This was a great mixture of psychological thriller, classic Gothic and old Hollywood glamor. All three of the main characters were wonderfully developed and I loved our hero who seemed almost too good to be true. I can honestly say that if he had believed Tess straight from the beginning I would not have been able to respect him, instead the fact that he believes she is having a breakdown made him more realistic for me. I mean goodness he's the Sheriff, he was good friends with her lonely father and he is practically Dr. Do-little and sexy to boot he could have come off as extremely contrived and fake. Tess is a ball of emotions and who wouldn't be she's just lost her father, she is deluged with childhood memories, she has a work deadline and then a demented fan is trying to send her over the edge. The author did a nice job of fleshing out the stalker but I think the reasoning behind his actions relied too much on mental illness as an explanation of his actions. It's not so much that the author paints the picture that all criminals have a mental illness and that all people with mental illness are stalkers and killers but she does have a certain tone when the heroine is put in the hospital and everyone thinks she is having a breakdown. I also felt that he had valid reasons for his actions and that his reasoning need not be glossed over as simply a bad guy not taking his meds. I loved the setting of this story and could practically smell the salt water in the air and hear the soothing sounds of the ocean, mix that in with a desolate manor house it begs for a thrilling tale to be told. Fans of this genre will definitely enjoy this well-written story.

Overall rating:
Sensuality rating: Mildly sensual

Reviewer: Theresa Joseph
October 25, 2010