Every Breath You Take: A Novel

Written by Judith McNaught

Narrated by Laura Dean

Unforgettable characters, sizzling romance, and riveting suspense: These are the trademarks of beloved author Judith McNaught. With millions of devoted fans and ten New York Times bestsellers to date, McNaught is a writer whose work just gets better with each new novel-and Every Breath You Take is the book readers have been waiting for. Returning to the lavish Chicago setting of her popular novel Paradise, and revisiting some of that book's characters as well, this story will captivate in inimitable Judith McNaught style.

High atop a snow-covered hill, the stately old Wyatt mansion is perched like a crown, its stone spires pointing upward, its stained glass windows glowing like colorful jewels. Such opulence means success and, surely, happiness. But on the eve of wealthy philanthropist Cecil Wyatt's eightieth birthday, all the money in the world won't bring back his missing grandson, William Wyatt. The only thing for certain: Foul play was involved.

The family, the police, the media-all have tried in vain to discover the young man's fate. Now suspicion has turned shockingly toward William's own half-brother, the rather distant and enigmatic Mitchell Wyatt.

Kate Donovan never dreamed that a chance romantic encounter on a tropical island paradise would tag her as a suspect in a high-society murder case. But after Kate tangles with the darkly charismatic Mitchell Wyatt, she finds herself cast in a shadow of guilt and mistrust. As the Chicago police tighten their net, it will take all of Kate's ingenuity to clear her name. With her calm, cool wit, and the help of a man who may or may not be a dangerous catch, Kate vows to claim the life and love she desires.


From the Hardcover edition.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio
• Release date: Feb 14, 2005
• ISBN: 9781415929537

Judith McNaught

Judith McNaught is the #1 New York Times bestselling author who first soared to stardom with her stunning bestseller Whitney, My Love, and went on to win the hearts of millions of readers with Once and Always, Something Wonderful, A Kingdom of Dreams, Almost Heaven, Paradise, Perfect, Until You, Remember When, Someone to Watch Over Me, the #1 New York Times bestseller Night Whispers, and many other novels. There are more than thirty million copies of her books in print. She lives in Texas. 

Reviews for Every Breath You Take

[angelzinhamia · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I was very disappointed reading this book. I've read "Paradise" froths author and even though it's a huge book I enjoyed it very much. So when I found this one available in my library I promptly borrowed it. Big mistake.
There's cheating and that's a big no-no for me. It's a very predictable story.

I like the hero, Mitchel Wyatt but I couldn't stand the heroin. She was a dumbass cheater.

Very, very disappointing.

[abshepherd · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

When I pick a book up and can only make myself read it for 10 minutes before putting it back down - repeatedly - this is a sign of (in my humble opinion) a bad book. Unfortunately, this is the case with this book. I managed to read up to page 205 before I put this book down for good.

I found the characters incredibly "unrelatable" and arrogant all around. Maybe that was the author's intent. But I finally put the book down for good when Kate, after being a complete idiot and deciding Mitchell had been playing her simply because he had checked out of the hotel that HE had not been staying at, not only didn't follow through with their agreed upon meeting to see if he would show up, but to add insult to injury she agreed to an engagement with a man she is not in love with just because she is disillusioned EVEN THOUGH SHE NEVER GAVE MITCHELL A CHANCE TO SHOW UP FOR THEIR MEETING!!! This is the kind of heroine I just cannot stand.

Sorry Judith. This book is rubbish.

[saltygirl_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Oh no! After McNaught's impressive SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME, I thought the old Judith might have returned. Alas..... this book was pretty disappointing. Kate wasn't very admirable. I don't want to sound like a prude, but it is hard to root for someone who is cheating on her boyfriend. I know, I know, her boyfriend is a scoundrel and deserves what he gets, but SHE didn't know that when she starts her fling with Mitchel. This book was weak on the romance and weighed down with a lot of glamorous parties, vacations, etc. Yawn. I know these things are expected in a McNaught novel, but they aren't the reason I read them. I read McNaught for her wonderful characters, the fantastic dialog, the chemistry that sparks off the page. This book just fell a little flat.

[mickeycat_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked this book as a whole. I enjoyed the story line and was anxious to see how it ended but its' large time gaps and leaps into the future without logic made it difficult for me to grasp the story as reality sometimes. I suppose this is just a personal preference, but I like a story that flows so seamlessly that I believe it might be happening nextdoor. This was stilted and jerky in places. I did, however, enjoy it overall - I just had the feeling the editor made the author trim the story to fit onto less pages.

[cailin_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Sometimes you just need a good romantic story and Judith McNaught never disappoints.

