2008: #51 – Heartbreaker (Julie Garwood)
Book #51 was Heartbreaker, the first book in Julie Garwood’s Buchanan-Renard series. The back of the book reads:
Bestselling author Julie Garwood brings her storytelling powers to an electrifying new level in her first contemporary novel. A headstrong young woman becomes the target of a deranged killer in this heart-pounding page-turner that sparks with gripping suspense and passionate twists.
Bless me father, for I will sin…. The penitent knelt in the confessional and breathed the taunting confession that he has killed before — and that he plans to shatter the calm of a small Iowa town with his next strike. Only this time, he raises the stakes, daring authorities to catch him if they can. This time, he has revealed the name of his intended victim: beautiful Laurant Madden.
When Nick Buchanan is called in to intercept the killer, the seasoned FBI agent can’t refuse: Laurant is his best friend’s sister. Placing himself by Laurant’s side day and night, Nick finds himself falling for this courageous, spirited young woman who refuses to be shaken by a killer’s threats.
This was Julie Garwood’s first romantic suspense (not to mention the first book of her’s I’ve read), and if you ask me, she hit it out of the park. I really liked this. I liked Nick’s blindspots and Laurant’s straight-forwardness and the quirky cast of characters in Holy Oaks. Though I figured out the identity of the Heartbreaker about halfway through the book, I didn’t know where he was hiding until Nick did. Big thumbs up!
Page count: 520 | Word count: 131,584
2007: Darkly Dreaming Dexter (Jeff Lindsay)
2006: The Carnivorous Carnival (Lemony Snicket)
2005: Three to Get Deadly (Janet Evanovich)