Standing in the Shadows

Rating:
Summary: Winner of the WordWeaving Award for Excellence
Review: A long way from his job as an FBI agent, Connor McCloud investigates unfaithful spouses these days. When an investigation with the FBI went badly wrong, resulting in his partner's death and his own near fatal injuries, Connor spent two months in a comma. Now only his morose reflections keep him company when he refuses to answer his brothers' calls. That is, memories that includes thoughts of Erin Riggs, the daughter of the man who had set him up to die. Now his nemesis, Kurt Novak, has escaped prison and only Connor understands the dire threat the madman poses for Erin.
Her father's arrest led to the downward spiral of Erin's family. Her mother's psychotic break and her sister's self destruction all stem from her father's corruption. Now she struggles to pay her mother's bills and save her sister even as Novak closes his trap. He considers Erin's escape from a kidnapping attempt to be a personal insult. Now Novak poses as a collector of La Tene period Celtic artifacts, appealing to Erin's professional skills and knowledge to lure her into his trap.
Neither Connor nor Erin have acknowledged the passion they share. First he had been much too old for her, then her father's arrest occurred before he could ask her out. Now her father's legacy silently keeps them at a distance. Only Connor's conviction that she is in danger forces him out of seclusion to protect her. But Erin's independent nature does not take easily to his determination to become her bodyguard. Worse, Erin comes to believe that Connor sees nonexistent threats.
In BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, author Shannon McKenna established her gift for combining daring sensuality with tension filled danger. Her sequel, STANDING IN THE SHADOWS, once again proves her rising star vibrant, terrifying prose interlaced with sensuality. Specifically, the sexual tension between Connor and Erin sizzles, even as their passion echoes the deadly passion of a madman. A novel impossible to put down, STANDING IN THE SHADOWS earns the WordWeaving Award for Excellence.

Rating:
Summary: Its a sizzler....
Review: Connor McCloud has been living in an eternal hell for over a year and a half. Connor was set up to die by a fellow agent Ed Riggs. On that day Connor's hopes to love Erin Riggs, Ed's daughter, were torn away from him. A former enemy Kurt Novak has escaped from prison and only Connor thinks Novak is going after Erin. Connor sets himself up as her personal bodyguard. Erin is startled to see Connor back in her life. She has always wanted Connor since she was sixteen, now ten years later her feelings are those of a grown woman. Since Connor is set on being her bodyguard 24/7 Erin decides to act on her desires for Connor.

The suspense is riveting and the sensuality is tantalizing. The terror will grab you and won't let go. But the passion and sexuality between Erin and Connor is all consuming. This book is a must have.

Rating:
Summary: Another intense, compelling, sexy McKenna read!
Review: Connor McCloud is a former FBI agent who was almost killed when an investigation went bad. He spent two months in a coma and still suffers from the burns and a leg injury he sustained in the explosion. Since leaving the FBI six months ago, he's been wallowing in depression and self-pity until he learns that the man responsible for his injuries and the death of his partner - his nemesis, Kurt Novak - has escaped from prison. Though his former FBI co-workers assure him that Novak is in France, Connor cannot shake the feeling that Novak is closer to home and a threat to Erin Riggs, the daughter of Connor's former FBI boss. Ed Riggs, unbeknownst to his family or co-workers had been corrupt for years and his corruption contributed to the death of Jesse and wounding of Connor. He was also blackmailed (with the threat of Erin's abduction) into working for Novak, but failed in his task contributing to Novak's incarceration. Connor is sure Novak will want revenge and decides that if the authorities will not protect Erin, he will. After all, he's been silently in love with her for years. But since it was his testimony that put her father in prison and brought her family ruin, will she even accept protection from him? Man, she must hate him!

