Into the Fire

July 7, 2003
Bad boys are the darlings of the romance industry, but readers will be hard pressed to find anything appealing about brooding Dillon Gaynor, the hero of Stuart's (A Stranger's Kiss, etc.) convoluted "romance." Not only does Dillon treat good girl Jamie Kincaid abominably when she arrives at his garage/home to retrieve the belongings of her deceased cousin Nate, but he forces her into having sex with him. Twelve years ago, he came dangerously close to having sex with Jamie after her high school prom. Instead, he passed her off to all-star student Paul, who raped her. Unbeknownst to Jamie, Dillon beat Paul within an inch of his life after he learned what happened and spent a year in jail as a result. Now Dillon feels that she owes him, and he's determined to keep her nearby, even if he has to hide her purse and slash her tires. Although Dillon only intends to show Jamie a good time, his methods of persuasion cross the line. When Jamie admits that she doesn't like being touched, his reply is, "Get over it." Jamie ultimately does, but it's clear she never had any choice. Meanwhile, Nate's supposed ghost watches and waits for his chance to kill them both. As twisted as the protagonists' relationship, this silly subplot fails to lend suspense or credibility to this troubling tale.

August 1, 2003
Desperate for answers surrounding the year-old murder of the adored cousin she had grown up with, Jamie Kincaid impulsively leaves Rhode Island and heads to tiny Cooperstown, WI, determined to retrieve Nate's few possessions and wring the truth out of his childhood "bad boy" friend-and her teenage crush-Dillon "Killer" Gaynor. But evil lurks in the shadows, and when Jamie's car breaks down, forcing her to stay longer than she had planned, she unwittingly places her life, as well as her heart, in danger. A wary, emotionally scarred, but gutsy heroine, a wounded, redeemed, but still rough-around-the-edges hero, and a crazed, vengeful murderer combine in this sexy, edgy, exceptionally well-plotted tale. Stuart is a popular award-winning writer, noted for her often flawed but always complex characters and dark, cutting-edge stories; she lives in Vermont.

Copyright 2003 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.