"Great characters, steamy romance and suspense -a great read!"

Vivian Patin and her mother are trying to restore the family fortunes by rebuilding Rosebank, a rundown plantation she's inherited, to its once-famous glory and turn it into a resort hotel. Someone doesn't want them to succeed and dead bodies start turning up on the grounds, including the lawyer who was bringing them news of a treasure hidden somewhere on the property.

Enter Spike Devol, deputy sheriff of a neighboring parish. Vivian has hired him on the side, both as a bodyguard and to look into the deaths. She finds that sexy Spike raises her blood pressure and wakes up her libido. An affair would be against all the rules of conduct between private eye and client, but Spike doesn't want the fire between them to cool, because he's wanted Vivian in his bed for months.

Stella Cameron, a perennial favorite, always provides a good read, and this one is no exception. It takes us back to the Louisiana of FRENCH QUARTER and cameos of previous characters are an added pleasure. Great characters, steamy romance and suspense make KISS THEM GOODBYE a must-have. A great read!

Reviewed by Lory Martin
Courtesy Old Book Barn Gazette
Posted October 29, 2003

In Kiss Them Goodbye, Stella Cameron returns to Toussaint, Louisiana, where sinuous cypress trees reach across the bayou to shade opaque waters from the relentless sun . . .but the shadows hide a dark and deadly danger.

Summary

Father Cyrus is worried about Sheriff Spike Devol's too- hot-to-handle relationship with Vivian Patint—especially when murder seems to follow Vivian around.

Just weeks after inheriting Rosebank, a once-magnificent plantation on the banks of Bayou Teche, David Patin died in a mysterious fire that destroyed his popular New Orleans restaurant. In the aftermath, his daughter Vivian and wife Charlotte are shocked to discover that the family finances are as run-down as their only remaining asset—Rosebank.

With her degree in hotel management and her mother's restaurant expertise, Vivian Patin decides to restore the family fortunes by turning the lushly overgrown and decaying Rosebank into a resort hotel with all the sultry charm of old Louisiana. But Vivian's dream becomes a nightmare when she finds the family's lawyer dead on the sprawling grounds of the estate—with a rose on his chest and a brilliant lipstick mark on his cheek. Suddenly Vivian begins to wonder if someone is targeting Rosebank and the Patin family . . . and if her father's death was, in fact, an accident.

Dissatisfied with the local police investigation, Vivian approaches Spike Devol, deputy sheriff of a nearly town, who has a reputation for being smart, honest and tough. She asks him to help her find the truth. But the instant attraction between them leaves Spike reluctant to get involved--until he discovers that Vivian could be the next victim. When another shocking murder occurs at Rosebank, it's clear that the stakes have never been higher—and that now it's up to Spike and Vivian to catch a killer . . . before he kills again.