One Last Breath

August 20, 2007
This enticing debut novel from journalist Griffin follows Feenie Malone, a young part-time reporter at a south Texas town newspaper, struggling to make ends meet after her divorce. Hoping to get some respect in the newsroom, ambitious, independent Feenie begins pursuing a hot story involving her ex-husband and a felon, Rico Martinez, who appear to be in business together. Hunky, headstrong P.I. Marco Juarez offers to help Feenie investigate the criminal, but Juarez has his own agenda—namely, finding out who killed his sister, a cop, two years earlier. Though the strong leads' no-nonsense dialogue can wear early on, imminent danger and mutual attraction soften them nicely, giving this able suspense thriller a satisfyingly steamy core; Griffin's fully fleshed characters, dry humor and tight plotting make a fun read and a promising career kickoff.