[nyiper · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Pretty good for a quick romantic story. My only quibble is with the title--which should be "With Every Breath I Take" rather than "YOU Take." The end was a little too speedy after too lengthy a time for when something had to happen to bring about a closure to the story.

[ak_momma · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I absolutely loved this book. I love Judith's writing style very much. I am always in suspense! Fell in love with the characters and rooted for them the entire time. Glad I had plenty of free time to read this one because I could not put it down!

[zeek319_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read it in one night. It's JM's usual story. Girl meets Uber-wealthy Alpha Male, falls in love, than something happens to make one or both think the other has betrayed them and they separate, only to come together in the end realizing how stupid and wrong about the other they were.Yes, it was exactly like Perfect and Paradise by this author, in fact the heroes and heroines from those two novels make an appearance, and though I enjoyed EBYT, the fact that it was exactly like her others causes a sliver of trouble in my soul.I started reading Mcnaught's books way back when, and I *think* I've read her entire backlist. She's an old favorite who I used to autobuy. I know so well her mcnaughtizing of a plot- after the get-together and prompt fall-out, I felt compelled to skim until they got back together. The problem is that left out a third of the book for me.So, I have to say, the plot involving who actually murdered the heroes estranged family members (She thinks it was the hero. Silly girl), became lost on me. It was easy enough to spot the real killer when she dropped the first clue, however I have no idea why the killer finally confessed.Deh, doesn't really matter because the part I enjoyed the most- the get together, I savored, and in the end, when they got back together, I sighed in relief. Mcnaught hadn't disappointed and even with the same ending as all her other books, I left the book glad I read it.She may not have changed her style in twenty years, but then that's ok with me. Predictability is a good thing when you've been so disappointed of late with favorite authors who changed their styles.I wish more of my old favs would do the same.

[libgirl28 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was my first Judith McNaught book and it was so good, I'm a major fan now!! I love how McNaught sets up her stories by giving you background info and then follows through. You're never left hanging! The relationships of her characters pull you and don't let go! Wonderful story, amazing romance and suspense! I definitely recommend Every Breath You Take!!

[bookconcierge · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Digital audio read by Laura Dean Excerpted from the book jacket: Kate Donovan never dreamed that a chance romantic encounter on a tropical island paradise would involve her in a high-society murder case. But after she tangles with the darkly charismatic Mitchell [Wyatt], Kate finds herself a player in a lethal game of guilt and deception. My reactionsOkay, I knew it was a romance novel going into it. Still the writing was just dreadful – full of stereotypical characters, romance tropes and clichés. I kept laughing out loud as I listened because it was so bad. However … it’s is markedly better than the publisher’s blurb on the book jacket (though that’s not saying much).That being said, it was hugely entertaining. It was a fast read (or listen) and I enjoyed it. I can certainly see why McNaught is a best-selling author.The audio book is read by Laura Dean, and she does a fine job. Too bad she doesn’t have better material to work with.

[lauren2013_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Every Breath You Take
2 Stars

Quickie Review

Boring and drawn out.
Couldn't care less about the characters and the mystery is contrived.
The secret baby theme is not a favorite of mine but it is handled quite well and is the only redeeming quality.

[janes44 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

love this book did not enjoy the voice used for Mitchell

[JoEllen Wilson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

memorable characters,engaging,twists&turns plotting...Judith Mc Naught never disappoints!!

[cranberrytarts · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've been in a nasty reading funk. So what do I do to get myself out of it? Re-read!

It's been years since I read this book. I recall liking it the first time around, but not loving it. I think that's because I read the hardcover version, which is missing some key scenes. The paperback, which I always enjoy more, has quite a few deleted scenes along with some bonus material. If you're going to read it, I highly recommend you read the paperback.

As with all McNaught novel, this is angsty and filled with misunderstandings and miscommunications. And as with all her other novels, McNaught makes it work. I wish she'd release her next book already.

[versha.bharat · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Judith McNaught’s Every breath you take was a predictable story which is some what similar to her other book ‘Perfect’ with a little bit of suspense . But still I liked this book the first reason being.. I am a great fan of her writing style.. her way of portraying each character and their emotions both are amazing and justifiable and the other reason is that I read her book after a long gap. The thing is if you finish reading JM’s book you immediately tend to read the next one but if you do so you will feel monotonous! So its better to have gaps in between! :)
My Rating 3.5/5

[gogglemiss · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

First half was good, but then the story seemed to go a bit awry and the characters seemed to change throughout. Rather disappointing. 

[kayceel_4 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Woman meets man, they fall in love, have hot sex, misunderstandings ensue and three years later they manage to reconcile. Pretty sub par – the plots surrounding their misunderstandings and reconciliation, a murder and kidnapping, were talked about being very important but were treated very unimportantly by the actual story. Uninteresting, but sadly, could have had potential.