It Started That Night (Harlequin Romantic Suspense) [Mass Market Paperback]

Virna DePaul (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 17, 2012 | Series: Harlequin Romantic Suspense (Book 1706)

Her mother's killer is on death row…or so Lily thought. Now the case is being reopened—by Detective John Tyler, the man who broke her teenage heart the night of the murder. Only she can help him find the truth.

For Lily Cantrell, suffering amnesia and hiding a secret, John's investigation unleashes tormenting dreams, grave doubts and conflicting emotions about the crush she never got over. As much as she wants John, how can she forgive the man who treated her so cruelly? Or trust a man who might betray her?

What Lily does know is their reawakening passion is bound to be dangerous…but not nearly as dangerous as the madman bent on killing her.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Virna DePaul makes romantic suspense totally riveting. The action is nonstop from the very start of IT STARTED THAT NIGHT...Virna DePaul has written a wonderful story about the potency of love and its power to heal. IT STARTED THAT NIGHT is grippingly suspenseful with secretive mysteries and constant intrigue." --CataRomance Reviews

About the Author

VIRNA DEPAUL was an English major in college who somehow ended up with a law degree. For ten years, she was a criminal prosecutor for the state of CA. Now, she’s thrilled to be writing stories about complex individuals who overcome incredible odds for love. A national bestselling author, Virna’s blessed to write for HQN and Harlequin’s Romantic Suspense line. Virna also writes paranormal romantic suspense. She loves to hear from readers at www.virnadepaul.com.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Harlequin (April 17, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373277768
• ISBN-13: 978-0373277766
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 4.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,431,626 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Thanks for visiting my author page! I'm a former criminal prosecutor who loves thrilling, sexy stories about ordinary people overcoming extraordinary obstacles to find love. I hope to bring my readers emotional stories that make them feel and dream and wonder well-after they've finished reading them.

I write for Harlequin and Random House. I'm also a bestselling Indie author.

You can read more about me at www.virnadepaul.com.

Thanks for your interest and I hope to hear from you! [e-mail]

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Sexy, Thrilling, and Romantic... May 17, 2012

By Choua Xiong

Format:Mass Market Paperback

"It Started That Night" was a great book, one that I couldn't put down... It was a stand alone, but since I was anticipating the release date, I read the prequel "Shattered"... It explained a lot more of what Lily was going through before and after her mother died. It also gave the reader insight to how John felt about Lily and how much it was killing him to let her go the first time...

This book was indescribable... The sexual tension between the H and h was so thick, but DePaul managed to perfect the love scenes... I really felt for the characters, especially Lily. I found myself on the verge of tears several times, when she was on the verge of another breakdown, unsure of who to trust...

My summary of this book:

John was back in his hometown, as a detective. He was assigned a case that related to the case of his sister's ex best friend and his former first love. He was trying to keep it professional between the two of them, but the chemistry between the two of them has never burned out.

Lily has been recovering for the past fifteen years, since the night John rejected her, and on that same night finding her mother's dead body. She just wants justice for her mother, but suddenly John is back in her life, trying to find the ties between her mother's murder and other murders of girls who look almost like herself. She wants to walk away from John for hurting her, but at the same time, she still feels immensely attracted to him...

Overall, this book was amazing and definitely on my TBRR (To Be Re-Read) list...

One of the most romantic lines in this book was from John's POV...

"She'd been his from the moment he'd seen her. Ten years old, eyes wide, blushing furiously at the sight of him coming out of the swimming pool. Oh, she hadn't been his in a sexual sense. Not even in a romantic sense. She'd been the missing part of his heart, the one capable of filling the void once his father was gone."

My heart skipped a beat when I read this part... XD...

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Exactly what I was looking for!! May 10, 2012

By Susan Hatler

Format:Kindle Edition

Virna DePaul's It Started That Night has everything I want in a romantic suspense: emotion, tension, action, and most of all, a heart-warming romance. Lily and John have a lot to overcome before they can get their HEA and it isn't easy, but when they finally act on the love they've always felt for each other, it's amazing. Virna DePaul is such a great writer and I definitely recommend picking this up!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars It Started That Night May 2, 2012

By Vanessa

Format:Kindle Edition

Reviewed by Megan

Lily Cantrell is devastated by her mothers death 15 years before and has never really gotten over it. She also hasn't gotten over local bad boy turned cop, John Tyler, who turned from her when she threw herself at him before he left town. (Coincidently that is the night her mother gets killed too.) Now her mother's killer is on death row facing his execution and John is sent to investigate whether her mother's death is in any way connected to a recent string deaths of young women.

This is a pretty good book. I enjoyed getting to know each character but I felt that some things were glossed over. I don't want to give away spoilers but there are some issues in each family but most of the issues in John's are just briefly mentioned. He has some pretty heavy baggage and I felt like it should have been addressed more. Lily's family life is more fleshed out in the story but I believe that more of the book is fro her perspective (in third person) than John.

There are also a lot of flashbacks. Now I don't mind a good flashback opposed to pages of inner dialogue but these were a little confusing at first. I don't know if it's the editing or not but generally when a chapter is going to be a flashback there is a day and year as the first line. This book only had a day so when I was reading I didn't realize I was reading a flashback. I had to go back once I realized so that I could start the chapter over knowing I was fifteen years in the past. That said, I do think the flashbacks were used well for Lily (who suffers from episodic amnesia of the night her mother was killed) and showed her remembering things that happened the night her mother died.

While I don't think there were many great plot twists I will say that I did have the killer wrong. The killer did blip on my radar but then I switched to another character. I would have liked more at the end. There are little pieces with secondary characters that were glossed over during the book that seemed to have a larger impact on the end that I thought could have used more info. Or the secondary characters could have their own book later that would explain their story because I have to say I am curious to see what will happen next.

book received from author for the purpose of an honest review