RUNWAY DREAMS

A successful model discovers that her new husband may be hiding a dangerous secret life in this romantic thriller.

On a busy stretch of Oklahoma highway, 20-something Bernadette “Bernie” Price is driving at nearly 100 miles per hour, fully nude, in broad daylight. During her desperate flight, she reflects on the circumstances that brought her to this point. Her odyssey began 17 months earlier when she met a man named Martin Day. Despite having lived through the trauma of her parents’ divorce, Bernie had dreams of someday starting a family of her own. In the meantime, she and her sister, Bell, enjoyed thriving careers as models for their family’s agency, Price & Fitz. Bernie’s first date with Martin, a financial adviser with political aspirations, seemed like a dream come true until she discovered that he lived with several others in what seemed like a glorified frat house. Still, she offered him a second chance, and they embarked on a whirlwind courtship that led to a marriage proposal. On the eve of their wedding, though, private investigator Matthew McKinney contacted the sisters with the news that Martin is a con man suspected of murder. Although Bernie initially doubted Matthew’s story, she soon discovered that there was more to Martin than met the eye and that his secrets may put her and her family in danger. Ambers’ debut offers romantic suspense in a world of high fashion. It features memorable protagonists and a plot that unfolds with surprising twists and turns. The opening description of Bernie’s drive down the highway is vivid, and Bernie’s and Bell’s lives as successful, international fashion models are equally well-drawn. Especially notable is a description of a lingerie show, where Bernie takes Martin on a date. The relationship at the center of the novel develops quickly, and it eventually offers a gripping, harrowing depiction of how violence and deception can affect a couple. That said, the text would have been improved by a stronger edit in places, as when the phrase “per say” appears instead of “per se.”

An often intriguing debut that may appeal to fans of Nora Roberts or Jayne Ann Krentz.