Lani's Challenge
Linda MorelliRomantic suspense
Available from Port Town Publishing
ISBN: 1-59466-032-8
December 2005
| A man is found stabbed to death in an auto parts warehouse. He has no identification and is wearing vaguely feminine clothing. The case is assigned to new detective Lani Talbot and her as yet invisible partner Garrett Pierce. Garrett lost his last partner during the apprehension of a group of drug dealers. He is relentless in the pursuit of the man who killed Joe. Lani is the daughter of a cop also killed in the line of duty. Unfortunately, she is young, blonde, and beautiful, just like Garrett's cheating ex-wife. A working relationship is necessary to find the young man's killer. Their search takes them into the world of Washington D.C.'s very rich, a world alien to Lani but very familiar to Garrett.
The author has written a multi-layered suspense tale with very appealing characters and enough plot twists to keep the reader guessing. Lani is a wonderful character, a woman trying to prove herself worthy to follow in the footsteps of her father and her grandfather, both fallen in the line of duty. Garrett is a darker character, scarred by life and understandably bitter and reluctant to trust a new partner. Lani's best friend Hank is a warm character, as is Lani's mentor, the Lieutenant, but my favorite supporting character is the medical examiner Frank, who seems to have more common sense than all of the rest. The spoiled Shelley and Colt are wonderfully unlikable, as is the family patriarch Richard. Woven into this splendid mystery is a very good love story between Pierce and Lani, which only adds to the reader's enjoyment of this tale.
Overall rating:
Reviewer: Maura Frankman |
