Twisted Shadows

Rating:
Summary: Dumb decision making in order to stay clear of bad guys
Review: I didn't like this book very much. I tried. I like much of the old Patricia Potter books, but this era isn't makeing the grade. There were so many repetive thoughts of whether the phone being bugged, people diving in front of others to "save" them, oh my goodness a horse being shot ( I have four horses so it was just how the event was overwritten), making dumb mistakes when there are bad guys out trying, maybe, kinda trying to kill people. If the author took out the references to the above the book would have been much shorter.

There was too much telling and convincing words instead of a real story. Save your hard earned money for a better book.

Rating:
Summary: delightful romantic suspense
Review: In Steamboat Springs, Colorado, two unsavory individuals visit Samantha Carroll at her Western Wonders Art Gallery. They insist her real father crime boss Nicholas Merlitta is dying and wants to see her for the first time since her mother fled Boston with her over three decades ago. Samantha believes her father David died two years ago though they insist otherwise and also inform her that she has a twin brother. Samantha confronts her mother Tracy who admits that she is the daughter of Nicholas.

Samantha decides to meet her brother and her biological father. Meanwhile, FBI Special Agent Nate McLean is stunned to learn that Merlitta's wife and daughter lives. He decides to use Samantha to get at Nick, Jr. who he thinks is laundering money. Nate seeks revenge for the shooting death of his mother by the Merlitta mob. However, he never thought he would fall in love with someone who shares the blood of his enemy yet now risks his life to keep her safe from an unknown assailant perhaps her twin.

Fans of romantic suspense will enjoy the fast-paced TWISTED SHADOWS. The story line starts at quite a clip as Tracy holding two eight month old infants flees the mob though there seems a disconnect since she ended with one child and her spouse the other (explained somewhat much later). Nate is an obsessed agent whose dreams are on the verge of coming true when love twists his equilibrium for living. Samantha is a brave and wonderful individual while the support cast provides depth leading to TWISTED SHADOW captivating the audience.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: delightful romantic suspense
Review: In Steamboat Springs, Colorado, two unsavory individuals visit Samantha Carroll at her Western Wonders Art Gallery. They insist her real father crime boss Nicholas Merlitta is dying and wants to see her for the first time since her mother fled Boston with her over three decades ago. Samantha believes her father David died two years ago though they insist otherwise and also inform her that she has a twin brother. Samantha confronts her mother Tracy who admits that she is the daughter of Nicholas.

Samantha decides to meet her brother and her biological father. Meanwhile, FBI Special Agent Nate McLean is stunned to learn that Merlitta's wife and daughter lives. He decides to use Samantha to get at Nick, Jr. who he thinks is laundering money. Nate seeks revenge for the shooting death of his mother by the Merlitta mob. However, he never thought he would fall in love with someone who shares the blood of his enemy yet now risks his life to keep her safe from an unknown assailant perhaps her twin.

Fans of romantic suspense will enjoy the fast-paced TWISTED SHADOWS. The story line starts at quite a clip as Tracy holding two eight month old infants flees the mob though there seems a disconnect since she ended with one child and her spouse the other (explained somewhat much later). Nate is an obsessed agent whose dreams are on the verge of coming true when love twists his equilibrium for living. Samantha is a brave and wonderful individual while the support cast provides depth leading to TWISTED SHADOW captivating the audience.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Plots and counter plots!
Review: It only takes a moment for Samantha Carroll to discover that her whole life is nothing but an elaborate lie, built on love, but a sham all the same. When two sinsister men enter her gallery, she is tensed for trouble, but did not expect them to come with news that her father is dying and wants to see his long lost daughter once before he dies. Sam's father, David, died two years ago, so at first, this seems impossible to her, but she learns that she is not Samantha Carroll, but Nicole Merritta, daughter of mod boss Paul Merritta, and she has a twin brother she has not seen since they were eight months old, over thirty years ago. Were it not for this latter fact, she might not have gone to see her father, but she deeply wants to meet her brother, Nick.

Nick has spent years trying to establish a life away from organized crime, with mixed results. Now, his world is shaken when the he learns that his mother and sister are not dead, as he has always believed. He can not help but be a bit hostile to the stranger who barges into his world claiming to be his sister. He is also hurt that his mother chose to leave him behind and rescue Nicole from gang life.

Sam has walked into a lion's den; her new family is a dangerous one that will not give her a place easily, as it might mean less of a fortune for them. Not only does she have that danger to contend with, but the FBI is watching the entire family, including her. The agent assigned to the case, and who saves her life more than once, happens to be a very sexy man, Nathan MacLean. Lines between business and pleasure get blurred when they get closer. Can a fedral agent and a mob daughter find love, if they survive?

