One Night More

July 7, 2014
Baxter’s debut romantic suspense, set in Portland, Ore., pairs U.S. Marshal Galen Kelly and reporter Harper Allen in a steamy one-night stand that ends in misunderstanding when Galen reads a text from Harper’s ex-boyfriend. One year later, Harper witnesses a senator’s murder and Galen is assigned to guard her until she can testify. Though Harper has carried a torch for Galen, he pretends he doesn’t remember her, both because admitting personal involvement would require him to drop the case and because he still feels betrayed. However, he can’t resist keeping tabs on her even when he’s off-duty. Their estrangement continues until Harper confronts him and Galen realizes he wants her more than he fears betrayal. Meanwhile, Harper inveigles Galen into helping her investigate the senator’s portentous last words, which puts them both in greater danger. Galen’s unprofessional behavior and Harper’s risk-taking are implausible, but readers who care more about wit than plot will appreciate the snappy dialogue. Agent: Natanya Wheeler, Nancy Yost Literary Agency.

September 15, 2014
On the eve of a year-long stint in the special operations group of the U. S. Marshal Service overseas, Galen Kelly spends a memorable night with budding journalist Harper Allen, only to leave abruptly after discovering texts on her phone he mistakenly thinks are from a current boyfriend. Both of them spend a miserable celibate year trying to forget the other until Galen is assigned to guard her as a material witness to the murder of a U.S. senator. He conceals their past from his superiors, while she secretly tries to solve the murder herself. After she is shot at, and her condo is trashed, she is moved to a safe house with Galen, who risks his career to protect her. In the opening novel in Baxter's new U.S. Marshals series, Harper is an independent, feisty heroine, and Galen becomes the ideal lover. Baxter's sensual sex scenes are great, and the intrigue and action she orchestrates keep the plot fast-paced and riveting in this novel of romantic suspense that will appeal to fans of Julie Ann Walker and Maya Banks.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)