TEST
Calling Compromising Positions a great series romance really isn’t fair to it or most series romances. For one thing, there’s its length. This book has some of the smallest typeface I’ve ever seen in a Silhouette release (reset at the size of the average Avon release, the book would likely come in at 400 pages), which gives the impression this is a longer book squeezed into a series length.
More than its actual length, it feels like a longer book. While most series romances, and many romantic suspense novels, jump into the story on the first page, Compromising Positions unfolds more gradually. There’s a slowly building sense of menace that increases over the first few chapters before the reader really gets a sense of where the story is going and what is happening, which makes for a much more complex and interesting read.
Dr. Angela Byerly and District Attorney Jesse Hadley don’t meet under the best circumstances. Angela is the first woman and youngest person ever to be named Chief Medical Examiner in Philadelphia. The position is the culmination of a great deal of work on her part and when she feels she’s being undermined, she goes straight to the source: Jesse.
The body of a probable murder victim was released by the morgue before she had a chance to perform an autopsy, with an authorization from the DA. She wants an explanation. While he’s intrigued by her, he doesn’t have one. Someone forged his signature to the authorization form. It’s an odd, but apparently minor incident.
The two later meet again at a society wedding. There’s an obvious chemistry between them, and Jesse is drawn to this woman who is different than the debutantes and society types he usually deals with. For her part, Angela has reasons to be wary about getting involved with someone with a very different background from her own. Then events begin to occur that makes it clear the forged authorization form was no simple mistake, but the beginning of a complicated plot targeting each of them.
I won’t mention more than that, because one of the reasons the book is so good is that uncertainty regarding what is going on, and why. It’s probably safe to say that a despicable villain emerges, and the stakes are slowly raised until the tension is unbearable, with the hero and heroine fighting for their lives.
Because of the way the story unfolds, the reader is able to get a sense of the characters before they’re plunged into the suspense plot. Angela and Jesse are both smart, strong honorable people with complicated histories that come into play in what is happening to them. Compromising Positions is one of those too rare romantic suspense novels that really delivers an excellent romance and gripping suspense in one story. It’s expertly plotted, balancing character moments and an intricate storyline that seldom slows. Instead, it steadily builds momentum, getting faster and more intense with every chapter.
The critic in me feels obligated to mention there are some small flaws, like some head-hopping (the opening scene seems to change POV every other paragraph). But this book provides so much that outweighs any weaknesses. It’s more intense, more complex, more gripping, more compelling than most romance readers have probably come to expect from many romances, let alone a “mere” series romance. It has such a wider scope and larger feel that it’s really not fair to compare to most series romances, but it remains one of the best ever I’ve read.
Grade: A
Book Type: Romantic Suspense|Series Romance
Sensuality: Subtle
Review Date: 12/06/03
Publication Date: 1997/04
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Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.