Protecting Plain Jane - Julie Miller
Harlequin Intrigue
Harlequin, 2011
ISBN: 9780373695331
My rating
From the back cover:
"Ten years ago quiet heiress Charlotte Maywether was abducted and held for ransom...but when she was targeted a second time, SWAT officer Trip Jones vowed to protect her.
The damaged beauty was slow to trust, but even she couldn't deny the tender bond forming between her and her handsome bodyguard. Trip was determined to keep Charlotte alive and help her face her life-altering fears. But with a serial killer on the loose and Charlotte willing to play bait, it would take every skill he had to keep his beautiful ward from facing dire consequences...."
There's been quite a few Modern/Presents recently so to change it up a bit I thought I would go for another Intrigue. A good read.
The heroine Charlotte is a very intelligent and wealthy heiress, yet she hides away due to the horrors she went through when she was kidnapped and tortured when she was 17. She still suffers from flashbacks, nightmares and anxiety, as a result she has to be in complete control of every aspect of her life. Recently there has been attempted and actual murder of other heiresses in the area, and the perpetrator has been dubbed 'The Rich Girl Killer', and when Charlotte's bodyguard is killed and Charlotte is tormented it looks like she is the next target. SWAT cop Trip, the hero, is brought in to protect Charlotte, and after learning about her past ordeals and witnessing her fear he vows to protect her with his life and take away her fear. Charlotte and Trip grow very close to one another and he helps her realise she is not as weak as she thinks she is. But the threat to Charlotte gets worse and worse and when it looks like there is a second threat to her Trip knows he needs to do everything he can to keep her safe.
The start of this book really blew me away. It is action and suspense packed right from the start and I could hardly put it down. However it did slow down about halfway through and, for me, seemed to lose it's edge. I liked both the characters; Charlotte's issues and problems are very real and handled really well by the author. Trip is also a good characters, and particularly interesting due to his own self doubt. I don't think enough attention was given to the development of the actual relationship, and when they did get together it didn't really feel believable.
There is enough suspense to keep you on the edge of the seat, the identity of the killer is left unresolved and will be in a future book in this mini series (The Precinct: SWAT). The book stands alone fine though.
Although, I HATE the title of this book! Not that it has any effect on the story of course!
Action packed and fun.
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