"A fast-paced exhilarating romantic suspense tale"

The psychic investigative firm Jones & Jones sends Arcane Society member Grace Renquist, who can envision the evil in a person's aura, to Hawaii to uncover the identity of a serial killer. To protect the librarian who will be out in the cold for the first time, they hire a former cop currently tending bar, Luther Malone, as her bodyguard. Luther can abort a person's evil thoughts before they can perform an odious deed.

Luther and Grace are attracted to one another from their first meeting. However, in Hawaii, they know to table their passion and focus on the killer. They quickly learn that others seek the psychopath too; from the drug stimulated malevolent Nightshades to psychic hunter opera diva La Sirene, whose voice kills.

Although obviously over the top of Mauna Kea, RUNNING HOT is a fast-paced exhilarating romantic suspense that grips the audience from the moment the lead couple meets and never takes a breather until the concluding implication that sequels will follow. Ms. Krentz's fans will enjoy this serial murder mystery investigation that turns into much more dangerous and evil than a psychopath on the loose.

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted December 23, 2008

Summary

Ex-cop Luther Malone, lifelong member of the secretive paranormal organization known as the Arcane Society, is waiting to meet Grace Renquist. Hired as an aura-reading consultant in the quest for a murder suspect, she's got zero field experience. She's from tiny Eclipse Bay, Oregon. She's a librarian, for heaven's sake.

As for Grace, she's not expecting much either from Malone, who walks with a cane and isn't so good with a gun. Nice résumé for a bodyguard . . .

But even before they reach their hotel in Maui—where they'll be posing as honeymooners—Grace and Luther feel the electric charge between them. Problem is, they need to remain vigilant day and night, because it soon becomes clear there's more going on here. Rogue sensitives—operatives for the underground group Nightshade—are pouring into the luxury resort like there's a convention. Grace recognizes those dark spikes in their auras. She saw the same pattern in someone else in another life—a life she hasn't revealed to Luther or anyone else. And she understands how dangerous these people can be . . . especially with those para-hunters at their sides.

While the pair's employers at Jones & Jones scramble to get them backup, Luther and Grace have to think on their feet. The criminals in their midst aren't just high-level sensitives: They've enhanced their talents with a potent—and unpredictable— drug. And as Grace knows all too well, if you don't control your powers, your powers will control you. . . .