"An excellent paranormal romantic suspense!"

I am one of C. J. Barry's biggest fans. I've cherished each and every one of her books so when I found out she was writing romantic suspense as Samantha Graves, I knew I would have to check it out. When she contacted me asking to review her book, I jumped at the chance. Oh my goodness, am I glad I did!

Raven Callahan is blessed or is it cursed with the gift of psychometry. That means she can touch an object and know it's past life and whether it is genuine or a fake. This comes in handy with her work with the Antiquities Preservation Institute. All she has to do is touch an object and verify it's authenticity right then and there. Her boss shows her a Vassalo which he acquired and when she touches it she knows it is the real thing. Then he tells her the companion to the portrait is going on the market and he wants her and a co-worker Walter to bid on it. Raven can't believe that she runs into Dax Maddox, a cop who nearly caught her when she tried to acquire an object not quite legally.

Then what happens next is like a nightmare. Walter is kidnapped and a ransom note is left which Raven, of course, holds to try to read the emotions. She can't believe what she feels. Dax is looking for the killer of his partner and somehow wonders if the two incidents correlate in some way. He decides he needs to hang around Raven just a little bit longer to see what comes to fruition.

Get ready for the most intriguing wild ride of a read you can ever imagine! The twists and turns absolutely amazed me. My only regret is that I read this book at nearly the speed of light! It was that good! I highly recommend this one!

Reviewed by Kathy Boswell
Posted March 27, 2007

Summary

Raven Callahan doesn't do it for the money. She does it for the thrills. As a consultant for API, an art recovery company, she gets to steal-legally. But when her colleague is kidnapped during an assignment, Raven is forced to steal a priceless master painting to save his life. David "Dax" Maddox was the perfect street cop-until a botched burglary cost his partner his life and Dax his ability to see color. Now, with his world gray, Dax has only one mission: to take down the murderer. And he'll use anyone-even a sexy thief with questionable ethics-to get justice. Soon Dax and Raven are forced together as pawns in a madman's scheme. From the heart of Cuba to the New York art world, they find themselves in a race against time to stop the ultimate revenge.