From veteran romance writer Robert (An Indecent Proposal, 2016, etc.), this is a great addition to Montlake Romance’s...
Sexy sheriff Zach Owens needs help penetrating a mysterious cult in his Rocky Mountain town of Clear Springs, Montana.
When one teenage girl turns up dead and another is reported missing, Zach can’t ignore the signs that there might be a serial killer on the loose. Both girls came into contact with Martha Collins, the charismatic leader of a cultlike commune called Elysia. On the surface, the commune seems like a harmless place concerned with meditation, rebirth, and alpaca farming. While Zach doesn’t like their emphasis on blind obedience, he’s never had reason to suspect criminal activity, except for the fact that Martha’s loyal guards won’t let Zach past the gates in order to investigate. Suddenly Martha’s estranged daughter, Eden, now an FBI agent, shows up to offer her help. She’s the only one who can get into Elysia and investigate its connection to the two girls. Eden isn’t thrilled about going back into Elysia, a place she survived and escaped, but she wants answers and she wants to help Zach. Though Zach and Eden don’t know if they can trust each other, they do know they share a powerful attraction. As Eden gets closer to the truth, and real danger, Zach finds himself in a race against time to catch the killer and save the woman he loves. This cross-genre mystery/romance is fast-paced and suspenseful, with zesty dialogue and likable characters. The darkness of the crime provides heft to the story, raising the stakes while giving the main characters plenty of reason to discuss the case in private as they try, and fail, to resist each other. Sometimes the sex scenes feel too sudden and awkwardly inserted into the narrative, but it’s a forgivable flaw in a novel that successfully integrates so many other elements of the mystery, thriller, and romance genres.
From veteran romance writer Robert (An Indecent Proposal, 2016, etc.), this is a great addition to Montlake Romance’s innovative mixed-genre repertoire.Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5039-4091-8
Page Count: 344
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 4, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2016
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an...
True love flares between two people, but they find that circumstances always impede it.
On a winter day in London, Laurie spots Jack from her bus home and he sparks a feeling in her so deep that she spends the next year searching for him. Her roommate and best friend, Sarah, is the perfect wing-woman but ultimately—and unknowingly—ends the search by finding Jack and falling for him herself. Laurie’s hasty decision not to tell Sarah is the second painful missed opportunity (after not getting off the bus), but Sarah’s happiness is so important to Laurie that she dedicates ample energy into retraining her heart not to love Jack. Laurie is misguided, but her effort and loyalty spring from a true heart, and she considers her project mostly successful. Perhaps she would have total success, but the fact of the matter is that Jack feels the same deep connection to Laurie. His reasons for not acting on them are less admirable: He likes Sarah and she’s the total package; why would he give that up just because every time he and Laurie have enough time together (and just enough alcohol) they nearly fall into each other’s arms? Laurie finally begins to move on, creating a mostly satisfying life for herself, whereas Jack’s inability to be genuine tortures him and turns him into an ever bigger jerk. Patriarchy—it hurts men, too! There’s no question where the book is going, but the pacing is just right, the tone warm, and the characters sympathetic, even when making dumb decisions.
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read.Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-57468-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
To her usual mix of love, mystery, and passion, Roberts (Sanctuary, 1997, etc.)—author of 115 romancers in some 17 years—adds Renaissance art and a decidedly Medici-like family: the Joneses of Maine. Dr. Miranda Jones, nearly six feet with flaming red hair and a glacial reserve, is an archeometrist who specializes in the analyzing and dating of Renaissance bronze sculpture. Miranda hopes to secure a world-class reputation for herself by authenticating a 15th-century statue of the Dark Lady, one of the mistresses of Lorenzo the Magnificent, as the undiscovered work of a young Michelangelo. Miranda's mother, Dr. Elizabeth Standford-Jones, the emotionally remote director of the Standjo art lab in Florence, has summoned her daughter from the family's Victorian cliffside home in Jones Point, Maine, to test the statue. Meanwhile, Miranda's father, equally remote, is an archaeologist who spends more time at his digs than at home. In fact, no one in the Jones family has made a successful run at marriage, a failure that Miranda and her alcoholic brother Andrew call the Jones curse. As for the statue, when it's discovered to be a fake, Miranda sets out to prove that someone stole the original. In this she's helped by gorgeous art thief Ryan Boldari (half-Italian, half-Irish), who's come to Jones Point to steal yet another bronze, which also turns out to be a forgery. Ryan's plan had been to use Miranda as a pawn, but now, naturally, he finds himself falling hard for her. While the two search for bronzes, a standard-issue romance-novel psychotic is stalking them. Most readers will twig to the killer's identity: Here, as always, Roberts's sexual tension is more compelling than her suspense. Perhaps it's time to take a sabbatical from the pink sweatshop and turn her considerable wit and narrative skills to a more original piece of work.
Pub Date: March 23, 1998
ISBN: 0-399-14387-4
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1998
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