December 8, 2003
Offering heart-racing thrills, both in the bedroom and the forensics lab, this second romantic intrigue from Rose (Don't Tell
) showcases her growing talent. Rose has created complex, realistic characters in high school teacher Jenna Marshall and Special Agent Steven Thatcher, whose eldest son, Brad, is in Jenna's class. Though Steven, a widower, is in the midst of a search for a serial killer who targets cheerleaders in their small North Carolina town, he takes time to visit Jenna when she calls to tell him that Brad, who used to be a high achiever, is flunking out of chemistry. When they meet, their own chemistry takes over and they find themselves falling in love, despite their troubled romantic pasts and the fact that Jenna may be next on the killer's list. Rose populates her novel with vivid characters—like Steven's seven-year-old son Nicky, who was a character in Rose's previous novel—and stokes the tension to a fever pitch, throwing in shocking twists each time the story threatens to settle into predictability. Though some of Steven and Jenna's lovers' quarrels deteriorate into melodrama, readers will hardly notice as they rush to the novel's thrilling conclusion.