Blindsided

May 13, 2019
Physician Cadence Lawrence, the heroine of this appealing standalone from Watterson (the Ellie McIntosh series), flees her home in Indianapolis, Ind., because she fears she’s being stalked. Unfortunately, her car conks out in a remote part of northern Wisconsin during one of the worst snowstorms in recent history. She’s surprised when tall, dark, and handsome Mick McCutcheon appears, offering help. She reluctantly allows him to take her to his so-called cabin with its “soaring vaulted ceilings... enormous stone fireplace,” and a larder stocked with a case of decent Burgundy. She confides that she’s being stalked by Dirk Lyons, who she believes killed a close friend of hers several years before. Dirk, a charming high school football hero back then, was never arrested for the crime. Once love has blossomed and the storm has abated, Cadence returns to Indianapolis with Mick to find that FBI special agent Thea Benedict is also looking for Dirk. Thea suspects he has become a serial killer. Mystery fans should be prepared for minimal suspense and danger. Romance readers will best appreciate this one. Agent: Barbara Poelle, Irene Goodman Literary.

May 15, 2019
Getting caught in a storm can't stop a determined doctor in her quest for the evidence to put her childhood friend's killer away for good. Trapped in her car during a Midwestern snowstorm, Dr. Cadence Lawrence is preparing for what will happen when her body is found days later when help arrives--or does it?--in the form of the only other driver foolish enough to be out in the weather. Like Cadence, Mick McCutcheon had been testing his luck by going out when the weather report called for dangerous conditions, and he stops to pick up Cadence as an act of mercy. Cadence is anything but thankful. She's been around long enough not to trust a man who wants to help her out of the goodness of his own heart. Her mistrust may come from her adolescence, when her best friend, Melissa, was kidnapped and likely killed by her controlling boyfriend, Dirk Lyons. Lyons has gone free for years. It wasn't until very recently that Cadence stumbled on him all too coincidentally. In fact, Cadence was convinced he was stalking her and was in the process of leaving town to escape him when she got caught in the storm. Now that she's been rescued by Mick, she can't help feeling suspicious of his intentions. But the heat between Cadence and Mick is too much for either of them to deny as they're trapped in his house, well off the beaten path, where they try to weather the storm. Meanwhile, FBI Agent Thea Benedict is trying in vain to contact Cadence. There's disturbing news about Lyons' latest activity, and Thea fears that he may have Cadence in his sights. While Cadence ponders what evidence could put Lyons away, Thea tries to track Cadence to make sure she's not next on Lyons' list. The higher stakes intensify the drama of this one-off departure from Watterson's franchise series (Severed, 2018, etc.). As much about a budding relationship as about a ticking-clock search for evidence.

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