Customer Reviews

Devil to Pay (Silhouette Desire, No 187)

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Devil to Pay, by Jayne Krentz writing under the Pseudonym of Stephanie James,incorporates many of the touches of the present Krentz' romances but with less developed plot line and characters.

The plot evolves around Emelina Stratton, who because of her loyalty to her brother and a very vivid imagination, becomes involved in a blackmail scheme. Her love interest is Julian Colter, the mysterious man about whom the villagers whisper. Having little luck with her plans to uncover something on the blackmailer of her brother, Emmy makes a deal with the devil himself, Julian, and the price she pays is her heart.

The mystery is thin but there are some very fine, humorous touches: the telling clue is receipts in the bottom of grocery bags and the way Emmy defends Julian against the town's innuendos is priceless. Readers of Jayne Krentz will recognize some similarities between this early work and Family Man: the dark, strong male protagonist with slightly questionable motives, the woman who's loyalty is a prize worth winning, and the "lethal" dog who nuzzles his way in.

Also of interest to Jayne Krentz fans is the fact that Emmy is an author who is trying to interest a publisher in a Science Fiction/Romance genre, which Ms. Krentz has published under her own name and recently under the name Jayne Castle.

Emelina Stratton wanted to help her brother by finding something on the man blackmailing him. She didn't expect to have attracted the unwanted interest of Julian Colter, a man the locals believe is a Mafioso. Julian wants Emmy's love and, even more, her loyalty.

In some ways, this book reminded me more of an older Diana Palmer book, than a Jayne Ann Krentz. Emmy's headstrong ideas and wild imagination are well-matched by Julian's levelheadedness. A wonderful, light bit of entertaining reading. Not as heavy or intense as many other Krentz books.