MURDER LIST by Julie Garwood
Julie Garwood loves to make her readers work for the romantic solutions in her books. In just about every story she pens the readers know how perfect the main characters are for each other but it takes pages and pages before they know it. Such is the case one more time in MURDER LIST, Garwood's latest romantic thriller.
Regan Hamilton Madison is a wealthy woman but she is also a woman who believes in keeping her feet on the ground and her nose to the grindstone. Her brothers handle the business part of their hotel empire but Regan is the philanthropic one in the family. She is in charge of all charitable donations and that keeps her busy pretty much twenty-four seven.
Regan is also true blue to her friends so when her closest friend Sophie asks for help on an expose' she is writing, Regan goes along to help her. This means going to a self-help seminar where the instructor, as an exercise, has the participants make up a "murder list."
Somehow Regan's "murder list" falls into the wrong hands and the people on the list start being murdered. Alec Buchanan is called in to be Regan's bodyguard and in true Kevin Costner/Whitney Houston mode they find they are strongly attracted to each other. Still he thinks she is too rich, and she thinks he is too handsome; and so they keep their feelings hidden.
This sexual tension, on top of a deranged killer lurking in the dark shadows and waiting for a chance to eliminate Regan, makes for a fast and fascinating read. The outcome is pretty predictable but that isn't a reason not to enjoy the story. Regan and Alec are both interesting people and compel you to keep reading to find out the outcome to their story.
You will also find links in this book to other Garwood stories through the family relationships in the Buchanan family tree. This gives a familiar feel to this plot even though the story is totally new.
If you have never read a Garwood book then you are in for a treat. She is one of the most consistent authors in providing romantic fantasies and chilling suspense. All of her books are good and MURDER LIST is right up at the top with the best of them.
MURDER LIST is published by Random House. It contains 416 pages and sells for $25.95.