Erin Rigg's life could not get much worse. After all the mess with her father, she lost the job she loved in the Celtic antiquities section of a museum, her sister has begun to run wild, basically dropping out of college and she fears that her mom is losing her mind. If it weren't for the couple of freelance jobs authenticating Celtic artifacts for millionaire philanthropist Claude Mueller, she'd have no income at all. She's finally going to meet the reclusive Mueller in person on a job out of state, so maybe things are finally looking up. But when Connor McCloud shows up at her place, the ground shifts under her feet. She's adored Connor since she was 17, never showing it or acting on it and especially not after learning of her dad's corruption and involvement in Connor's near-death. Man, he must hate her!

The ground shakes again when Connor tells her that Novak is again on the loose and that he has appointed himself her bodyguard. Of course she balks at this, especially since she's set to meet Mueller at a resort for her latest job. Connor smells a rat and shows up at the airport to meet her flight and refuses to let her out of his sight. Spending so much time in close proximity unleashes their deep, passionate feelings and they finally become lovers after all those years. But as days pass, Erin is persuaded to think that Connor is obsessed with Novak and that he sees threats that are not really there. Especially when it comes to Mueller who has now offered Erin the job of a lifetime that will put her family and life back together - and Connor questions why. Is Connor's obsession making him a little crazy or is he the only one who recognizes the true threat?

This sequel to Behind Closed Doors is more of the same dark, complex and compelling storytelling with a really creepy, psycho villain and a really steamy love story. We get a bit more background on the McCloud brothers and their unorthodox upbringing by their unstable, Vietnam vet, survivalist dad and I would bet that stories will be forthcoming for Davy and Sean and I look forward to them! And I have to wonder about Connor's former FBI co-worker Nick Ward - is he a good guy or a bad guy? I still can't decide. Ms McKenna really knows how to write believable male characters who are as flawed as they are smart and sexy. She's an author to keep your eye on! Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Probably 4 1/2 stars....
Review: Connor's been lost in a fog since putting Erin Rigg's father in jail, along with a host of other bad guys. Erin's just been trying to keep her head above water and keep her sister and mother floating with her. (Though I didn't understand why she didn't just move into her mother's house, since money was so tight and her own apartment was so awful) When Novak breaks out of prison, Connor's sure Erin's in trouble and appoints himself her guardian. Close proximity, as well as a method Connor uses at the airport, forces them to confront nearly 10 years of suppressed emotions.

I really liked this book. If you can't handle gritty sex scenes and "bad" language, move on by. But if you like characters who seem a little more real (faults and all) than your average stock romance characters, pick this one up. Yeah, they're not always nice and the way they deal with their problems may not be all sugar and sweetness but real life isn't either. And while I may never need to be protected from a ruthless psychopath, I like to think it's possible to meet men who can sweep us off our feet, or even that the sweeping will be mutual. And since I'm not perfect, a perfect guy would drive me nuts.

I reallly disagree with the reader who said it was nasty that Connor had wanted Erin since she was 16. It would have been nasty if he had actually made a move on her at that age, but instead he waited. To the reader who said that, honestly, go down to the neighborhood park or High School and look at the Seniors. What makes them so different from what they'll be in a year or two? What's in their head, that's what, not their bodies. Connor understood and respected that.

One last point, I also found myself wondering why Novak didn't just kill Erin the first time she came to the house. Or have her killed on the first two consulting assignments....

Rating:
Summary: Oh did I love this!!
Review: Erotica with a plot and actual EMOTIONS!!!! I LOVED THIS!! I enjoyed the previous book "Behind Closed Doors" as well, but wow ..I was glued to this one! I absolutely ADORED Connor and Erin together...Yes..at times I wanted to kill Connor..but OH!! He redeemed himself for sure!! This was a fantastic book that I would recommend in a heartbeat..this ones made it to my keepers shelf FOR SURE!

Rating:
Summary: McKenna does it again...
Review: Following up from Behind Closed Doors, the reader is again introduced to Connor McCloud, the quiet and brooding man that we were curious about in BCD.

Connor has spent the last year in a slump, which is putting it nicely. After the murder of his partner, Jesse, and then the downfall of his boss, Connor has lost faith in just about anything. And he's lost the girl. He has loved Erin Riggs since she was seventeen and he was twenty six, but he knew she was way too young. She is also his bosses daughter and considered off limits. While he has many fantasies with her involved, he just waits for the day that he can make them reality. Then he is part of the team that puts her father behind bars for murder, among other things. Suddenly Erin is looking at him with betrayal in her eyes, and Connor makes a strategic retreat.

