Rose, Karen 1964–

PERSONAL:

Born 1964; married, with children. Education: University of Maryland, B.S.

ADDRESSES:

Home—FL. E-mail—karen@karenrosebooks.com.

CAREER:

Novelist. Former high school teacher of chemistry and physics.

AWARDS, HONORS:

RITA award, Best Romantic Suspense Novel, Romance Writers of America, 2005, for I'm Watching You.

WRITINGS:

Don't Tell, Warner Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Have You Seen Her?, Warner Books (New York, NY), 2004.

I'm Watching You, Warner Books (New York, NY), 2004.

(With Annie Solomon and Carla Cassidy) Hot Pursuit, Signet Eclipse (New York, NY), 2005.

Nothing to Fear, Warner Books (New York, NY), 2005.

You Can't Hide, Warner Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Count to Ten, Warner Vision Books (New York, NY), 2007.

Die for Me, Vision/Hatchette Book Group USA (New York, NY), 2007.

Also contributor to The Goddess Blogs.

SIDELIGHTS:

After working for several years as a high school chemistry and physics teacher, Karen Rose decided to follow her dream to write fiction. Her romantic thrillers have earned her a devoted audience as well as admiring reviews from critics.

Rose's debut novel, Don't Tell, tells the story of Mary Grace Winters, who has moved to Chicago with her young son after leaving an abusive marriage to a police officer. With support from a battered women's shelter, she changes her name and her son's, and gets a secretarial job. Seven years later, though, her husband is still looking for her; he wants his son back, and is prepared to do what it takes to get him—even if that means murder. A parallel plot features the passionate romance that begins to develop between Caroline, as the protagonist now calls herself, and Max, a sexy history professor at the college where Caroline works. Max has been disfigured in a car accident, and worries that Caroline's shyness with him is related to his appearance. But in time he realizes that her fear of emotional involvement has to do with her own troubled past, not his. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly felt that Rose generally handled the emotional intensity of Max and Caroline's confrontations admirably, noting that Rose conveys information about her characters "without preaching." And the reviewer deemed Don't Tell's storyline "as gripping as a cold hand on the back of one's neck."

Rose followed Don't Tell with Have You Seen Her?, a novel that a writer for Publishers Weekly praised for its complex and realistic characters and for its "heart-racing thrills, both in the bedroom and the forensics lab." The plot involves a serial killer case led by Special Agent Steven Thatcher and the mutual attraction that arises when he meets his son Brad's high school chemistry teacher, Jenna Marshall. It turns out that Brad, once an excellent student, is now flunking the course, and Jenna wants to discuss matters with Steven. The two sense an immediate bond, which intensifies after a series of bizarre accidents suggests to Steven that Jenna may be next on the killer's list. The Publishers Weekly reviewer enjoyed the novel's suspenseful plot, observing that Rose "stokes the tension to a fever pitch" and tweaks the story in surprising directions that build to a thrilling climax.

In I'm Watching You, Rose focuses on Kristen Mayhew, a hardworking assistant state's attorney in Chicago. Lonely and driven, struggling to convict bad guys who too often get away, she is devastated one day to open the trunk of her car and find the bodies of three perpetrators she had failed to convict. To each body is attached a letter to Kristen, commenting that justice has now been done. As with her previous novels, Rose adds plenty of supporting characters and a romantic interest: in this case, detective Abe Reagan, a handsome widower still grieving for his wife. A contributor to Publishers Weekly enjoyed the originality of the book's premise, but felt that Rose's "trademark tentacles of fear never fully extend" in this novel. Instead, the critic observed, the strength of I'm Watching You is in the subtle and sensitive way that Rose shows Kristen and Abe slowly learning to trust what is in their hearts. I'm Watching You won the Romance Writers of America's RITA award for Best Romantic Suspense.

A serial killer also features in Nothing to Fear, which Library Journal reviewer Kristin Ramsdell described as "riveting." Rose again uses the plot device of a woman and her son seeking help at a battered women's shelter—but unlike the innocent protagonist of Don't Tell, the Jane Smith in this novel is really a murderer. The boy traveling with her is not her son; she has drugged and kidnapped him, with sinister plans in mind. Rose sends the boy's godfather to the rescue, with results that critics considered satisfyingly thrilling.

You Can't Hide introduces psychiatrist Tess Ciccotelli, who becomes a suspect after several of her patients die under mysterious circumstances. Investigating detective Aidan Reagan is hardly unbiased about the case: he is still angry with Tess because actions she took on behalf of a killer allowed the perpetrator to avoid standing trial. Tess needs to convince the police that she is innocent, while also dealing with her strong attraction to Aidan—who slowly warms to her as well, realizing that his harsh judgment of her had been wrong. Aidan also realizes that Tess herself is in danger—because the person responsible for her patients' deaths wants her dead as well.

In Count to Ten, detective Mia Mitchell, Abe Reagan's partner in I'm Watching You, is assigned to an arson/murder case. With Abe in the hospital, Mia must work with Fire Department Lt. Reed Solliday to solve the crime. Rose "cranks up the heat in more ways than one," observed a Publishers Weekly reviewer, who added that the novel's interesting secondary characters and subplots add up to an engaging whole.

In Die For Me, detective Vito Ciccotelli and forensic archaeologist Sophie Johannsen team up to find a serial killer who has buried victims in a remote field— and has dug several empty graves as well. Who is intended to occupy them, and will the investigators find the killer in time? It eventually becomes evident that the villain has his sights on Sophie—who has now taken up a spot in Vito's heart.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Bookseller, June 22, 2007, Wendy Onions, review of Count to Ten, p. 13; June 22, 2007, review of Count to Ten, p. 12.

Library Journal, August 1, 2005, Kristin Ramsdell, review of Nothing to Fear, p. 63.

Publishers Weekly, May 26, 2003, review of Don't Tell, p. 55; December 8, 2003, review of Have You Seen Her?, p. 51; September 20, 2004, review of I'm Watching You, p. 51; December 4, 2006, review of Count to Ten, p. 40.