her services are no longer required. With the dearth of available openings for dream analysts, Isabel is prepared to return to her old job at the Psychic Dream Hotline. But Ellis Cutler, one of two anonymous clients from the sleep research center whose dreams Isabel had been analyzing, offers Isabel the opportunity to come work for his employer, Frey-Salter, Inc., a highly classified government agency involved in dream research and the use of extreme dreaming as an investigative technique. Working for Frey-Salter, Inc., would be a dream come true for Isabel, as long as it's on her terms. Ellis is more than willing to give Isabel a more active role in his investigations, but their mutual attraction may make keeping things strictly professional between them mighty difficult. New York Times best-selling Krentz excels at crafting superior, sexy romantic suspense, and her latest has all the ingredients her readers love: a riveting plot, a nicely developed romance between a smart and independent heroine and a tough yet tender hero, and her unique, delightfully dry wit. --John Charles Copyright 2004 Booklist

Isabel Wright, a Belvedere Center for Sleep Research analyst and Level Five lucid dreamer, meets the man of her dreams in bestseller Krentz's (Truth or Dare, etc.) romantic thriller. When Isabel's boss, Martin Belvedere, is found dead in his study, his son, Randolph, who was always scornful of his father's belief in dreamers capable of uncovering secrets, takes over the business. He fires Isabel before he realizes that her crime-solving through dreams pays most of the center's bills. Isabel trains to be a motivational speaker while falling into the arms of fellow lucid dreamer Ellis Cutler (aka "Dream Man"), whose dreams she had been decoding and who has likewise been dreaming of her (he thinks of her as "Tango Dancer"). Isabel's former co-workers at the Belvedere Center and Ellis's colleagues from his secret government agency provide a rich assortment of suspects and victims who must be sorted out by the lover-detectives as they wrestle good guys from the dark side, repair troubled marriages and fix ailing businesses. Though her New Age imagination sometimes runs into overdrive, Krentz holds her readers' attention with attractive, appealing protagonists, flawed but sympathetic secondary characters and winningly self-mocking humor. Her unflagging positive energy proves so overwhelming that the reader will happily make her way through a story that defies logic, based on psychology that defies reason, to a happy ending that defies description. Agent, Stephen Axelrod. (Nov.) Forecast: Krentz grinds 'em out like sausage, and this one is spicier than most. It should sell fantastically well-it's a featured selection of several book clubs-even though it gives new meaning to the term "suspension of disbelief." (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Isabel Wright, a dream analyst and lucid dreamer, is employed at the Belvedere Center for Sleep Research until the owner dies and his son fires her. As an alternative, she begins training to be a motivational speaker. Soon she meets up with Ellis Cutler, who works for a secret government agency with an interest in dream research and who was one of her clients at the dream center. She's been decoding his dreams, some of which have been about her. One of the workers at the agency was killed, and Ellis believes he has some responsibility, because he should have been able to see the murder in his dreams. After a second murder, Ellis brings Isabel into the search for the killer. Laural Merlington is a competent reader and does a good job distinguishing one character from another in Krentz's latest. Recommended for public libraries.-Mary Knapp, Madison P.L., WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Extreme dreams. More formula fiction from the bestselling Krentz (Truth or Dare, 2004, etc), this featuring an undercover op in sexy sunglasses and a beautiful dreamer with a bad-tempered cat. When his former colleague turns up dead, Ellis Cutler just has to take off those "obsidian-tinted" shades and check out the Belvedere Center for Sleep Research--not to mention Isabel Wright, a researcher of Level 5 Lucid Dreaming. Seems like there could be a connection to Frey-Salter, the corporate front for the hush-hush government agency where he and Katherine Ralston used to work. Ellis's intuition (never mind clues, never mind evidence) tells him that his quarry, bad guy Vincent Scargill, killed Katherine. Ellis, however, doesn't understand why he didn't see it coming. He's a Level 5 Lucid Dreamer himself, and it seems that Isabel is too. In fact, she's been hanging around inside his subconscious for quite a while, under an assumed name (Tango Dancer). Isabel, a former phone psychic, has finally, with no apparent qualifications whatsoever, obtained "a professional-level position with excellent salary and benefits" plus a lackluster alternative love interest in Ken Payne, fellow researcher. Should she risk all that for a sexy loner like Ellis? Hell, yes. This is a Jayne Ann Krentz novel. So, back to the plot: Isabel fills Cutler in on the dark doings that have shadowed Belvedere research. Is Dr. Maureen Sage really someone else who used to work at Frey-Salter, and why haven't any of these supposedly psychic characters recognized her? Are the villains trying to get their hands on a top-secret drug that intensifies dreaming? Better pop a No-Doz, because this ho-hum thriller is padded with a lot of tedious analysis of dreams, tarted up in pseudo-shrinkese. What is the significance of the red tsunami? And how about that rollercoaster? What does it all mean? For the fans. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Isabel Wright thought that the new director of the Belvedere Center for Sleep Research wanted to meet to discuss her promotion; instead, Isabel is informed that her services are no longer required. With the dearth of available openings for dream analysts, Isabel is prepared to return to her old job at the Psychic Dream Hotline. But Ellis Cutler, one of two anonymous clients from the sleep research center whose dreams Isabel had been analyzing, offers Isabel the opportunity to come work for his employer, Frey-Salter, Inc., a highly classified government agency involved in dream research and the use of extreme dreaming as an investigative technique. Working for Frey-Salter, Inc., would be a dream come true for Isabel, as long as it's on her terms. Ellis is more than willing to give Isabel a more active role in his investigations, but their mutual attraction may make keeping things strictly professional between them mighty difficult. New York Times best-selling Krentz excels at crafting superior, sexy romantic suspense, and her latest has all the ingredients her readers love: a riveting plot, a nicely developed romance between a smart and independent heroine and a tough yet tender hero, and her unique, delightfully dry wit. ((Reviewed October 1, 2004)) Copyright 2004 Booklist Reviews.

