Deadly Intent [Mass Market Paperback]

Christiane Heggan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2003

Abbie DiAngelo, a divorcee with a small son, has found contentment as a chef running her own restaurant. Life is good until her stepbrother Ian -- just out of prison -- arrives on her doorstep ready to implicate her mother in a 25-year-old murder. When lan is then found murdered and Abbie's son is kidnapped, she has no one to turn to but Detective John Ryan -- a man who does not trust her.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Mira (January 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1551666480
• ISBN-13: 978-1551666488
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #582,755 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A page turner, March 10, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Deadly Intent (Mass Market Paperback)

This book was anything but bland as one reader put it....I read 2-3 books a week and this is the best one I've read this year so far. Abbie DiAngelo is visited by her step-brother soon after his release from prison because he saw her in the news as a top chef and restaurant owner. He thinks she's his ticket to some serious money after he schemes with another inmate to blackmail her. I give nothing away here (as it's also in the back cover of the book), her brother is killed before she delivers the money he wants. Detective John Ryan, finds she's not telling the truth but is seriously smitten with her. You would think that after the step-brother dies her problems are over, but they are just beginning as there is another man out there wanting the money she was going to give her brother because "if he was going to give it to her brother, she has it and can give it to him....." A great story. Another Christiane Heggan favorite is Betrayals. If you haven't read that one, you're missing out....

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deadly Intent will hook you quickly and not let go!, January 2, 2003

By 

Huntress Reviews (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Deadly Intent (Mass Market Paperback)

Despite the terrible fire in her childhood and traumatic divorce, Abbey DiAngelo has a good life as a successful chef and restaurant owner now. All this is threatened when her step-brother is released from jail, armed with evidence that could destroy her family's happiness. In order to buy his silence, she agrees to pay his blackmail, but before she can deliver, is attacked by a mysterious figure, and later learns that her step-brother has been murdered.

Yet the threat does not end with his death. In fact, it only becomes worse as the murderer sets deadly sights on Abbie now. Her only hope of salvation lies in homicide detective John Ryan. As past secrets come forth and loved ones are drawn into the line of fire, these two find not only danger, but romance. Yet it could all mean nothing if Abbie's son falls victim to a killer.

***** In this novel, you will find that Ms. Heggan has delivered her best book to date. The suspense holds your interest from the first to the last page. Although the romantic element comes along late in the book, it in no way disappoints, and the human element of the plot is well developed, adding rich depth to the plot line. This is a great way to start the new year. *****

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars exciting romantic suspense, January 18, 2003

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Deadly Intent (Mass Market Paperback)

Though her beloved mother Irene suffers from early stages of Alzheimer's, award-winning chef Abbie DiAngelo feels life is good. The single mom is proud of her nine-year-old son Ben and her restaurant Campagne is the hottest spot in Princeton, New Jersey.

Her era of good feeling ends when her stepbrother Ian MacGregor reenters her life for the first time in almost three decades. He demands she give him $100K or he will provide evidence to the Palo Alto police that her mother killed her stepfather by having a fire set to their home. Abbie's counteroffer is 48K, which Ian accepts. However, his former partner Arturo Garcia arrives in town, seeking vengeance on Ian who betrayed him to the cops ten years ago. Arturo kills Ian. The police lean towards Abbie killing her sibling, but Detective John Ryan, a single dad, thinks otherwise. As they fall in love while he conducts his homicide investigation, Abbie finds her life spin into something worse as someone she cherishes is kidnapped with only John willing to risk all to keep everyone safe.

This exciting romantic suspense picks up speed the moment Ian begins his extortion plot and never eases up until the final twist occurs. Though the kidnapping seems contrived, readers will enjoy the tension that the plot emits. Abbie is a wonderful lead protagonist whose courage to confront her foes will make her a fan darling. The support cast rounds out a strong plot even if Scott Rolen was traded during the last season from the Phillies.

Harriet Klausner