Without a Word (Brava) by E. C. Sheedy is up first. Camryn Bruce's marriage has just broken up, her long-lost father is living with her, and now her best friend has been murdered. Dan Lambert thought he was getting a second chance to make his marriage work, but now he's fighting to keep his wife's daughter. This book is filled with plenty of people with grudges or who are more than slightly off-kilter (to put it politely), so figuring out whodunit isn't easy, and, by the end, doesn't seem to matter much to the story. The relationship between Camryn and Dan is awkward and not believably done--one day they're arguing about custody of the child and then suddenly Dan as feelings for her? Didn't work so well for me. Another thing that didn't work for me was the reveal of the murderer: the reader knows whodunit, but Camryn and Dan don't find out by the end of the book, which makes this one even more disappointing. If you're looking for a well-done romantic suspense, I'd suggest skipping this one.
Intimate Danger (Brava) by Amy J. Fetzer is next. Clancy McRae is not happy to have her creation hijacked by the people she works with, and furious when she finds out they've gone behind her back to test it in human subjects when their primate testing is far from complete. So she sets off to South America to try to find the soldiers who've been implanted with the device. Major Mike Gannon is also hunting for his men, and he can't quite figure out where Clancy fits into the mix. This one starts off rather violently and that aspect doesn't lighten up throughout the story. On the other hand, there is an actual, believable romance in this one, unlike the previous book this week. I did have moments, though, where I wondered what someone as smart as Clancy should be was thinking when she went off on her adventure. It made her look sometimes not too smart, which took away from the story. For me, this one was just okay--I like a little less violence with my romance, thanks--but I'm sure some of you will disagree, as always. I'm borrowing three of Cupid's five arrows for this one.
Over in the forum, we're deciding on our March book club selection, so hurry on over to help us choose what to read next month. And until next time, happy reading!
