Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Dark of Night-Suzanne Brockmann

Dark of Night
Suzanne Brockmann
Ballantine, Jan 2009, $25.00
ISBN: 0345501551

In San Diego, except for a few in the know, most of the Troubleshooters remain in shock and denial after the shooting death of one of them Jimmy Nash (see INTO THE FIRE). Receptionist Tracy Shapiro and Jimmy’s former partner Lawrence "Deck" Decker have always been attracted to one another, but though he knows Nash survived the hit and is in hiding at the home of his girlfriend Troubleshooter Tess Bailey, he remains concerned and more open than usual; so does Tess. Grieving their loss are operatives and lovers Dave Malkoff and pregnant Sophia Ghaffari.

To out Jimmy’s “killer”, the team begins a dangerous ploy against a culprit who knows the Troubleshooters so intimately he or she is always ahead of them. When Dave becomes the next target and is framed for murder, the cat and mouse game starts anew.

DARK OF NIGHT is an engaging Troubleshooters romantic suspense as three couples heat up the sheets (talk of corporate incest) and the streets. The action is fast-paced from the onset as the team struggles with someone who knows their turf and has a vendetta against them. As the romance supersedes the suspense, Suzanne Brockmann’s myriad fans will relish this superb thriller as the Troubleshooters affirm the song Friends and Lovers (by Gloria Loring and Carl Anderson): “So I'll be your friend, And I'll be your lover Cause, I know in our hearts we agree, We don't have to be one or the other, Oh no, we could be both to each other” as long as have each other’s back.

Harriet Klausner