There were a couple nice twists within this fast moving mystery romance but on the whole, too much romantic passion and not enough passionate mystery. The killer is as annoying as he is evil and obviously guilty from the get go. His habit of spouting movie quotes wears thin really fast—especially since the lines chosen are mostly over-played before appearing in the story (first line quoted is the box of chocolates line from Forest Gump—knew I was in trouble at that point). Every description feels like it is mundanely described twice as if that will make it more vivid instead of just using a clean fresh description. Maybe she’s just padding her word count. There are attempts to make you question who the killer is, but since the only other viable option presented is the romantic female lead, and you just know a happy ending is coming, so that limits the options really to one. I was practically praying for the irrational insertion of someone else just to make it interesting. The initial meeting and hook up of the romantic leads turns out to have occurred for such a ludicrous reason that I was angry for the rest of the book. Also frustrating that two adults who are supposedly at the top of their respective professional worlds (ace defense attorney and art gallery owner) seem to have the emotional maturity of twelve year olds. Especially frustrating is the male lead. Supposed to be the most sought after defense attorney in the country—which would seem to indicate a certain sharpness of mind—who loses any analytical ability the moment any distraction occurs. The conclusion does gather some steam…but by then I was just pushing through to finish it. Maybe I was creating my own steam. ( )

I really liked this book. she is becoming a favorite author! ( )

I really liked this book. she is becoming a favorite author! ( )

Very good, suspenseful thriller. A very surprise ending. ( )

Another can't-put-it-down suspense romance from Sandra Brown. Great stuff as usual. This one was at times a little darker than her others but all's well that ends well.

I did get a little tired of a character denying their own feelings over and over. Or, not seeing the danger ahead - even though they've GOT TO - and as the reader, I may have said to myself, "Oh come ON" a time or two. But still, a solid read.

A 3.8 so I upped it to 4.0. ( )