The Ideal Man

May 30, 2011
Bestseller Garwood (Shadow Music) turns out another high-quality romantic thriller. St. Louis trauma surgeon Ellie Sullivan walks in on a failed gun-dealer bust, saves an FBI agent, and quickly becomes more than friendly with another agent, Max Daniels. As Ellie and Max develop their relationship, the dealers send an assassin after Ellie; the psychopath who stalked her as a child is freed from prison; and her "bridezilla" younger sister prepares to wed Ellie's former fiancé. While two murderous stalkers feels excessive, the thriller elements help compensate for a near-overload of soap opera. Competent, quirky Ellie is a wonderfully assertive heroine who gives as good as she gets in the face of Max's stubborn and sometimes overbearing determination to protect her, and the erotic attraction between these two busy careerists makes for a top-notch contemporary romance effectively leavened by suspense and family affection.

August 1, 2011

A paint-by-numbers thriller by bestselling romance writer Garwood.

Dr. Ellie Sullivan has had her fair share of trouble: At 11, an older boy stalked and nearly killed her, sending her into hiding. Now that she's finished her medical residency at a St. Louis hospital (she's a brilliant surgeon) and her stalker Evan Patterson has been released from an institution, she's not sure where to turn. To make matters worse, while jogging she is witness to the attempted murder of an FBI agent and is soon involved in the case. The Landrys are husband-and-wife weapons dealers (as well as murderers and kidnappers) that the FBI has been trying to nail for years. Unfortunately, their witnesses keep disappearing. Ellie witnesses the failed sting and is soon being guarded by Agent Max Daniels. Happily, both feel an immediate, uncontrollable passion. Max is ruggedly handsome, forthright and a little bit controlling. Ellie is any man's dream come true: gorgeous but laid back, brilliant, but a little insecure, and the kind of girl who wants to end the evening watching SportsCenter with a cold beer. And absolutely no post-coital snuggling. Amid the danger, they begin to fall in love, even though neither is up for a commitment. When Ellie needs to go home to South Carolina for her sister's wedding, Max soon follows; it seems one of the witnesses to the shooting has disappeared. And it is just as well—psychotic stalker Evan Patterson has been sighted in town at the local gun shop. With the Landry's hit man driving to South Carolina and Evan Patterson on the loose, the question is who will to try to kill Ellie first.

Undoubtedly Garwood is a pro—the pacing is taut, the characters are swiftly drawn and she even throws in a few surprises before the obligatory happy ending. But everything is too formulaic to be truly suspenseful, too clichéd to be truly romantic.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

March 15, 2011

Too bad Dr. Ellie Sullivan saw that FBI agent gunned down by a Bonnie and Clyde-like couple called the Landrys; they always make sure that anyone who can identify them remains silent. So agent Max Daniels is responsible for assuring Ellie's well-being. And that's not all. Garwood is a top romance seller--her last hardcover debuted at No. 4 on the New York Times best sellers list--and this will get big Romance Writers of America/Romantic Times promotion. Buy wherever romance is hot.

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2011
Dr. Ellie Sullivan knows the emergency room can be a battlefield, but this is the first time she has ever been shot at. She is jogging outside the hospital after putting in a long shift in the ER when she realizes that the couple heading toward her are armed and dangerous. She hits the ground, but FBI agent Sean Goodmanisn't so lucky. Fortunately, Ellie is able to save Sean's life back in the operating room. Once FBI agent Max Daniels discovers that Ellie is a potential witness, he vows to protect her. But Ellie is all set to leave St. Louis and return home for a family wedding in South Carolina, which means Max is about to become Ellie's plus one. Garwood's latest polished romantic suspense novel has all the literary ingredients her readers expect: snappy writing, sharp humor, a fast-paced plot spiced with plenty of danger and suspense, and an abundance of sexy chemistry between two perfectly matched protagonists.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)