WINTER BREAK

What's truth and what's vicious rumor may be key to a slander campaign that sets a holiday cruise on course for murder.

Didi Randall refuses to believe that Drake Shaw, her longtime boyfriend, could be guilty of rape. His jerk housemate, Seth Downey, at Lancaster University is a different story. Wealthy and handsome, in a blond all-American way, Seth's cruelty—which includes feeding a kitten to a snake—is legendary. He could be guilty of rape—or worse—and Didi is forced to consider that her love may know more than he's telling. But Didi believes she knows her man, and that he has become the victim of a slur campaign. Still, something is going on, and a campus suicide only raises more questions. When winter break rolls in, Didi is only too glad for a chance to get away on a Caribbean cruise that offers the chance for her and Drake to patch things up. Didi has her own demons; she'd accidentally killed someone while drunk driving. So she understands a thing or two about forgiveness and second chances. But when the rape victim contacts her with a convoluted story about who might have really attacked her, and about the supposed friend who tried to twist her story, a sordid tale of retribution and revenge surfaces. Written in a straightforward style, this suspenseful thriller by romance author Perrin (Spring Break, 2010, etc.) is a fast read. With all its gossip and dating heartbreak, it could appeal to younger readers, although the R-rated depictions of rape and violence may be a bit much.

A pulse-raising read perfect for a winter getaway.