Product Description

Targeted for murder after she takes custody of a mysterious notebook, Karen Whitlaw is protected by detective Marc Chastain, with whom she begins a passionate relationship while they seek to uncover the mystery behind the notebook's past. Reprint.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #34310 in Books
• Published on: 2003-12-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 320 pages

Customer Reviews

flawless Multi-POV makes this a Howard masterpiece
Linda Howard has been one of the long time writers on my Keeper Shelf. She just delivers time and again with tales that keep you mesmerized by her talent. This is just another in the line of super reads penned since Howard rebounded from her back troubles in the mid 1990's.

Karen Whitlaw is still having to adjust to losing her mother, when she finds an odd parcel in the mail. A package from the father she has not seen in years. Ever since his return from the Vietnam War, he has been out of her life. Having trouble with accepting her mother's death, she does not want to deal with anything from her absent father. She puts the notebook from the parcel away - and promptly forgets about it. Until she receives another blow - a call from a New Orleans detective saying her father was murdered on their streets. The kind sounding detective, Mac Chastain, just chalks the death up to another street crime, endless violence in the gritty life of a homeless man, so Karen is willing to accept his verdict. Marc is unaware of the death of Karen's mother, and the numb state she is in, so he chalks her up to being cold, heartless when she does not show reaction over her father's death.

Only, slowly Karen becomes aware the crime was made to look like nothing more than senseless violence. Some one breaks into her home, and Karen is convinced they are after the notebook she put aside and dismissed from her mind. Fearful, she examines the book and discovers her father was a sniper in Vietnam. Through the worn pages, she is shocked to discover the book is a list of everyone of his kills.

Karen now feels she is running for her life, because someone wants that book. He has killed once, thus one hesitate to kill again. There is only one person she can trust: Marc Chastain. Together they must find the answers before they are the killer's next targets.

I always enjoy New Orleans as a setting for Romance books. The city has such a old world charm, the quirkiness of the people, that it's a brilliant locale for a story, giving both the glamour and seediness that exist comfortably hand in hand. Howard mines that used the sensual backdrop, giving the reader a strongly detailed story with a strong hero and heroine that will keep you breathless to the end.

With flawless Mutli-POV (point of view) that permits the reader to know both characters equally well, it just does not get any better than this!

Dont be put off by the cover
THis was my first Linda Howard book but it wont be my last. I have ordered three more....The sex scenes were hot, the pace was fast and the characters well defined ( the author even jokingly refers to Marc as an ALPHA male- he SO is...) Im sure I will read this one again.

One of Howard's Best!
If you're new to Linda Howard, or even a hesistant-romance reader, this is definitely the book to cut your teeth on! Howard pays great attention to detail in describing her characters-- the dark world of an ex-sniper, the life of an ER nurse, the nuts and bolts of being a detective, and she brings to life the steamy atmosphere of New Orleans. If you're not a romance reader you can still appreciate the suspense and mystery. I gave it to my husband when I finished reading it (he disdains romance) and even he enjoyed it. The main characters are both admirable and people you cheer for to get together, and when they do the smoke wafts from the pages! Once into this book I did not put it down until I was finished-at 2:20 am!