"Great romantic suspense"

Following the divorce from her philandering husband, Carly Linton returns to her hometown of Benton, Georgia to open up a bed and breakfast. Her first view of her new home is the buns of her high school sweetheart, Scraven County sheriff Matt Converse, crawling under her porch.

Matt is looking into the disappearance of Marsha Hughes, whose boyfriend suffers from "roid rage" caused by steroids. The neighbors inform Matt that Marsha and Kevin had a fight, but did she just leave or did he kill her? Fearing for Carly when someone threatens her, Matt vows to keep her safe. As he carries a gun in his hand and a cocked pistol inside his underwear, Matt and Carly share sex and fall in love. However, she begins to recall her repressed memories of molestation as a child, while an unknown villain gives her the choice of leaving town alive or dying.

Readers who enjoy a romantic suspense thriller in which the hero either just shoots his wad or is in a three-legged state will want to read Karen Robards' latest tale. The story line contains tons of sex, though when Matt slept is a question as he either is investigating, protecting, or lovemaking. When Matt and Carly are on stage, the plot is fun as the two argue, fuss, and share sex. However, the villain requires quite a stretch to accept. Still, fans of a heated southern romance with an accent on the boudoir rather than the police procedural will take pleasure in Ms. Robards' latest caper.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted December 26, 2002

From New York Times bestselling author Karen Robards, whom Newsweek magazine calls "one of the most popular voices in women's fiction," comes a thrilling new novel of romantic suspense set in a sultry small southern town.

Summary

Carly Linton is hell-bent on starting over. After a bruising divorce, she moves back to her tiny hometown of Benton, Georgia, to start up a bed-and-breakfast in the old house she inherited from her grandmother. The whole town remembers her as the proverbial good girl, but Carly is tired of being good—she's ready to walk on the wide side, and she knows exactly where she wants to start.

Matt Converse, the town's former bad boy, is now the local sheriff and a pillar of the community. But he hasn't forgotten his wild days, or the magical night of the senior prom he shared with Carly years ago. When Carly's dog unearths a dead body on her property, Matt is forced to spend time there, and Carly decides to use her newfound wiles to seduce him. But when someone breaks into Carly's house and tries to take her away, Matt is the only person who can protect her from a mysterious enemy who's making it all too clear that Carly should never have come back to Benton.