Review - - Deadly Little Secrets

Deadly Little Secrets
By Jeanne Adams
Publisher:  Zebra
Release Date:  September 7, 2010

It took just one book for Jeanne Adams to be added to my auto-buy list and her second and third books have only further solidified her position as one of my favorite “go to” romantic suspense authors. In Deadly Little Secrets, she combines a tightly-woven plot with sizzling passion and intense suspense to once again create a story that enthralled me from beginning to end, keeping me on the edge of my seat and happily reading late into the night. And, if that isn’t enough, she waited until I was proudly patting myself on the back for solving the mystery within the story before adding a twist that had me saying; “WHOA! I sure didn’t see that coming!” I’m now eagerly counting the days until the next terrific story from this up-and-coming star of romantic suspense!

After a mission in Rome goes tragically wrong, CIA agent, Ana Burton is placed on probation and transferred to the highly undesirable Cold Case division in San Francisco while she awaits a final determination on the future of her career. Keeping a low profile, she quietly goes about her job until a ten-year-old cold case involving art fraud and multiple murders lands on her desk, causing all her instincts to go on red alert and leading her to billionaire art collector, Dav Gianikopolis and his chief of security, Gates Bromley.  The chemistry between Ana and Gates is immediate, and not entirely welcome, as evidenced by this first telephone introduction:

     She was so mesmerized by the voice, it took Ana a heartbeat to make sense of the words. “Yes. I’d like to make an appointment with Mr. Gianikopolis to discuss his losses in the incident. I’m following up on some new leads.”
     I’ll be happy to meet with you, get the information, and assess if there’s any new data we can add.” Holy cow, the man’s voice was pure, liquid sex.
    For a second, all she could think about was the image of liquid sex. Jeeez, she had to get out more. Jen was right, and she hated to admit it. In the next second, she processed what he’d said and bristled at the high-handed phrasing. Assess the data, my ass. Fabulous voice or not, this guy needed a set-down.

The scenes between Ana and Gates are terrific! From beginning to end, they dominate the pages of this book with their personalities, drive and sizzling chemistry. 

Gates is a man who has suffered too many losses in his life and will do everything in his power to keep those he cares for safe, including Dav, a man who is more brother than employer and Ana, a woman he’s coming to care for more deeply each day. As Ana digs deeper into new leads on the case, it becomes apparent that there are people who will do anything to stop her, even commit murder. Gates is determined to prevent that from happening but, in a race against time, will he be successful? And, if not, who will pay the ultimate price?

With non-stop action, sizzling sensuality and a brilliantly complex mystery that kept me guessing, this is a book I could not put down.  There are also intriguing secondary characters that I look forward to seeing again in Ms. Adams' next book and a heroine and hero who engaged my emotions and had me cheering, crying and holding my breath for their happily-ever-after.

I highly recommend one of my favorite books of 2010 - the thrilling, sexy and suspenseful Deadly Little Secrets!

~PJ







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Today's Special - - Jeanne Adams

It's my pleasure to introduce to you the sweet, funny and immensely talented, Jeanne Adams. A former marketing executive, Jeanne also has degrees in interior design and landscape design, worked in the funeral and cemetery business for several years and teaches classes on fascinating topics such as Body Disposal. Is it any wonder she's a successful suspense writer? A busy wife and mother of two boys, she now works as a consultant and full-time writer of thrilling romantic suspense novels like her recent release, Deadly Little Secrets. For more information about Jeanne, check out her website here.  You can also connect with her at facebook, twitter and at the Romance Bandits.  Please help me welcome Jeanne to The Romance Dish!



I Didn't See It Coming....or The Big Twist.

By Jeanne Adams

I love hearing those six words..."Oh, I didn't see THAT coming!' When someone says it about one of my books, it just makes me want to bounce in my tatty office chair and clap my hands like a six-year-old. It's such a delight to pull off a good twisty ending. It's so wonderful to have a reader tell me they enjoy it, to tell me that I've been subtle enough about all the clues so that it doesn't seem like the villain has a neon sign over his head saying, GUILTY!!!

My latest book, Deadly Little Secrets, has been out for almost two weeks now and I'm (blessedly! happily!) starting to receive email from readers about it. Universally the overwhelmingly consistent comment has been about the twist at the end.

There are variations on the theme, but in most of them, those lovely words keep coming. "WOW, I SO didn't see that coming!" Grins. I even got this comment from my editor. How cool is THAT?

I have to confess that this book was very fun to write. I do plot my books, but only minimally, which means that I mostly fly by the seat of my pants for the balance of the story. This does make it very, very interesting when you choose to twist and turn and double-back the story on itself to keep people guessing. At one point, I was three quarters of the way through the manuscript version of Deadly Little Secrets, and found myself thinking...now where was I going with that bit again? Ha! I had to go read the story from the beginning so I could pick up that plot thread.

So you can see, it's sometimes hard to make that balance between making the story so twisted up that readers (and the writer!) get confused, and leading the reader through the logic of twists and turns so that they, like the hero and heroine, uncover the clues that make the story and their relationship, go forward. Interestingly enough, when you write twisty books, you get better and better at spotting the clues as you read other suspenses and mysteries. That, more than anything, is what makes is SO special when you actually DO pull it off. That said, I've read many a wonderful book where I figured out the plot twists, but still thoroughly enjoyed the story. For me, figuring it out doesn't make the story less entertaining, and if the story's good, it's good, and I'll go back to it and buy more from that author. I'm sure this happens to editors all the time, with the sheer volume of material they read. (Which again, is what made it so special that I "caught" my editor with the twist!)

Now, having said all that (and, alas, being a bit less modest than I probably should) I do love a good book with a good twist that keeps me guessing alllll the way through. One of my favorites, in terms of not being able to figure it out till the very end, is Scott Turow's Presumed Innocent. Oh, my goodness, talk about not seeing it coming! And the movie? They completely captured the essence of the twist there as well.







Then there are the early books in Patricia Cornwell's series featuring Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta. In the first three, especially, I confess to being completely bamfoozled when "whodunit" was revealed. Cornwell's books are dense, packed with detail and WHAMMO! a twist at the end. Superb! Then there's Dan Brown's DaVinci Code. Oh, my. Now, there's a twist! There are tons more both in regular suspense fiction and romantic suspense, of course, but those come to mind as books where I sat, open-mouthed, thinking...Whoa! Didn't see THAT coming!

Now that I've prattled along, what do you think? Do you love a twist at the end of a book, or do you like figuring it out along the way without the surprise?

Are you a reader who usually figures it out before the end? Have you ever been surprised into a "Whoa!" moment? Care to share which authors got you?

Does getting that twist, that surprise at the end, make you eager for another book by that author?

Let's have some fun and talk about some twists! At the end of the day, we'll pick a random winner for a Dark and Deadly Little Gift pack.