Hello, and welcome back! It's cooled down a little here, but it still feels like summer. And later this week, it's going to feel even more like summer with hotter temps and much more humidity: perfect reading weather, indoors. I discovered yesterday it's possible to get sunburned sitting in the shade of a canopy, and I wasn't even able to enjoy it with reading, as we were at a birthday party where lots of young ones were running around near the pool. Oh well, I'm still well ahead of things here.

This week, I have the latest from Nora Roberts, Black Hills (Putnam). Cooper Sullivan and Lil Chance meet as children when Cooper is stuck visiting his grandparents for the summer in South Dakota. Cooper's not happy about the vacation, but Lil's batting cage makes him think the summer might not be so bad. As they grow up, their relationship changes, grows more intimate, and then it ends rather abruptly. Now Lil's running the wildlife refuge she always wanted right near her parents' home, and Cooper's come back from New York now to live on his grandparents' ranch since his grandfather's minor accident. There shouldn't still be feelings between them, but Lil and Cooper can't avoid one another in such a small town. Now a killer is on the loose, and it appears he's targeting Lil, which means Coop won't be too far from her side, no matter what happened between them in the past or how she feels about him now. Worse, he starts to believe the current killer might be responsible for the murdered woman whose body he and Lil discovered many years ago. Lil's pretty determined not to let Cooper break her heart again, but he's pretty relentless in his pursuit, even as he's dedicated to catching the killer before he can get to Lil. This one is a little different for Ms. Roberts, as the mystery of the killer's identity is revealed well before the end of the story, and more of the focus of the book is on Coop and Lil's relationship. For fans of her romances, that's a very good thing. If you love her more for the suspense, I still think you'll enjoy this one, as the murderer's twisted plans reach all the way to the end of the tale. This one's earned four of Cupid's five arrows. I enjoyed every bit of this one.

Until next time, happy reading!