Hello, and welcome back! While it’s still hot and humid here, we’ve had a couple days with some pretty significant rain in the last week. Unfortunately, the cool-down from the rain doesn’t last long once the clouds go away, so we’re still spending a lot of time indoors. My July review stack is shrinking pretty quickly, but the August stack is growing, so I’m in no danger of running out of things to read. Good thing, too, as the weather forecasters seem to agree that it isn’t going to cool down any time soon around here. I am so ready for fall to get here, though.

This time out, I have the latest from one of my faves, Laura Griffin, continuing her latest series with Unspeakable (Pocket, received from publisher). Rookie FBI agent Elaina McCord’s first assignment has her in a tiny town in Texas where a young woman’s body has turned up. Elaina thinks it’s the work of a serial killer who’s been at this for a long time, but none of the other law enforcement people she’s working with are inclined to agree with the inexperienced agent. Crime writer Troy Stockton might be an exception, though his own investigation into the crime is hardly official. He’s definitely not the sort of man Elaina should trust, or, worse, feel any attraction to, but as they continue to share resources and deepen their investigation, she has a very big challenge trying to resist that attraction = and keep her focus on the murders occurring around them. Troy isn’t a settling down sort of man, and he’s seen a lot of evil in his years as a true-crime author. But he sees something in Elaina that might cause him to rethink his plans. Plus he’s sexy as all get-out. I’ve been a Laura Griffin fan ever since her first book a few years back, and she just keeps getting better. Troy is as irresistible a hero as she’s ever created, sexy and smart. Elaina has overcome quite a lot to get where she is, but this case may bring her career plans to a screeching halt, even if the killer doesn’t manage to get his hands on her first. I love this pairing, with the rookie agent and the bad boy author pooling their resources and falling in love as they work to solve the case as the murderer hunts in and around the little Texas town. Griffin is one of those authors I always hand to my romantic suspense customers when they’re looking for a new author, and they always come back for more after reading their first. I can’t wait till we get the next book in this series in a few months. Troy and Elaina are terrific, and I imagine Griffin’s next pairing will be just as awesome. I’m borrowing four and a half of Cupid’s five arrows for this one.

Until next time, happy reading!