4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Non-stop action. A fun and sexy ride!, Jan 30 2010
By J. Legacy - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Stolen Seduction (Mass Market Paperback)
Hailey Roake is an heiress to a hotel empire (even if it is reluctantly), but as far as she's concerned she's a beat cop (a job she admits she's not particularly good at), a job she pursued while turning her back on her family's money and influence.
Then Hailey's father turns up dead from an apparent heart attack and her cousin Brian ends up mysteriously murdered and Hailey is thrust right back into the middle of a family scandal as the prime suspect in a double homicide with motive (her inheritance is on the line) and opportunity (she just happened to break into the house where Brian was staying the night he was murdered).
Chicago PD detective Shane Maxwell and Hailey have a past history. They met three months prior at his twin sister and Hailey's ex-husband's wedding (see Naughton's 1st book in the series Stolen Fury 5 star review from me).
Major sparks were flying between these two when they 1st met and Shane hasn't been able to get the blond spit-fire out of his head over the last few months. So no one is more surprised than Shane when he discovers Hailey at his neighbourhood Chicago bar one night, or that they share a steamy kiss which her puts a halts to before it can get out of hand (Shane has some personal demons he is battling which actually play a key role as his relationship with Hailey escalates), or that after she's returned home to Florida, he discovers she's the prime suspect in a murder investigation he has been assigned to.
Although Shane is dealing with a lot of his own issues as this tail unfolds and as he struggles to work through his personal challenges, he risks everything in his professional life to help Hailey prove her innocence.
As in Naughton's previous two books in the series, the action is non-stop and the murder mystery is forefront in this novel, but there is plenty of romance as well. Shane and Hailey have sex and lots of it and even share a particularly steamy episode of angry sex. This book is chock full of bickering, bantering and witty dialogue as Hailey tries to assert her independence and Shane tries to control his need to protect her.
Shane and Hailey face down gun-totting killers, poisoned sweet-tea and a leg gripping encounter with an alligator as they try to find the real killer, stay alive and solve a treasure hunting puzzle to see who will win the ultimate prise of control over Roake Enterprises.
I was so glad after reading the 1st book in the series Stolen Fury that Shane and Hailey were getting their own story I admit to letting out a little "squeeeeee" and Naughton did not disappoint with Stolen Seduction. This is a stand alone book and although it's not necessary to have read the first two books in the series, previous characters do make cameo appearances.
Pick up this book is you want a non-stop, fun, sexy read!
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
a very dysfunctional family, Mar 2 2010
By Scout - Published on Amazon.com
There was too much meanness between the characters that were suppose to love each other at some point which happened, oh maybe the last paragraph of the book. Shane is constantly harping on Hailey who just happened to be a Harvard Graduate MBA who decided to be a not very good-on-the-job cop all because she wanted to snub her very wealthy father and his plans for her. The Chicago cop was always grabbing at Hailey showing how she effected his body, AND then pushes her away because his mind was messed up and he never wants her to know. I could easily get the idea he was really messed up and not with PTSD.
The sister, Nicole, was constantly seeking out bad tabloid press and often compared in life to Paris Hilton. Which we were told at least eight times. Yet, yet she was secretly learning the hotel business and still almost a virgin. So hard to believe. Another child that wanted to thumb her nose at her parents. How fun is that kind of life?
I felt that the author told us a disjointed story where scenes were plugged in so there could be action instead of creating a story that flowed with subtle influences that could lead to information/action/self-exploring. I believe Hailey only became a cop so the author had a way of saying Hailey had training to handle herself and a gun. In one scene that was important, yet when the opportunity arrived to help herself out from being mugged, that incredible training didn't help. But a week later her responses were blazingly fast that Shane was taken down on the practice mat three times before he could react. Oh yeah and that turned him on. And now you can guess how that scene turned out.
I wanted to be sure to give a heads up to the reader that wants a bit more from a story. Obviously there were reviewers that loved this book. My qualms were different from those five star reviews. If I outlined an area that would be hard to ignore for some readers, I hope this helped. I sure wish I had read the three star review before purchasing the book. Not sure how I missed it. But the reviewer was right on.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
super thriller, Dec 31 2009
By Harriet Klausner - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Stolen Seduction (Mass Market Paperback)
With the murders of her father and her cousin, police officer Hailey Roarke has become the prime suspect as she has the motive of inheritance. Ironically Hailey became a cop because she preferred law enforcement over the profitable family business. However, now Hailey races against the real killer trying to solve the riddle of the six statues in order to control Roarke Resorts. Thus she breaks into the home of her late cousin to steal a bronze statue.
Detective Shane Maxwell is assigned the two homicide cases. He and Hailey met at his sister's wedding and he was instantly attracted to her. Although he knows she might have killed her cousin and even her father, Shane risks his career and perhaps his life to help her solve her father's puzzler and prove her innocence.
The third Stolen thriller (see Fury and Heat) is once again more an action investigative tale than a romance as the lead couple focuses on the inquiry more than their attraction. This makes the tale work as it did in Stolen Heat although as previous the romance is powerful while enhancing the whodunit. Fans will enjoy the efforts of Hailey and Shane as they fall in love while he decides between arresting her for murder and making love with her.
Harriet Klausner