Southern Comfort [Mass Market Paperback]

With her cover thrown, bullets flying, and no way to contact her boss, undercover DEA agent, Fallon Hargis is on the run. Trying to escape two angry goons while trapped in a crowded hotel is hard, but the stranger she forces to masquerade as her lover is even harder. In order to get out of there alive, she accepts the stranger?s offer of help and goes back with him to his small town to hide. But even though she?s concealed from the bad guys, Fallon finds herself revealing more to this man than she ever planned.

Wade Tanner retired from undercover work when the stress got to be too much. Now he works as Sheriff in the small town of Two Creeks. When he meets Fallon he?s immediately attracted to her, but after the first time they make love she informs him it will be their last. While trying to get past her physical and emotional boundaries, Wade learns that Fallon isn?t the only one who needs more in their lives. In an attempt to keep Fallon safe and help her bring down the drug dealer who killed her family, Wade goes undercover and back into The Pit that almost destroyed him years ago.

?Southern Comfort?, Karen Kelley?s debut book, has not only one of the best and most imaginative first meetings between the main characters, but also some great sizzle, action, and romance. It is a story about facing your fears and getting beyond your past. With some fun side characters, the best being Josh who I think needs his own story, ?Southern Comfort? is a true delight.

Emily Flippin Maruna

An undercover job goes badly wrong and Drug Enforcement Agency Fallon Hargis needs to escape from killers. She follows a hotel guest into his room, orders him to strip at gunpoint, loses her wig, and fakes having sex with him while the drug enforcers tear through the hotel looking for her. Unfortunately for her plan, the faked sex turns into the real thing and it's the best sex Fallon has had in a long time.

Wade Tanner had come to Dallas to get get away from Two Creeks, Texas for a couple of days. He'd hoped for a little excitement--but a beautiful woman forcing him to have sex, then almost bleeding to death on him is a lot more excitement than he had anticipated. Since someone in the D.E.A. blew Falon's cover, she needs to stay underground--and Wade persuades her to return with him to Two Creeks where she can get doctored up and think about next steps. He anticipates more excitement, more sex. He doesn't guess that Fallon has a personal stake in bringing down one of the biggest drug dealers in the southwest--or that he will be forced to return to 'the pit,' the most dangerous and lawless place in the North American continent.

Author Karen Kelley mixes fast-paced action with steamy sensuality in an exciting romantic suspense. From the first page, she sends her characters (and her readers) on a rollercoaster ride of violence, danger, and sex. Still, Kelley is able to step back from the action for long enough to develop the characters, allowing the eventual resolution of their conflict to progress naturally.

If you're looking for an exciting action/suspense romance with plenty of sizzle, you won't go wrong with SOUTHERN COMFORT.

Ms. Kelley's debut effort is a strong romantic suspense which will keep the reader coming back for more until the final page. Although this is not a long read (it totals 237 pages) Ms. Kelley has managed to pack a lot into very little and the reader will come away satisfied.

Fallon Hargis is an undercover DEA agent that has had her cover blown by an insider. Barely escaping with her life she runs from her would be killers right into the strong arms of Wade Tanner. Under the threat of gun point she forces the handsome man into bed in order make do her skin of the teeth escape. Where this action leads to is far from what she planned on but it's the one thing she needs.

Wade can not believe what is happening to him. One moment he's on vacation trying to enjoy himself, the next he's in bed with one sexy lady who just so happens to be bleeding all over him. Fallon is everything that he has walked away from but she is also the one thing he can't forget. She's sassy, fun, stubborn, and ill-tempered. She has also brought him back to life. Can he turn his back on a damsel in distress? Heck no and before either of them knows it they are in it together for the long haul, or at least until Fallon can determine who sold her out to the bad guys.

This was a fun read with great characters. Fallon although stubborn and at times over the top will be a character that will stay with the reader long after you finish the book. Wade is your typical southern gentleman and he is a perfect complement to Fallon. I look forward to reading Ms. Kelley in the future she is a talent we can look forward too.

Official Reviewer for www.romancedesigns.com