"Excellent Romantic Suspense"
Detective Vince O'Mally found the two murdered children.
It was so bad, he had a hard time sleeping. He was
obsessing over finding the killer and that made his chief
force him to take a vacation. At the time he found the
children, he also found a child's book. THE GINGERBREAD MAN
had been checked out of the Dilmun library in 1983.
Could this possibly have anything to do with the recent
killings? Vince was determined to find out. He went to
the police department in Dilmun to see what information he
could find. He met Holly who worked at the station. She
was very upset when she heard about THE GINGERBREAD MAN
book although would not admit it. The chief went to the
library and found that the book had been checked out to
Holly all those years ago. Holly's sister, Ivy, had been abducted twenty years before
and she and her mother have never gotten over it, although
it helped when a man confessed and was sent to prison.
She has been in therapy for years and is still in fragile
condition. Although Vince is attracted to her, he wants to
stay away from needy people, whom have been his downfall. Someone is lurking around the town wondering what Detective
O'Mally is doing there, concerned about what the detective
will find out. Although the reader looks at everyone with a
suspicious eye, the killer is not revealed. By having to
relive the horrors of twenty years ago, Holly discovers her
strength and is determined to help Vince. Their romance
develops slowly and the suspense marches along beside it,
neither overtaking the other. The secondary characters are
all intriguing, especially the elder movie star and Amanda
who doesn't reveal much about herself. THE GINGERBREAD MAN
is a first-rate romantic suspense that I enjoyed from
beginning to end. I am looking forward to Maggie Shayne's
next foray into the romantic suspense field.
Reviewed by Marilyn Heyman
Posted January 1, 2002
Summary2001
Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice
Award Winner - Best Romantic Suspense
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