Absolute Trouble [Mass Market Paperback]

Michelle Jerott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1998

Julien Langlois is a man hiding secrets -- and the only obstacle between him and his plans is Dulcinea Quinn, the stubborn redhead holding him in protective custody on her houseboat. One sultry night, Julien tries to gain his freedom with some seductive persuasion -- but her passionate response to his sensual assault unexpectedly ensnares him. Dulcie's never known such a complex man, but she fears his quest for revenge will lead him down a dangerous road -- and she won't believe she's given her heart to a man who would choose such a path. How can she prove to Julien that the best choice in life...is love?

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

At six-feet-tall, red-haired, and an ex-cop, Dulcinea Quinn isn't someone you want to mess with. But she meets her match when a friend on the police force asks her to hide a valuable eyewitness to a murder on her New Orleans houseboat. Julien Langlois is tall, dark, and dangerous--a man who hides secrets he doesn't want Dulcinea to discover--and he's willing to use all his Cajun charm and seductive persuasion to convince the beautiful redhead to free him from protective custody. Neither Julien nor Dulcinea are prepared for the powerful force of attraction that pulls them together--nor for the danger they'll have to face before they can learn if their love will survive the threats to their lives. Absolute Trouble is a novel fraught with danger and vividly colored with Louisiana's bayous and people. --Lois Faye Dyer

From Publishers Weekly

Set in Louisiana bayou country, this familiar storyline?an eyewitness to murder reluctantly held in police protection?is set apart by a memorable duo. When a former police colleague asks Dulcie (Dulcinea) Quinn to harbor a witness aboard her houseboat for "just a day or so," she reluctantly agrees. And for good reason: the witness, Cajun hunk Julien Langlois, climbs on board with nothing under his coat but a sequined bow tie, a black G-string and a dark and secretive attitude. Despite having retired, Dulcie can't surpress instincts honed over 10 years on the police force, but she finds tangling with Julien like being caught in an undertow. Guilt-ridden over the loss of his younger brother to the drug world, Julien is set on revenge and it's up to Dulcie to keep him from becoming a murderer himself. Jerrott's theme of redemption brings heart to this finely crafted plot, but what this novice writer does best is create memorable characters and, in an unusual coup, she manages to reveal her protagonists' layers during sizzling sex scenes.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Avon Books (Mm); First Edition edition (September 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380801027
• ISBN-13: 978-0380801022
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #769,432 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most Original First Book, November 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Absolute Trouble (Mass Market Paperback)

This was a delight to read and I didn't want to put it down. The characters are extremely well drawn out, the love scenes are tender and erotic and the dialog is fun. Her second book "Stargazer" is also very original.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Love between an ex-cop heroine & male stripper hero!, August 6, 2003

By 

"readinganddreaming" (Green Country, Oklahoma) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Absolute Trouble (Mass Market Paperback)

After my first Jerott book, A Great Catch, I felt certain that she could not write a weak book. All Night Long was the second book of Jerott's books I read and although not as good as A Great Catch, I still enjoyed it and gave it a high rating. Absolute Trouble, however, took me hours to finish. I found the book to be only mildly interesting until the last fourth of the book.

Dulcinea Quinn (Dulcie) is a retired cop - one forced into retirement after a beating with a bat one night. It left Dulcie with a badly injured back and forced her into a new career. She has artistic talent and begins making and selling dolls. She lives on a houseboat on Lake Pontchartrain and finds the gentle motion of the water soothes her aching back. Although now out of police work, she still has many friends within the department. One night, a detective friend, Bobby, brings an eyewitness to her and asks her to hide him on her boat for 24 hours. This witness, Julien Langlois, has observed a murder that will bring down a big-time criminal that the police have attempted to apprehend for years. Dulcie has a personal interest in the capture and conviction of this crime-lord. It was one of his men that brutally beat her several years ago. With great reluctance, Dulcie allows Julien to stay aboard her houseboat as the police close in on the crime lord. Two police officers stay with her on the boat for protection. However, Dulcie has a little problem with this witness - he is wearing only the detective's trench coat, a g-string, and bow tie. He is a dancer at one of the strip clubs that caters to women. He is surely a hunk and more than a little belligerent. It seems he is after the crime lord as well and is not happy with the enforced police protection.

Absolute Trouble, although intriguing, was difficult reading for the first three-fourths of the book. This difficulty was based entirely on the romantic relationship between Dulcie and Julien. Their relationship was forced in the beginning - each trying to get something from the other. Julien wants Dulcie to release him. Dulcie wants Julien to work with the police to capture this bad guy. For most of the book, the romantic relationship remained very strained. I could not envision the leads as a real couple. The majority of their conversation was dedicated to fighting. They would make love, fight, make love almost, fight, finish making love, and fight again. Then they would have a little normal conversation and then fight again and again and then start all over again. At one point, I put the book down not intending to finish it. But I was curious about a few things and was very pleased with the last portion of the book.

What did they fight so much about? Julien is determined to bring down the crime-lord, to avenge his brother's death and he plans to kill him without any police assistance. Dulcie, early on, tells Julien she loves him. This seemed very out of place and, as the reader, I wondered if she was attempting to manipulate Julien. But she was serious with her declaration and she fights him to give up his pursuit of this evil man. Although the couple makes love often, it just doesn't seem sincere or meaningful. The actual sensual scenes rate about a 3.5 out of 5.0 (see More About Me for rating guidelines). I could not comprehend a real couple, knowing each other for such a short period of time, conversing, as Dulcie wanted them to. It is no wonder that Julien doubted her motivations.

Although Absolute Trouble did not prove to be a powerful story, it was still a pleasant book. This is Jerott's debut novel and I believe she becomes more talented with each book she writes. Her backlist is short and will take little time to work through. Therefore, I look forward to her next release. Jerott also writes under the name of Michele Albert.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I absolutely adored this debut contemporary romance, July 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Absolute Trouble (Mass Market Paperback)

The police finally have a witness, willing to testify that he saw crime boss Jacob Mitsumi kill a man. Desperate to keep the eyewitness safe, police Detective Bobby Halloran convinces his former partner Dulcie Quinn to hide the man on her houseboat. She reluctantly agrees to protect the man from Mitsumi's goons because his men brutally beat her and ended her law enforcement career.

Julien Langlois is a gorgeous hunk, who plans to seduce his jailer so he can go about his real agenda without her interference. The witness wants to personally kill Mitsumi, who is responsible for the vicious murder of Julien's teenage brother. The confinement leads to a growing passion and Julien and Dulcie begin to fall in love. However, he has a quest to complete and Mitsumi plans to eliminate the only person willing to send him up the river. This leaves little room for love to flourish.

Readers will find it no trouble to read Michele Jerott's wonderful debut novel, ABSOLUTE TROU! BLE. This award-winning novel is an action-packed sizzler due to the heat generated by the lead protagonists. The suspense-laden story line adds much excitement to a terrific tale that should draw a deserving Ms. Jerott a large fan base from both the romantic suspense and contemporary romance sub-genres.

Harriet Klausner