Solid as Steele-Rebecca York

Solid as Steele
Rebecca York
Harlequin Intrigue, Jan 11 2011, $4.99
ISBN: 9780373695232

Baltimore private investigator Mack Steele has loved Jamie Shepherd from the moment he'd met her, but she was married to his partner Craig. Now a widow, Mack still keeps his distance from Jamie though is there for her if she needs anything.

Jamie suffers a frightening nightmare in which a woman Lynn Vaughn trapped in a deadly funhouse needs help immediately; her gift has returned in the one place she preferred not to be, her home Gaptown. She calls her late husband’s place of work Light Street Detective Agency wanting to speak with her friend Jo O’Malley. Mack responds instead. Jamie and Mack drive to Gaptown where her estranged mom Gloria and her mother’s boyfriend Clark greet her with contempt and deny sending a letter to her. As Jamie falls in love with the protective Mack, a killer has already set in motion her death plot to add to those already murdered by this diabolical psychopath.

The latest 43 Light Street thriller (see Guarding Grace) is a terrific paranormal investigative mystery starring two likable leads and a powerful support cast. The story line is fast-paced from the moment Jamie calls the agency and never slows down as a serial killer stalks Gaptown. The key is the romantic subplot is developed enough, but never intrudes on the prime story line of a predator murdering people with the two Baltimore residents on the top of the killer’s list. Solid as Steele is a solid psychological drama.

Harriet Klausner