A wisp of a story deftly spun to novel length—with a zippy style to keep it going.
Been-there, done-that babe falls for Mr. Nice Guy, in a first from romancer Kauffman.
Tanzy Harrington prefers supersexy, totally irresponsible men, and she’s bedded plenty of them. Good old dependable dudes who have Husband Material stamped on them just don’t do it for her, and she’s not afraid to let the readers of her Bay Area online romance column know she’s the Last Bridesmaid and proud of it (pages of breezy chat with her fans and friends make the point ever so clear). In her wonderful world are two kinds of men: Sheep and Wolves. Fortunately, she seems to have an unbreakable heart, though she herself has broken a few, and nothing has ever gone wrong in her little moral universe. Marriage is fine for the other Sheep but baaaaaaaaaaad for her (quite a few ovine sound effects punctuate this narrative, interspersed with greeting-card wisdom from snappy-talking Tanzy). But her aristocratic Aunt Millicent, a silver-haired Vassar graduate who never lets anyone forget it, thinks that Tanzy needs something more in her consequence-free life. Tanzy thinks Millicent’s latest choice is definitely a Sheep—or is security expert Riley Parrish really a Wolf? When an anonymous fan begins to harass Tanzy, Riley steps in, though she doesn’t know that Millicent paid him to protect her. He’s happy to accompany sexy Tanzy to San Francisco soirees, even get up close and personal in the back of a limo if the job calls for it, but he’s much too cool to get wrapped around her pretty little finger. She can’t figure out why she’s so attracted to him, since he definitely isn’t her type—is he? The subplot moves glacially toward various suspects: Could it be the creepy middle-aged geek? The frumpy blond lesbian with a secret crush? Maybe it’s a creepy middle-aged geek masquerading as an obsessed lesbian! Or . . . .
A wisp of a story deftly spun to novel length—with a zippy style to keep it going.Pub Date: June 3, 2003
ISBN: 0-553-38222-5
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Bantam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2003
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A little slower-paced than the typical Roberts romantic mystery (Black Hills, 2009, etc.) but every bit as steamy. It may...
A dog trainer and a wood craftsman dance around love and danger in the Pacific Northwest.
Fiona Bristow is the only victim who got away from serial killer George Perry. Now a copycat, inspired and perhaps guided by the jailed Perry, is on her trail. After Perry murdered her fiancé, Fiona rebuilt her life as a dog trainer and search-and-rescue expert on lovely Orcas Island. She’s recently met talented woodworker Simon Doyle and his misbehaving puppy Jaws, and her dormant love life is about to revive as she and the reluctant Simon slowly build a complicated relationship. Though she’s done her best to overcome her fears and make herself whole again, this new series of killings, with herself as the ultimate target, can’t help but strain her nerves. As the police and FBI track the killer, a persistent reporter makes Fiona’s life more difficult by printing information about her life and location. Through it all, Fiona keeps working. As she continues to go on rescue missions with a team that may soon include Simon and Jaws, her friends help to keep her balanced. But ultimately it will be the trust she has built up with Simon and the talents of her dogs that will change her life forever.
A little slower-paced than the typical Roberts romantic mystery (Black Hills, 2009, etc.) but every bit as steamy. It may well add dog lovers to her legion of fans.Pub Date: July 7, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-399-15657-1
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: March 6, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2010
A smooth blend of suspense and romance. As ever, the author's trademark effortless style keeps a complex plot moving without...
Megaselling Roberts (River's End, 1999, etc.) goes to Napa Valley for the tale of an Italian-American family wine producers rocked by scandal and a series of murders.
Dynasty head Tereza Giambelli knows that her granddaughter Sophia is the only family member capable of running a multimillion-dollar wine business—and no one contradicts La Signora. It's just as well the lovely young woman is still single: Tereza has plans for her. The matriarch has recently married Eli MacMillan, the American founder of another famous wine company. Eli's grandson Tyler knows everything there is to know about producing wine, from the vineyard to the vat. Ruggedly handsome, intelligent and earthy, he's a perfect match for public-relations whiz Sophia—or so thinks Tereza. The two young people begin to work together; Tyler teaches Sophia the fine art of making wine and making love. But other family members hope to claim their share of the Giambelli fortune, and people start dying mysteriously, including Sophia's good-for-nothing father, Tony Avano. Long divorced from long-suffering Pilar Giambelli, Tony led an opulent, self-indulgent life that provides plenty of murder suspects. He might have been killed by the mob, or a jealous mistress, or his spoiled brother-in-law, Tereza's lazy son, who's produced a passel of brats with his foolish Italian wife in the hopes of making Tereza happy. Everyone has a motive, and nothing is what it seems, Sophia discovers, but Tyler stands by her. Then a bottle of tainted merlot kills a company exec. A tragic mishap caused by poisonous plants growing near the vines? Or deliberate product tampering intended to destroy the company? Sophia and Tyler will need to delve even deeper into the convoluted and sometimes unsavory history of the family and its three-generation business.
A smooth blend of suspense and romance. As ever, the author's trademark effortless style keeps a complex plot moving without a hitch.Pub Date: March 19, 2001
ISBN: 0-399-14712-8
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2001
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