"Exciting romantic suspense"

Alyssa Rossi fled New Orleans for Florence, Italy because her memories of her hometown are all ugly after the betrayal from her loved ones. She succeeds in opening Rossi Designs, a costume jewelry business that performs quite well. Alyssa heeds her Aunt Theodore Canali's advice to sell her company to TriTech and go home as part of the purchase.

Upon returning from Patagonia, TriTech CEO Jake Williams is shocked to learn that minority business partner Clay Duvall purchased Rossi Designs. He needs to know why because the small company is outside the obvious profile of his firm's core competencies. Uncomfortable with this particular acquisition, Jake gets even more paranoid when he sees Alyssa is a dead ringer for Clay's wife. Though a relatively small venture for what TriTech normally acquires, Jake makes inquiries to better understand Clay's motive. As Jake and Alyssa begin to fall in love, everyone within their radar has their own dangerous plans that could harm either or both of them.

CLOSER THAN SHE THINKS is an exciting romantic thriller that runs on all cylinders from start to finish. The story line is filled with action and romance as the suspense and tension heat to the melting point. Jake and Alyssa make a delightful duo and the support cast amplifies the plot by fostering their own desires at the peril of the key couple. Meryl Sawyer exhibits why she is a New York Times best selling author with this extremely effective novel.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted October 8, 2001