Nowhere to Hide
By Jennifer Elbaum
Lovestruck Books
ISBN: 0-9786454-0-5
Romantic Suspense
200 pages
Publishing Date: 2006
$5.00 ebook or $10.95 trade paperback
Reviewer: Michelle Puffer
Alex Maguire is a waitress on the run with a little girl. The little girl, Gail, is supposedly the daughter of her very good friend, Simon, and Alex is trying to protect her. The Trust is after them and there is nowhere to hide and no one they can trust.
Simon has asked Detective Dan Greywolf (Wolf) to help Alex and Gail, and that's what he plans on doing, even if Alex drives him to distraction. He's wanted her since meeting her the year before, but the woman has trust issues. It doesn't help that, no matter where they go, The Trust seems to catch up to them. Alex starts to believe that Dan is leading them there.
The Trust trained Alex and Simon, two of The Six, years before at The School. Now, apparently, they want to get The Six back together to perform one more job. It's a life or death situation and not all is as it seems. Can Dan and Alex fight their growing attraction to take on an evil entity and win? Or will it be that attraction that saves them in the end?
Nowhere to Hide has a great plot and the background behind it is very ingenious. Unfortunately, the point-of-view shifts between the main characters every paragraph or two had my head spinning. As most of you, who read my regular reviews, are aware, I am not a fan of the head-hop. As well, I have some issues with the fact that Alex did not seem to be concerned with Gail's welfare. Alex always seemed more worried about whether Wolf was ok. I understand that Alex isn't the girls mom, or even used to be around kids, but, in my opinion, a man who is a detective can take care of himself, whereas a four-year old girl can't.
That being said, I love the premise for the story, a corrupt corporation that is training young children to do their bidding. Ms. Elbaum was able to create tension, and build a very interesting world around The School and The Trust. Oh, and I loved the ending, it was brilliant. It made me smile. I can't say more than that, but it's what makes me think the author intends to do a series with The Trust, perhaps using each of The Six. I would be interested in reading this series and I hope Jennifer Elbaum continues in writing it.
I give it 3.5 Diners
Burning Reflections
By Rachel Carrington
Samhain Publishing
ISBN: 1-59998-373-7
Romantic Suspense
179 pages
2006
$4.50
Reviewer: Michelle Puffer
When attorney Morgan Hennessey keeps turning down dates from a mild-mannered colleague, Dexter Canfield, little does she know that within him lurks the heart of a psycho who likes to play with fire. After he plays with his favourite blow torch game Morgan ends up in the hospital for quite some time, scarred both physically and emotionally. Since the psycho got away, Morgan's not sure where to turn and her ex-husband's arms are awfully tempting. He's the sheriff of her home town and she is desperate to feel safe.
Evan Hennessey has been missing Morgan since the minute she left. They had been best friends for twenty-odd years and when their marriage went south they promised they would still be friends. He wanted more than friendship and with a killer after Morgan, Evan would stop at nothing to keep her safe. So he brought her home. Determined to protect her, and remind her why they were good together, Evan never suspected the killing spree that would lead Dexter to their door.
Can Evan prove that he still loves Morgan and that her scars don’t change who she is? Will he be able to protect both Morgan and his townspeople without any more casualties? Or will Dexter allude him as he has alluded so many others and in the process destroy a love that was never meant to die?
This book started off with a heart-pounding weird feeling that lets you know things are not going to go well for the heroine. I think I sat forward in my chair as I read the first chapter. What happened was not what I expected and I think I actually gasped out loud.
Ms. Carrington has written a brilliantly evil character in Dexter Canfield. One who likes to play with fire but not really as your typical arsonist. He'd rather burn people than buildings, although I don't think he really discriminates a lot (well, I guess he does decide that hookers aren’t worth eliminating so that must count for something!) His character is well fleshed out and he gave me goose bumps.
I also loved the relationship between the hero and heroine, although I would have liked to see more reasoning behind why Morgan really left Evan in the first place. There were some answers but it didn't really satisfy me. They seemed perfect together and I guess I needed more of a reason to believe she would just walk away from that. Maybe it was that I needed more info on him being a Navy SEAL and some kind of undercover cop in New York. That was only handled very briefly so I didn't get a sense of what that was all about.
Other than that I loved this book. I liked all of the characters, found the love story real, and the suspense was very well-done.
I give it 4.5 Flames
