If March came in like a lion for you, I hope it was on the tail of some really great romantic suspense, like these three must-read’s.
I suppose it was only a matter of time before Rebecca Zanetti hit us with an addictive attorney like Anna Albertini. She is, after all, an attorney herself, though I sincerely hope she didn’t experience the same misadventures as Anna. Adverse Possession is the third installment in the series, and it’s a rollicking good time. These books are fun and sexy, and so smart. They’re fast-paced and unexpected, and sassy and completely upbeat. Trouble and Anna go hand in hand, but it’s the way she handles it that makes the story so addictive. The bad guys aren’t like Zanetti’s other vampires, genetically altered super soldiers or Rippers, but they’re plausible and threatening all the same. The danger lurking around the corner this time brings a dead woman on her deck and a bomber to the landscape, but they’re no competition for Anna’s sexy AF boyfriend, undercover ATF agent Aiden Devlin. I love this new series addition to Zanetti’s oeuvre, with its humor and wacky cast of characters. She always writes strong female characters, but they’ve been structured around cadres of men. Anna Albertini is a Girl Power shero for the ages, and one the world needs right now because she always lands on her feet.
In some ways, the Anna Albertini books remind me of the first few Stephanie Plum books. When Lula went on the Atkins Diet and ran away from the pack of dogs with a purse full of meat? Oh. My. God. But while Plum is still deciding between Morelli and Ranger, Janet Evanovich has created another great character in FBI agent Kate O’Hare … one who doesn’t keep her gun in the cookie jar. On this seventh book into the series, The Bounty, Evanovich has paired up with Steve Hamilton for the collaborative book that pits O’Hare with professional con man Nick Fox to uncover a buried train filled with Nazi gold. It’s a little Ocean’s Twelve, a little Monuments Men, and a little romance. It’s fun, and was the perfect spring read.
Laura Griffin continues her Texas Murder Files with Flight, and it’s every bit as exciting as Hidden. When wildlife photographer Miranda Rhoads comes across a couple sleeping in a canoe, it’s clear something isn’t right. All photographers are observant by nature, but Miranda’s a former CSI forensic photographer, and she sees more. Turns out the couple is part of a string of murders from a serial killer. It’s awful knowledge, but helpful for Detective Joel Breda, who asks Miranda to help with the investigation. Griffin sets the scene in the beginning by delving into Miranda’s thought process for capturing the perfect light. It’s a lovely vision, with “sunlight-saturated air” and a great blue heron meandering through the reeds. She lulls the reader into a state of lassitude before bam! — she wallops you upside the head with a paddle of reality. I’m a journalist, but I’ve never been endangered; my son, on the other hand, is a photojournalist and I worry about him coming across something like this one day. That’s how real Griffin makes her stories. The romance between Joel and Miranda is believable and, well, romantic. The stakes are high; the action fast paced. And even though the killer isn’t a well-kept secret, it’s still stressful. Actually, it’s more stressful figuring it out early because you know. You KNOW. Cross your fingers for more books from the Files.
I hope y’all are reading great romances that make your hearts race. Got any suggestions for me?
