Like No One Else

October 5, 2009
Readers who like a pinch of plot to a pound of seduction will love Smith’s sizzling suspense novel, which reads like the screenplay for an erotic film. There’s not a lot of romance but plenty of sex as dance teacher Tomasina “Tommie” Purnell and homicide cop Paulo Sanchez strut their unbelievably hot bodies through a couple of murders. Smith (No One but You
) takes a refreshingly casual, low-key approach to interracial dating. Paulo and his partner, Julius Donovan, are well drawn and the minor characters are memorable, but Smith goes over the top with Tommie, a former stripper with sexy curves who improbably became a prima ballerina at age 29. The investigation is written in a smooth, flowing style, but the prose turns purple whenever Tommie and Paulo get together, and sex often overrides suspense.