I managed to finish this one during some downtime on my recent vacation to Michigan to visit family. It was so good seeing people, but it seems that the older I get, the harder the drive gets. I might have to suck it up and take a plane next time.
I haven’t read a lot of contemporary romantic suspense, but I used to love the Amanda Quick novels which were historical romantic suspense, so I decided to give the author a try under her contemporary name. This wasn’t the first Krentz novel I read, but it’s been so long that it felt like I was coming into it new. This one was published in 2002.
One-Sentence Synopsis
A handyman and an academic work together to solve a mystery that connects 3 different murders and a weird drug that causes hallucinations while also trying to figure out their growing attraction to each other. Full synopsis can be found on the book’s Goodreads page.
The Good Stuff
The book was enjoyable in kind of a straightforward, plot-driven way. I enjoyed the mystery for what it was, and I really enjoyed the side stories of other characters, like the hero’s brother and his yoga instructor, and the cop and one of the women in town. In fact, I’ll go as far as to say I liked the side romances a little better than I did the main romance. I also liked the hero’s dog.
The Romance Factor
I think it’s probably because I’m used to the angst level in the new adult romances I’ve been reading, but the Romance Factor for this book was low for me…a 2/5. I just didn’t feel the chemistry between the Thomas and Leonora to the degree I wanted to feel it, nor did I think there was enough foreplay.
The Steam Factor
The Steam Factor on this book gets a 3/5. While there were only a couple of sex scenes, they were pretty hot, and not in the all out dirty language way alot of newer books are, but in the more “use your imagination” way I find in a lot of older books. It was kind of refreshing and still enjoyable.
Final Thoughts
Though I think the suspense outdid the romance of this one, I still enjoyed it. Thomas wasn’t super alpha male, and Leonora was kind of a nerd. It was a fun read, it just didn’t give me any of those gushy heart feels I crave in a novel.
More Points of Interest
You can find out more about the author at her website. As far as buying this book, Amazon has it available in several different formats, including for the Kindle. Kobo also has it for $7.99. Those are the 2 outlets I use most, so if anyone knows where else to get it, please feel free to link in the comments.
The Romance Factor 