Following the trauma of her estranged husband’s untimely death, Emma Lowell is happy with the life she has rebuilt for herself. She’s engaged to a wonderful man and anticipates a fresh start, free from her troubled past. Only one persistent obstacle remains: Margaret Lowell, her former mother-in-law. Margaret continues to be a demanding presence in Emma’s life, and her requests have become increasingly disconcerting. When Margaret asks Emma to accompany her on a sentimental journey to the family’s mountain cabin, the young woman reluctantly agrees. After all, her fiancé is out of town. No one will miss her. Emma could never have suspected the horror that awaits in the snow-bound cabin, for beneath Margaret Lowell’s elderly façade lies a sinister and terrifying nature—and a plot born of insanity. Alarmed by the dark plan that unfolds, Emma struggles to escape the isolated cabin in a chilling game of cat and mouse. As the danger escalates, and with little hope of rescue, Emma must engage in a battle of wills if she is to avoid becoming the final piece in Margaret’s twisted puzzle . . .
A favorite pastime of Michele’s is supporting her children in all of their activities, traveling both in and outside the United States with her husband and family, and doing research for her books. She also scuba dives. Aside from being a busy wife and mother, Michele is an aerobics instructor at the Life Centre Athletic Club near her home. Michele is the best-selling author of several books and a Christmas booklet and has also written children’s stories for the Friend magazine.
First, I would have to say that I am definitely NOT the demographic for which this book is written: male and mid-fifties. The main character is initially weak and while that is not a bad thing, by the end she was just as weak and seemingly helpless; always being rescued by her friends or her unrealistically perfect fiancé. There were numerous times this woman (Emma) could have escaped her captor, but chose to keep putting it off until just the right moment. Despite the fact that she kept stating she would escape or die trying. Really cheesy dialog at times made the book read like a B movie script. More research on how professionals really speak might make one less prolific a writer, but the end result is better for it. Please pass on this one. I am hoping the author has better offerings.
This book brings "bad" mother-in-law to a whole new level. Seriously.
When Emma's mother-in-law Margaret falls off the deep end, Emma ends up in a battle for her life. Margaret has decided that Emma will never have happiness until she is done with her. She drugs Emma, tortures her, and keeps her hostage.
Emma, struggles to find a way to escape Margaret, while her friends and fiance are out looking for her as well.
I was interested enough to see what happened, but I wasn't a fan of how it was written. It was a fast paced book, and had a lot of messed up stuff in it, that was very interesting. I just think it lacked connection between things that happened. I wish it would have flowed together better.
Having said that, the story itself was interesting. The characters were done well, and it was fascinating to see how the mother in law cracks. The whole situation is crazy. Crazy.
I am not quite sure what else to say about it. I enjoyed it enough to finish, it just was kind of "eh" for me.
Wow, this book was super suspenseful! I loved the way the plot of this book was. I really liked Emma, but she really needed to learn to tell her ex-mother-in-law "no" sometimes. I think she did learn that by the end of the book. I also liked her fiance Landon, it was obvious how much he cared for her and how concerned he was when she was missing. I really thought that Emma's friends, Jess and Cassie, were amazing. They went above and beyond in trying to figure out just what had happened to Emma. And Margaret, wow! She was a terribly evil and really well-written sinister character. She gave me the creeps! It probably didn't help that I read a great deal of this book at night in the dark on my kindle.
I thought that the plot was really well done, it kept me guessing and I didn't want to put it down. The ending was great too! I love Michelle Ashman Bell's suspense books and I can't wait to read the next one!
This started out as a nice little story and quickly turned very suspenseful! I love a good suspense and I really couldn't read this one fast enough. Emma was married to a jerk and after he passed away, his mother suddenly became very attentive to Emma, demanding a lot of her time and attention. Emma is set to remarry and doesn't think it'll hurt to honor one last request of Margaret's. But that could be the worst mistake of her life.
I couldn't help but feel Emma's panic and was desperately hoping for her to figure out some way to get out of her situation and away from insane Margaret. Just when I thought there couldn't possibly be another twist, there was. I loved the way the story took the reader on the outside occasionally, to what Emma's friends, Jess and Cassie, were doing to find her. Although we don't come to intimately know the characters, they are great and we do know they types of people they are--both good and bad. I loved the way it all wrapped up and the epilogue was perfect.
Content: no language; mild-moderate violence (due to the situation, but it wasn't graphic); mild romance (talk of infidelity with no description); moderate religious elements (most of the characters are LDS and there is a lot of praying--but really...who wouldn't pray in such a scary situation?!) Clean.
Ahhhh! What happens when an old lady goes psycho?! Very bad things. Oh man, this was a good book with one very creepy woman. Seriously, crazy stuff. But I liked it!
This is a very plot driven book. That isn't to say that the characters weren't developed or anything because they were great, but I was definitely more connected to the plot. I was desperate to find out what was coming next. What was going to happen? What was Emma going to do? And that Margaret. . . wow. CREEPY PSYCHO!!
I tore through this book- couldn't put it down. It was good stuff.
This is an LDS fiction book. The main characters are both LDS and some religious beliefs are talked about. My thanks to Covenant Communications for allowing me to read and review this book for them.
I sat down Sunday morning before church expecting to read a few chapters before I got out of bed and ready for my day. Good thing it was Fast Sunday and I have 1:00 church, because I read the entire book in one sitting! Extreme Measures is extremely fast-paced and one crazy ride (and I mean that literally). The whole time I was anxiously turning pages to see what else Margaret would do to poor Emma. What I really loved was Emma's determination to survive and fight. She was helpless at first, but as she got stronger, she was really able to keep her wits together when all was hope was crumbling around her. I really enjoyed the switch in views when the author would show us Emma's friends Cassie and Jess desperately seeking information on what happened to Emma. They were able to untangle the web of lies and deceit that Margaret did to get her scheme going. I suspected something early on as to what Margaret's intentions were with Emma, and what really was going on was even more disturbing than what I thought of. (I'm glad what happened wasn't what I thought.) Although, there was so much nail-biting suspense, I thought the ending was a perfect way to bring resolution for Emma and her fiance Landon.
4 out of 5 stars. I love a stand-alone book with tons of suspense and drama! This book has it all, and isn't the cover creepy?! Loved it.
I received a paperback copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.