First Star I See Tonight

Starred review from July 4, 2016
Phillips continues her popular contemporary Chicago Stars series (after Natural Born Charmer) with an utterly delightful standalone gambol that pairs up recently retired Stars quarterback Cooper Graham and private detective Piper Dove. Coop knows what he wants to do with his post-football life—start a trendy nightclub called Spiral—or at least he thinks he does. But he can’t seem to make the venture’s financial numbers add up. Piper is also having money trouble: she’s being paid to tail Coop, but when he spots her, the client drops her, leaving her at poverty’s doorstep. When she reveals to Coop that he’s being robbed by his nightclub staff, they launch into a relationship with all the head-butting explosiveness of an NFL game, plus frequent diversions into steamier contact sports. As usual, Phillips’s Chicago landscape is dotted with plenty of interesting local scenery, plus juicy details of high-end clothing, accessories, and decor. She has a knack for nuance and stage-setting that grounds her characters and makes them feel perfectly real. Fans and newcomers alike are certain to fall in love with this delightful pair as they scrimmage and score. Agent: Steve Axelrod, Axelrod Agency.

March 15, 2016

Having landed her dream job as a Chicago detective, Piper Dove is assigned to trail former Chicago Stars quarterback Cooper Graham--and explains that she's stalking him when he accosts her. He would never countenance the idea of a bodyguard, but he happily hires her to cast a discerning eye over the employees at his exclusive new nightclub. Meanwhile, as she covertly keeps up the task of protecting him, he's casting his eye in her direction. New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Phillips returns to a football series she tossed years ago; with a 200,000-copy first printing.

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