"Taut thriller with a Hitchcockian climax"
Following the suicide of her beloved father, reporter Avery
Chauvin returns home to Cypress Springs, Louisiana feeling
guilt for not being there for him. Her former beau Deputy
Sheriff Matt Stevens says her father suffered from grief
and depression following the death of his wife. Also back
in town is Matt's twin brother Hunter, a lawyer who almost
was debarred for alcoholism. Avery finds news clippings her father kept involving a
murder that occurred in town fourteen years ago. She
begins to wonder about her father's death though the arson
examiner and the coroner insist all evidence point to
suicide due to depression. However, another town visitor
Gwen Lancaster searches for her missing brother and tells
Avery about a conspiracy by a local group the Seven to kill
outsiders and who probably murdered her dad. As Avery
falls in love with Hunter, she endangers herself in a quest
to find the truth about the fourteen-year-old murder and
its relationship to her dad. She also wonders if her
beloved Hunter or his father (her godfather) Police Chief
Buddy is the killer? Though the leap Avery makes to suspect foul play seems
ingenuous, readers will relish this taut thriller with a
Hitchcockian climax. Avery is a great female character who
feels guilt and grief and also doubts the veracity of those
who allegedly love her. Back flashes show her father as a
caring person suffering from his own guilt. The secondary
players provide strength to the terse plot that romantic
suspense readers will welcome. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted May 12, 2003
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