This time out, I have Jami Alden's Hide From Evil (Grand Central, purchased), second in her romantic suspense trilogy, with the third due out in March. In this one, Sean Flynn is attempting to adjust to life outside prison after being wrongly convicted and sentenced to death. D.A. Krista Slater knows nothing she can do could possibly make up for what Sean went through, and leaving him alone to start his life over is what she should do. Except now she needs to ask for his help with a new murder case. And neither of them can seem to resist an overwhelming attraction that flares whenever they're near. Sean shouldn't want this woman, the one who put him in prison, but he can't stop the desire, and it's clear it's reciprocal. When her investigation puts them both in danger's sights, they'll have to stick close together for Sean to keep her safe. Oh, darn. Sean has a whole lot of issues to deal with since his conviction and subsequent release, and he's been doing it while living like a hermit. Krista's guilt is a good motivator for her to initiate contact with him, but it's also a good reason to keep her feelings on a casual level, something impossible to do with the intense and sexy Sean. I really liked the first book in this series, and this one was even better. I can hardly wait till March when the next installment lands in bookstores, for Jack and Talia's story. It was also nice to get to see characters we met in the first story again, even though they're really peripheral here, as they should be. That's one thing some authors don't do well: make the main couple the focus of the story; instead, many romance authors doing series tend to bring in previous characters too much, to the point where the main couple isn't the focal point for the reader. Alden has a fantastic focus here on Sean and Krista, and I feel confident she'll do the same in the next book. I'm borrowing four and a half of Cupid's five arrows for this one.
Until next time, happy reading!
