Something So Beautiful is a romantic thriller where Mary Williams, a widower, struggles with finding normalcy in her everyday life even though she is tormented with silent phone calls and car horns blaring into the night. Mary swears she’s going insane, living in fear of the icy, murderous fingers creeping out from the shadows. That is, until she meets John Beller, a carpenter who immediately becomes enamored with Mary, and she him. He makes her feel safe, but she fears her delusions may drive him away. 

Personally, I love a good stalker thriller. Those footsteps you think you hear but couldn’t possibly be there, the whispering breaths you feel on the back of your neck even though you’re alone, they’re so compelling! A good writer can make the tiny hairs on your arms stand up as  the main character questions, “Did I imagine that?” Lee Dawna is just as skillful as Lisa Jackson in that regard. 

As effective as the suspenseful scenes were, however, there were aspects of the development that I thought could have used more time. First was the progression of John and Mary’s relationship. This is just my opinion, not everyone may feel this way, but I thought the intensity and speed at which their relationship moved was a bit jarring and came off as not believable. That said, it was addressed in the novel several times, so the shock could be what the author was going for. So I’ll leave it up to the individual reader to decide.

Another drawback was the imbalance of description and action versus dialogue. Most of the story seems to be a back and forth of arguments between John and Mary. He wants to do something for her, she wants to do it herself, he insists, and then they make up. In my opinion, a lot of the dialogue could have been stripped down and more action could have taken place. 

Despite these oversights, I found this to be a very enjoyable read with a quick pace and a gripping story line that keeps the reader glued to their seat. I would recommend it to lovers of romance and suspenseful thrillers.