Linda Lael Miller delivers "heart-stopping suspense" (Winter Haven News, FL) in her New York Times bestsellers featuring savvy defense attorney Clare Westbrook and sexy homicide detective Tony Sonterra.
A hungry attraction. A hidden enemy.
A multimillion-dollar inheritance from the father she never knew has allowed Clare Westbrook to turn a storefront in a tough Phoenix neighborhood into the legal firm of her dreams. But when explosive shots take out her street-level windows -- and nearly take her life -- Clare must surrender to Tony Sonterra's protection if she wants to survive.... Sonterra has designs on a career move to the FBI -- and on rekindling his scorching, no-strings-attached affair with Clare. But can the man who sparks her passion be trusted with her life? Or is someone using Clare, the one person Tony has dared to get close to, to get to him?
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In January of 2006, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Linda Lael Miller left the Arizona horse property she's called home for the past five years and listened to the call of her heart. Packing up her work-in-progress for HQN Books; her dogs, Sadie and Bernice, and her four horses, the author of more than 70 novels bid farewell to her home in the desert and returned to the place of her birth, Spokane, Washington. The daughter of a town marshal, Linda grew up in Northport, WA, a community of 500 on the Columbia River, 120 miles north of Spokane. Her childhood remembrances include riding horses and playing cowgirl on her grandparents' nearby farm. Her grandparents' spread was so rustic that in the early days it lacked electricity and running water.
As delightful as this childhood was, Linda longed to see the world. After graduating as valedictorian of her high school class, she left to pursue her dream. Because of the success of her author career, Linda was able to live part-time in London for several years, spend time in Italy and travel to such far-off destinations as Russia, Hong Kong and Israel. Now, Linda says, the wanderlust is (mostly) out of her blood, and she's come full circle, back to the people and the places she knows and loves.
Before Linda begins her writing day, she takes her first cup of coffee while enjoying the scenic view of the wooded draw behind her new home. The first morning there, a snowfall blanketed the pine trees, something she had missed in the desert outside Scottsdale. Still enamored with the people she came to love in Arizona, she says she will still set books in that starkly beautiful area, and, of course, in other stories the action will take place in Washington.
Devoted to helping others pursue their dreams, the author will launch her sixth round of Linda Lael Miller Scholarships for Women in May of this year. A talented speaker, she donates all her speaking honoraria to her scholarship fund. The stipends are awarded to women who seek to better their lot in life through education.
It's no wonder the protagonists in Miller's novels are women her readers admire for their honor, courage, trustworthiness, valor and determination to succeed, despite overwhelming odds. 'These qualities make them excellent role models for young women,' Miller explains. 'The male leads possess equally noble traits that today's woman would be delighted to find in her life's mate.'
The author traces the birth of her writing career to the day when a Northport teacher told her that the stories she was writing were good, that she just might have a future in writing. Later, when she decided to write novels, she endured her share of rejection before she made her first sale.
Although Linda has written successfully in other genres, she is best known for stories set in the West'stories like McKETTRICK'S CHOICE (HQN Books March 2006 paperback); THE MAN FROM STONE CREEK (HQN, June 2006 hardcover) and that very first novel, FLETCHER'S WOMAN, which is being reissued in 2006. Her stories, set in yesterday's world, and today's, are historical romances, romantic thrillers, and other contemporary tales. They consistently score on prestigious national bestseller lists.
Linda has come a long way since leaving her sheltered life in Northport at age 18 to experience the world. 'Growing up in that time and place, in a family grounded in Western values, served me well,' she allows. 'And I'm happy to be back home.'
This novel is a sequel to "Don't Look Now" and has even more action and mystery and humor as well as the stuttering romance between the main characters. Clare Westbrook is a young defense attorney who has been raising her sister's daughter Emma and trying to cope with the slime and associates of those she defends. Clare wants to only defend those clients who she believes are either innocent or have special circumstances. In the previous book, Clare worked for a sleazy kind of guy who gets murdered. She meets Tony (Antonio) Sonterra, a homicide cop, in the course of her adventures.
This story centers around two main themes: Clare is trying to set up her own attorney's office in a run down part of town and build up clientele without getting injured or worse herself. Tony is trying to protect her. The second theme is the mystery of who is stalking her and killing people around her and why and does it have to do with her law practice or Tony's cop business? There are various secondary themes, some humor and romance with the main mystery being resolved and the romance MOSTLY decided.
Very exciting scenes and very scary scenes.
I like variety in a novel and this fits the bill.
Very much in the same vein as Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series.
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In Phoenix, attorney Clare Westbrook uses her twenty million dollars inheritance to open an office on the poor side of town to help innocent people who cannot afford a lawyer. Next door mental clinic patient Peter Bailey walks in and warns Clare to beware of the dolls before leaving. Clare is painting her office at night when a drive by shooting shatters her window. The cops arrive including her off again boyfriend Detective Anthony Sonterra, who takes the shaken up Clare to his home.
Tony and Clare talk about their future together. He wants her to move in with him, but she says she will never shack up except in marriage and she is not sure she wants to marry him.
Peter gives Clare an envelope containing thirteen pictures of dolls. Clare calls the clinic's Dr. Tomlinson, who insists Peter is not dangerous. Next Clare's email contains a picture of dolls with a warning, but she does not know why or what the "Dollman" wants of her. People associated with Clare begin to die and arson occurs as the beleaguered attorney wonders who the Dollman is and why is he trying to destroy her?
The return of the cast from DON'T LOOK NOW will excite readers as the lead duo from then and now has grown further in this exhilarating police procedural romance. A secondary subplot involving Clare's assistant adds to the well written thriller that never slows down until the final confrontation between the heroine and the killer. Though the killer comes out of nowhere and his motive seems unreal, romantic suspense fans will look back on the two Westbrooke novels as fond Miller time.
Harriet Klausner
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I think I have found a replacement for Janet Evanovich. LLM's sequel was an instant hit with me. Claire Westbrook has opened her own practice in a suspect neighborhood and 'things' come her way. Thank heaven, Tony Sonterra is around to pick up her pieces. Emma is a big factor in her life.
Interesting and fun book to read. Hope to see another one. Of course, the last sentence is a cliff hanger. Fun, fun, fun.
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First Sentence:
If there's a maniac or an ax murderer within a hundred-mile radius, he-or she-will come straight to me, Clare Westbrook, hapless attorney at law, like steel filings to a magnet. Read the first pageKey Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Father Mike, Peter Bailey, Diego Sanchez, Clare Westbrook, David Valardi, Cave Creek, Betty's House of Dolls, Melanie Witherspoon, Angela Kerrigan, Barbara Jenkins, Eddie Columbia, Leanne Reece, Rodney Gerring, Detective Sonterra, Dry Creek, Harvey Kredd, Pretty Baby, Shanda Rawlings, Tony Sonterra, Ted Adams, Emma Westbrook, Father Michael Dennehy, Social Security
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