... Plots, counter plots, and all kinds of conflicting relationships make this heart stopping thriller one that you won't want to put aside for a moment once you begin. Sexy chemistry, intrigue, passion, and family create a heady mix that leaves you screaming for more. Ms. Potter has come into her own as an author, and you will never look at a family reunion the same way again. ...

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore.

Rating:
Summary: I couldn't put it down
Review: It's a rare day that I read a book that I can't put down and can't skip any words. I read every word on every page. Great story.

Rating:
Summary: Nicely written but uninspired tale.
Review: Patricia Potter likes to write about only children suddenly finding they have an undiscovered family (see "The Perfect Family"). In this story Samantha Carroll learns that her mother has hidden the fact that she (Sam) is the daughter of an infamous crime boss and that she has a twin brother, Nicholas, whose reputation is dubious as well. Samantha is thrilled to meet her brother but he is not sure about her. She also has various aunts, uncles and cousins and one of them does not want her to be included in her dying father's will.

FBI agent Nathan McLean is yearning to take down Samantha's entire new crime family, but finds himself smitten by Sam. Their relationship blossoms despite each one's hidden agendas. When trouble inevitably finds Samantha she must determine who she can trust, Nathan or Nick.

The outcome is not surprising, but the ride is fun. Potter writes a good story and her characters are very likeable. It is certainly worthy of a few hours on a cold night.

Rating:
Summary: Nicely written but uninspired tale.
Review: Patricia Potter likes to write about only children suddenly finding they have an undiscovered family (see "The Perfect Family"). In this story Samantha Carroll learns that her mother has hidden the fact that she (Sam) is the daughter of an infamous crime boss and that she has a twin brother, Nicholas, whose reputation is dubious as well. Samantha is thrilled to meet her brother but he is not sure about her. She also has various aunts, uncles and cousins and one of them does not want her to be included in her dying father's will.

FBI agent Nathan McLean is yearning to take down Samantha's entire new crime family, but finds himself smitten by Sam. Their relationship blossoms despite each one's hidden agendas. When trouble inevitably finds Samantha she must determine who she can trust, Nathan or Nick.

The outcome is not surprising, but the ride is fun. Potter writes a good story and her characters are very likeable. It is certainly worthy of a few hours on a cold night.

Rating:
Summary: People Aren't Always Who They Seem
Review: Samantha Carroll receives a very unexpected visit from two very menacing men. They insist her real father wasn't the man she thought him to be, but instead is crime boss Nicholas Meritta who is dying and after 34 years wants to see her. Not only that, but she has a twin brother that she didn't know existed. After confronting her mother she learns all of this is true. Samantha decides to meet her brother and her biological father against her mother's better judgement. Enter Agent Nathan McLean, and let the fun begin.

This novel is fast paced, and will have no trouble keeping your attention. There is of course a whirl-wind romance as is Ms. Potter's trade mark. I am usually a big fan of her historical romances, but wasxn't dissapointed on reading this novel. Twisted Shadows shows all of the talent Ms. Potter has.

Rating:
Summary: Sizzling Romantic Suspense
Review: While Ms. Potter achieved success in romantic fiction through her historicals, she has proven her versatility with her recent foray into romantic suspense. In her latest, she explores organized crime and Tracy Merritta's escape from her life as wife to the heir of the powerful Boston Merritta family. Thirty-four years later, Samantha Carroll is working at her western art gallery in Colorado when two men enter and inform her that her biological father, Paul Merritta, is on his deathbed and wants her to fly to Boston to meet him.

But Sam had no idea that the recently deceased man she grew up calling "father" was not her biological relation. When Merritta's henchmen also reveal that she has a twin brother, Nick, Sam can't understand why her mother, Patsy Carroll (Tracy Merritta) has lied all these years. And when Sam is injured at her home in a bungled burglary attempt, she decides to go to Boston to meet the brother she never knew.

Sparks fly when Sam meets FBI agent Nathan McLean, who helps save her brother's life after a car accident. While Nick has distanced himself from the family by taking the surname Merritt, he and Nathan have been at loggerheads for years over Nick's alleged mob ties. As Sam is understandably torn between loyalty to her newfound brother and her attraction to Nathan, her angst is portrayed credibly and not overdone.

When the attempts on her life become more frequent, Sam must trust Nathan to keep her from harm's way as they take a perilous journey to find Sam's missing mother. Fraught with danger at every turn, this read grips you with its suspense and holds your attention with the sizzling romance.