Arouse Suspicion (Berkley Sensation)

Rating:
Summary: Arouse Suspicion
Review: Churning out formula thrillers has paled for former ranger Nick Sirroco. He wanted to do something more adventurous, but he meant writing, not solving a murder. When an old friend, Paddy Hawkins apparently kills himself, going against all logic and belief, Nick is sure that it was murder, not suicide. Proving that and another apparent "suicide" are both only apparent, but are actually murder forces him to work with Paddy's daughter, ex cop Danni Hawkins. Once she had a tremendous crush on Nick, the juvenille delinquent who took the attention she wanted from her father; so mingled with that faded love is equal resentment that both must now face as they battle time and a sinister criminal to prove the truth.

**** Suspense is layed with levels of psychological development that builds strong, believeable characters. The protagonists have been given an in depth past that forms the basis of the current situation and draws readers farther into the story, dually making them want to slowly explore as they race to an exciting conclusion. ****

Rating:
Summary: entertaining romantic suspense investigative tale
Review: Former Army Ranger turned writer Nick Sirocco meets with private investigator and former cop Danni Hawkins because he believes that that someone murdered her father and cleverly disguised it as a suicide. He says he was close with her dad Paddy who was helping him on a police procedural; Danni is jealous because her father never had time for her when boobs began to appear on her chest as he was to busy helping male teens in trouble. Nick admits he was one.

Nick persuades Danni to help him investigate who killed Paddy and why. The police believe Paddy took his own life because the evidence points overwhelmingly in that direction and insist the motive was his inability to accept retirement. As the duo works closely together, they fall in love, but someone believes they know something and not only trash their homes, but tries to kill the pair.

AROUSE SUSPICION is an entertaining romantic suspense investigative tale that contains two wonderful protagonists whose conversations are amusing as each unsuccessfully tries to get the other to shut up when they are in their respective milieu. Readers will appreciate the tense story line as the duo struggles with their feelings for one another and for her father, a killer and the attitude of the police who believe case closed. Having Rick as an ex-Ranger makes him to conveniently capable, fans will appreciate the strong yet vulnerable heroine as she and her temporary new partner make inquiries into her father's death and a second so called suicide.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: A Strong Debut Suspense Novel By One Of My Favorites!!!
Review: Ms. McKade is known for her historical westerns and these are reads that I have gobbled up in the past. She has now taken a shot at the sub genre romantic suspense and she has nailed it!!

This story has it all...fast paced suspense, great characters, and great chemstry between Danni(our heroine) and Nick (our YUMMY hero).

Danni has just buried her father Paddy. Their relationship has been bad and now they will never have the chance to make things right. She is doing the best she can to get on with life when Nick Sirocco comes in and shakes her foundation by claiming he things her father was murdered rather then having killed himself.

Nick was close to Paddy. Paddy helped to turn his life around and he was the father that he never had. He can't believe that he would kill himself and he is going to prove it. Now he just needs a little help so he contacts Danni. Danni is everything he knew she would be. Tough, strong-willed, and beautiful. The promise of beauty as a child came true. Now the two of them are investigating a murder and having to stay close to each other since the killer is now after them. They don't know who to trust. Could the killer be a policeman?

This was a very fast paced read. The storyline although not "new" was done in such a way that it was fresh and kept the reader engaged. The chemistry between Nick and Danni was great. There was a true push and pull that added not only to the growing relationship, but also played a large part with the plot. Ms. McKade is a truly gifted storyteller and I highly recommend any of her reads as a fun way to pass time.

Official Reviewer for www.romancedesigns.com

Rating:
Summary: 3.5 stars Good plot, but character development weird
Review: This was a good book, though what confounded me was Nick's character. This is an ex-Army Ranger who is totally obtuse in some instances where our herione, Danni, has to fill in the blanks of the mystery. His Army training doesn't seem to be a apart of him until - oh it's that time! - he absolutely needs it in the end. He went into the Army after high school. Those eight years would have shaped him, molded him, into a harder, more intelligent man than presented in this book. Not to give anything away, but Nick apparently was the last surviving member of his team during some secret mission and he feels guilty. Well, if he had the same intelligence level on the field as he had during the investigation, it's no wonder his team died! The writer only hints at what happened, gives you enough information to be interested in this tragic event that shaped Nick's life, but she never finishes it. It's dangling out there without a resolution at the end of the book. The author did wrap up the emotional turmoil involving
I hated that the characters had so many casual relationships in their past (that's a personal thing though, so it really won't affect every reader).