Yes, a page turner, but not a smooth read due to editing errors, clunky sentence structure at times, and narrative inconsistencies. I realised this was the second book in the series and at times was a little confused. There were two stories in the book, I wonder if it could have been made into two different books. I was concerned at how the character Holly was portrayed from the time she met Harris and her lack of emotion over the events of her wedding night, I think this could have been treated a bit more realistically. The other thing Mr Zwagerman needs to consider is having the wives of his friends do the cooking, getting drinks, cleaning up while she sends the men off to have a drink or talk, to have two wives do this was a bit too gender stereotyped for me. Something else that confused me was why would Jayne name the baby after the father she hated so much?
I felt the character of Millie was well fleshed out and I liked her.
Overall it’s a three from me. ( )

Title: Beyond Contempt
Author: Jeff Zwagerman
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:

"Beyond Contempt" by Jeff Zwagerman

My Speculation:

I will say that this was undoubtedly one read that will keep your attention turning the pages to see what was coming next in Sander Van Zee, better known as Zander's world. This story will be all over the place from Zander's 'romantic interest, Aubrey being kidnapped' on to his entertaining friends [Fats & Fran]who are involved with having to get rid of a body. Now this will not be the end of this story because Zander finds out that he now has a baby with someone named Sara Jane now known as Jayne. What will happen next for Zander as his world that seems to be so out of control with all that is going on in his life? There will be some fascinating characters in the story that are well developed, some complex, as well as defined that will present to the readers one good story that will leave one in awe. The ending was somewhat strange, but I feel like the reader will probably like it if the story continues. Certainly, Zander still has something left on his plate that will need to be attended to very soon. How all of that will turn out, I guess we will have to wait and see if there will be more to this story. All in all, this was one excellent fascinating 'Beyond Contempt' read that I would recommend.

Thank you to the author for the gift of the read and me giving my honest opinion of 'Beyond Contempt.' ( )

I wrote an earlier review, but it seems to be lost as sometimes happens with online work. Following is a second review submitted to Amazon.

Really enjoyed this book. Received as a digital review copy and the only thing I could advise is a better editing review prior to release.

This was book 4, reading in order would be best, but author provided enough background to allow basic understanding without too much recapping which can kill a second book IF you'd read the first.

IMPORTANT: order of reading and editing errors in no way stopped my reading and enjoying this book. It grabbed me from the first chapter and held my interest to the last page and left me wanting more - therefore it's a winner.

Zander’s new romantic interest, Aubrey, is kidnapped right in front of him, and he never saw it coming. He needs to engage an old friend or two to help him try to attempt a rescue. Unfortunately, another problem rears its head before he has a chance to make good on his rescue plan. Zander finds out he’s a father. Before he has time to even process that fact, something else hits him right in the gut. His newborn daughter has been kidnapped.

Ill-advised decisions from his previous life continue to haunt Zander. When he finally has a chance to find happiness in the mountains of Colorado with Aubrey, everything falls apart. Most people might give up, but that’s when we find Zander at his best. He needs to be in control, and he needs to make his own plans. Combining both sets of these problems, however, might prove to be too much even for Zander. ( )