Isabel analyzes dreams for a living, so her "Dream Man" is actually a client. He's also a top-secret government operative. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

In yet another winning tale of romantic suspense from Krentz (Truth or Dare), Isabel Wright analyzes dreams for a living-at least she did before being fired from the Belvedere Center for Sleep Research. Ellis Cutler, one of her anonymous subjects and a government agent, goes looking for the intriguing woman who can read but is not repelled by his violent dreams. He was touched by her suggestions to help him cope and has come to think of her as "Tango Dancer." Quite appropriate, considering that Isabel-a woman everyone else perceives as rather dull-secretly refers to him as "Dream Man." Things really begin to heat up between these two when it becomes clear that Ellis's current unsanctioned investigation into the "death" of a rogue agent has drawn Isabel into great danger. As always, Krentz creates an intelligent, likable couple, wonderful secondary characters, and a fast-paced story that will keep readers turning the pages. Fans will not be disappointed. Highly recommended for popular fiction collections and for readers who enjoy the work of Karen Robards and Nora Roberts. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 7/04.]-Elizabeth Mellett, Brookline P.L., MA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Isabel Wright, a Belvedere Center for Sleep Research analyst and Level Five lucid dreamer, meets the man of her dreams in bestseller Krentz's (Truth or Dare, etc.) romantic thriller. When Isabel's boss, Martin Belvedere, is found dead in his study, his son, Randolph, who was always scornful of his father's belief in dreamers capable of uncovering secrets, takes over the business. He fires Isabel before he realizes that her crime-solving through dreams pays most of the center's bills. Isabel trains to be a motivational speaker while falling into the arms of fellow lucid dreamer Ellis Cutler (aka "Dream Man"), whose dreams she had been decoding and who has likewise been dreaming of her (he thinks of her as "Tango Dancer"). Isabel's former co-workers at the Belvedere Center and Ellis's colleagues from his secret government agency provide a rich assortment of suspects and victims who must be sorted out by the lover-detectives as they wrestle good guys from the dark side, repair troubled marriages and fix ailing businesses. Though her New Age imagination sometimes runs into overdrive, Krentz holds her readers' attention with attractive, appealing protagonists, flawed but sympathetic secondary characters and winningly self-mocking humor. Her unflagging positive energy proves so overwhelming that the reader will happily make her way through a story that defies logic, based on psychology that defies reason, to a happy ending that defies description. Agent, Stephen Axelrod. (Nov.) Forecast: Krentz grinds 'em out like sausage, and this one is spicier than most. It should sell fantastically well-it's a featured selection of several book clubs-even though it gives new meaning to the term "suspension of disbelief." Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.