Narrated by Kate Rudd Karen Robards has written some of my favorite books and I count her as a favorite author. Sadly, those juicy books that stir my blood were written a long time ago. Sleepwalker is romantic suspense that is lackluster in the romance department and short on suspense. It has elements of romantic…
Too often it seems when a book is labeled “romantic suspense” the story is either light on one or the other. If the romance is developed fully, frequently the suspense is lacking. Or, the romance suffers as a consequence of the suspense plot. Sleepwalker fell into the latter category for me. Micayla “Mick” Lange is…
Remember the wonderful John Robie from To Catch A Thief? Or the dashing Thomas Crown from The Thomas Crown Affair? Or any one of the men played by Cary Grant in Charade? These characters were all charming, charismatic gentlemen thieves. Somehow they manage to make a heinous crime seem like nothing so much as a…
Lie to Me, the author’s first book, was a DIK for me, so I was excited to read this one, particularly when I learned it features characters from her first book. While I enjoyed Thieves Like Us for the most part, it didn’t live up to the first book, and I’m not sure how well…
If you prefer your romances uncomplicated and your heroes to be winning examples of morality, this isn’t the book for you. Shining in the Sun is as far from uncomplicated as you can get, and both heroes walk the line of moral ambiguity, one much more than the other. But those qualities are part of…
The last time I gave a DIK to Suzanne Enoch, it was London’s Perfect Scoundrel, about a seriously bad boy scoundrel (duh) who falls for a proper lady and rescues her from her uncaring, exploitative family. Now, normally when I encounter repeat plots I start thinking the author’s run out of juice, but when the…
Laughter of Dead Kings is the long-awaited final episode in Elizabeth Peters’ Vicky Bliss series. While I found it to be an enjoyable read, my appreciation must be placed within the context of being a longtime fan of Ms. Peters’ Amelia Peabody series, as well as a more recent fan of this one. Vicky Bliss…
It’s a given, for me, that any book Shana Abe creates will be a beautifully written, lyrical story that captures all your senses. She could probably turn my grocery list into some type of poetry. But is that enough? No. If there isn’t enough plot and character dimension, all the lush descriptions would fall to…
I’ve tried several previous Westerns by Jodi Thomas, but this was the first I truly enjoyed. While it isn’t perfect, it is a sweet and effective romance from start to finish. Travis McMurray is a half-Irish, half-Apache Texas Ranger. His father was killed when he was very young, and his mother died soon after giving…
Okay, so sexy (British, no less!) 33-year old billionaires are pretty scarce on the ground. Ditto a mid-twenties professional female thief who scales walls and enters lavish mansions through sun roofs and windows to steal rare objects of art. But, anybody willing to forget about reality and let themselves go with Ms. Enoch’s improbable, over-the-top,…