Anytime I can walk away from a story and keep thinking about it, I think it's a good thing. It doesn't matter if I'm thinking about what the author should have, or could have, done differently, or if I'm thinking of how great a scene was. If I walk away thinking about the story that means the author did his/her job in making me care about the characters.
 
All Of Me by B. Lynch Black did just that. Though listed as a suspense/thriller by the author I found this short story to be more romance than suspense. Susan Bean is your basic, everyday woman. When she meets the new lawyer in the firm, Gordon Davis, she's instantly taken with him. A beautiful friendship ensues in which Susan is desperately falling in love with Gordon. If you've ever had a crush on somebody then you'll understand Susan's emotions. Her feelings run deeper than infatuation; she's in love, utterly smitten with one Gordon Davis. She not only sees every similarity of things they have in common from hair and eye color down to similar histories, but she also starts planning their life together.
 
When Gordon breaks the news that he's sick, Susan rushes to the rescue. At this point the story falls into the "oh please" category. One illness after another inflicts Gordon and Susan is the only one who can help. Her love, or her insanity depending on how you look at it, pushes her to offer up herself to save Gordon despite the fact that each time she does she seems to teeter on the edge of death and illness herself. Self-sacrificing in the name of love is one of her good qualities, but the frequency and rapidity at which Gordon recovers and falls ill again become tedious and annoying in such a short story.
 
But, I gave this story a six in the rating, so you must be wondering why. Well, despite the melodramatic rush from walks in the park to knocking at death's door, All Of Me embraces human emotion at its finest and its hardest hours. Black has written a female character that the reader can relate to. It's that relation, that finding of something within the character that relates to your past or present, that makes a character feel more alive.
 
All Of Me is a short read, but four hours after my initial read through I found myself wondering about the characters. It's the "what if" moments that stood out to me. It takes a talented writer to captivate an audience and hold their interest throughout the story. Black does just that with her ability to write the scene to make the reader want to know what's going to happen next.
 
My recommendation—put the latest Steele novel on the shelf and read All Of Me . It might not be an earth shattering, roller coaster read, but you won't want to miss the ending.

Reviewed By Shunta Montgomery
© February 2007