Police Detective Isabella Knowles learned all she needed to know about love at age thirteen when her mother was murdered by a crazy who wanted to be noticed by making her father suffer.

Detective William Knowles made headlines almost weekly back then. Together with his brother, Allan, they took lots of criminals off the streets. They were looked upon as heroes. But that celebrity status had also brought pain and fear.

Her father's fierce over-protectiveness became stifling and Isabella broke away. She did what her father most didn't want her to do. Both she and her cousin, Alicia, followed in their fathers' footsteps and became detectives at the fifteenth precinct.

Isabella realized that while fame had made him a target, it was his love for his family that had made her father vulnerable. She decided that if you don't love, you don't get hurt.

She saw on her father's face the pain born of grief and great guilt that nearly destroyed him. Isy never wanted to feel that kind of pain. She decided not to feel - anything. She would never love - never.

Now, hot monkey sex with some extremely handsome, talented stud and no strings attached, she could go for. Even though she denied it to everyone, she and Brady had been having hot, heavy and very fulfilling sex for the past three months. She denied to herself that she felt anything for him. She'd break off the relationship without even a backward glance if Brady acted like or said he felt something for her.

I didn't want to put it down until I'd read it straight through. Ms. Hammell employs clever plot devices that allow Isabella to work through the whole range of emotions from fear and denial, to love.

Congratulations are in order to Ms. Hammell for a splendidly terrific start on what surely will be a long and illustrious career. If this book is any measure of what we can expect, I'd say she's got it made in the shade!

Overall rating:
Sensuality rating: Explicit

Reviewer: Karen H.
April 29, 2006