Erin Riggs' life is falling apart around her ears. The only good thing is the work she is doing for Claude Mueller who is a collector of celtic artifacts. When Connor McCloud suddenly shows up at her door and tells her Kurt Novak has broken out of prison, Erin is skeptical about Connor's claims that he will come after her.

Standing in the Shadows is exactly what I have come to expect from Shannon McKenna. I waited for this book since last year when BCD came out and I was not dissapointed. With the steamy sexuality and dark eroticsm, you will be hooked by this book from the first page. We finally get a conclusion of Novak who is one creepy guy. I'm also wondering if McKenna will bring back Mara as a heroine. Who knows!

Don't miss it!!

Rating:
Summary: erotic romantic suspense
Review: Former FBI undercover agent turned private sleuth Connor McCloud knows life in his profession means double-crosses and betrayal. He bitterly reflects on the cruelty of life now that he is little more than a hermit except for serendipitous surveillance and distant photos of individuals that end up destroying relationships. His most trusted friend Ed Riggs deceived him and set him up to take a fall though blackmailing circumstances caused the actions. When Connor put Ed and his blackmailer, deviously clever maniac Kurt Novak, behind bars, he also lost the woman of his dreams, Erin daughter of the traitor.

When insiders abet Kurt enabling him to escape, Connor knows that he and Erin must be revenge targets of this lunatic. Though he expects that Erin detests him for putting away her father, he vows to keep her safe, but wonders how he will hide from her how much he loves her. Erin reciprocates, but does not trust the man she loves.

Fans of erotic romantic suspense will enjoy the hot action-packed thriller STANDING IN THE SHADOWS. The story line moves quickly except for the heated scenes that take a bit of acceptance at first as Erin mistrusts Connor yet entices him as the goddess of sexual seduction to jump into bed with her when they are BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. Still, Shannon McKenna provides a powerful bodyguard tale filled with tension, sexual and intrigues.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Needs editing
Review: Frankly, there was TOO MUCH SEX. Ordinarily that is not a problem but in this book, it really didn't advance the characters much after the first critical scene, maybe one or 2 others, but mostly began to get repetitive, while trying to be erotic. Connor was an interestingly tortured hero, but Erin was not as clearly defined, and her dialog/motivations occasionally slipped very close to ludricrous. And jeez for someone she loved for so long, she doesn't trust him much, doing almost completely opposite of what he wants her to do, just to get herself into trouble. Yeah, the bad guys were really creepy, but c'mon, once you get the girl in your clutches, ya let her go?? Argh. And, jeez, all that talk about no-condom sex and no repercussions? How very un-politically correct!

Rating:
Summary: My own fault...
Review: I am disgusted that I read this book and it's my own fault. After reading Behind Closed Doors and finding it a ridiculous waste of time (how many ways can you describe sex on page after page after page??), I told myself this one had to be better.
After all, it couldn't get worse, right?? I was WRONG!
The male and female leads are cartoons who apparently don't have a functioning brain cell between them...but why do you need brains to have sex 5,6,or 7 times a day?
This is nothing more than a copy of Behind Closed Doors with the names changed. Same bad guys, same sex scenes, same ridiculous plot right down to the dressing of the female character in sexy clothes and makeup, just like the first book.
What a waste.

Rating:
Summary: A Power Read..
Review: I could hardly wait to see how the plot played out, and was not dissapointed. The intensity, passion, distrust between Connor and Erin, was quite believable, to the point that I would picture both lead characters as things progressed at a rapid pace. All the charecters were believable, and melded together, which made for an intense "can't wait to see what happens" type of book.
This was a 5 hour read for me and will be re-read again as I do all books that capture and pique my interest and imagination that went into overdrive. This is not for the faint of heart, the language may offend some, but I felt was appropriate.