365 books in 365 days Challenge ... Book #331

Special Agent's Perfect Cover - Marie Ferrarella
Harlequin Romantic Suspense
Harlequin, 2011
ISBN: 9780373277582

N.B. This is a North American release.









My rating

From the back cover:

"'What have they done to you?' 
Cold Plains, Wyoming, should be a ghost town. Then why are its once-decaying streets gleaming? And why are there only beautiful, smiling Stepford-like wives in those streets? Hawk Bledsoe wants to know…because the woman who broke his heart seems to be one of them. 
Carly Finn is stunned to see Hawk return to town as an FBI agent tracking a serial killer. Hawk doesn't know why she once ended their romance so cruelly—or how much Carly sacrificed for him. But now the two must risk their lives to expose the town's monstrous secret. And danger only revives the desire both try their hardest to resist…."


I have read a lot of Marie Ferrarella's books in the past, but not in this challenge, and I like her style so I thought I would give this one a go.

The hero Hawk is assigned to investigate the murders of five women who all have the small Wyoming town of Cold Plains in common. Unfortunately for Hawk he is also originally from there, and hasn't been back since he left ten years ago. When he arrives, he is shocked to see the town completely changed, with it's inhabitants seemingly brainwashed. Even more surprising for Hawk is that Carly, the heroine, is still living there and seems to be one of the brainwashed. Carly is just as shocked to see Hawk back in town, she has never forgotten him and the love they used to share, or her heartbreak when she had to end their relationship. Carly is desperate to get out of town, she knows that is has been taken over by a cult-like group, but she can't leave her sister, whom has become totally involved. As Hawk investigates, not that he gets anywhere, he also keeps an eye on Carly and pretty soon he has worked out that she is pretending to be involved and they are acting on the passion and love that still between them, despite the fact that this puts both of them in even more danger.

This is the first book in the mini-series 'Perfect, Wyoming' about a town taken over by a cult called the 'Devotees' (think 'The Movementarians' from the Simpsons episode Joy of Sect!). I love cult story lines, so when I found these books I immediately bought them!
Uh, overall this isn't a bad story, and it is a nice introduction to the series. The hero and heroine work well together, and the UST between them plus the issues from their past relationship are both portrayed well and adds to the overall tense moments. The scene where the heroine removes a bullet from the hero is just really stupid, and annoyed me somewhat to be honest! What bothered me most about this book is that the hero didn't seem to actually do much investigating, or it wasn't 'shown' anyway, and this left the story feeling a little hollow.

But, I enjoyed this book. There is some good suspense parts, and the relationship is well written and believable.

Xx