"A strong romantic suspense"

In 1987 Hyde Point, New York, the Crane brothers assault their teenage stepsister Annabelle. Before they can sexually molest her, law enforcement official Dan Whitman rescues her and helps her move into Serenity House for troubled teen girls. A few years later, she works at the home of Nathan Hyde and soon they have an affair that ends when he returns to his wife. Licking her wounds Annabelle becomes an undercover cop in Seattle, but a bullet sends her home to recover.

Nathan is now a Congressman, but someone is stalking him. He refuses to make this public, but accepts Dan's suggestion he hire a professional to watch over him. Annabelle agrees to do so, saying she is perfect as she used to work for Nathan and has the experience to do the job. The only problem remains her heart. As she tries to keep him safe while uncovering the stalker's identity, they fall in love. However, all signs indicate that this is déjà vu.

Once the reader hurdles past that Nathan tries to hide the threat that is probably common towards leaders, fans receive a strong Serenity House romantic suspense. The tale spins on two subplots with the stalking and the romancing heating up so that the audience becomes engrossed in what happens to Nathan and Annabelle. One added pleasure occurs at the end when Annabelle meets one of her odious stepsiblings. Fans will enjoy the latest visit to this engaging series.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted March 25, 2003

Final book in Serenity House series.

Summary

They'd grown up at Serenity House—a group home for girls. Now they're coming together for the first time as adults. Childhood friends who'd shared difficult times, who'd shared hopes and fears, laughter and tears—and perhaps most important of all...secrets.

Anabelle Crane had once loved Nathan Hyde. But his betrayal forced them apart and sent her packing—all the way to Seattle. Now she's a cop and she's put her life back together, convinced that she's over Nathan.

But when she comes home to recuperate from a gunshot wound, she learns that he's in danger. So Anabelle goes undercover, telling herself she's guarding Nathan for his daughter's sake. But while Anabelle's protecting Nathan from harm, nobody's protecting her from Nathan. And she's falling for him all over again!