Robin M. (robinmy) - , reviewed on 1/15/2023 + 2104 more book reviews

Father Tom Madden is listening to a confession when the man confesses to a murder. Not only has he killed a woman, but he plans to kill another...Tom's sister, Laurant. Tom doesn't know who gave the confession; but he contacts his best friend, FBI Agent Nick Buchanan, to protect his sister. Nick isn't about to let anything happen to Laurant. Since he is prepared to stick with her 24/7, they tell everyone that they are engaged after a whirlwind courtship. The hope is that the killer will become jealous and make his move.

The first book in Julie Garwood's romantic suspense series gets off to a slow start. It took me a week to read this book. I had a hard time with the continuous descriptions and extraneous facts that were thrown into the story. I think a good editor could have slimmed this book down to a manageable story.

Thankfully, the pace of the story picked up after 100+ pages. The suspense was well done. There were a handful of suspects to sort through. I did guess the killer but not his true identity. My favorite part of the book was the elderly sisters who lived beside Laurant and kept an eye on everything that happened in the neighborhood. They set a lighter tone to the story, which was needed. I believe this was Julie Garwood's first romantic suspense book. I'm hoping her writing gets stronger and the series continues. My rating: 3.5 Stars.

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