ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
#4
Buchanan-Renard Series
There are few authors who can weave nail-biting
thrills, edge-of-your-seat drama, and romantic suspense as masterfully
as Julie Garwood. Now she ratchets up the tension with Murder List, in which evil is on the hunt– and proves to be methodically organized and chillingly successful.
When
Chicago detective Alec Buchanan is offered a prime position with the
FBI, it is the perfect opportunity to leave the Windy City and follow in
his brothers’ footsteps to the top echelons of law enforcement. But
first he must complete one last assignment (and one that he is not too
happy about): acting as a glorified bodyguard to hotel heiress Regan
Hamilton Madison. The gorgeous exec has become entangled in some
potentially deadly business. Someone has e-mailed her a graphic
crime-scene photo–and the victim is no stranger.
Regan suspects
that the trouble started when she agreed to help a journalist friend
expose a shady self-help guru who preys on lonely, vulnerable women. In
fact, the smooth-as-an-oil-slick Dr. Lawrence Shields may be responsible
for the death of one of his devotees, which was ruled a suicide. Hoping
to find some damning evidence, Regan attends a Shields seminar.
At
the gathering, the doctor persuades his guests to partake in an
innocent little “cleansing” exercise. He asks them to make a list of the
people who have hurt or deceived them over the years, posing the
question: Would your world be a better place if these people ceased to exist?
Treating the exercise as a game, Regan plays along. After ten minutes,
Shields instructs the participants to bring their sheets of paper to the
fireplace and throw them into the flames. But Regan misses this part of
the program when she exits the room to take a call–and barely escapes a
menacing individual in the parking lot.
The experience is all
but forgotten–until the first person on Regan’s list turns up dead.
Shock turns to horror when other bodies from the list start to surface,
as a harrowing tango of desire and death is set into motion. Now brutal
murders seem to stalk her every move–and a growing attraction to Alec
may compromise her safety, while stirring up tender emotions she thought
she could no longer feel. Yet as the danger intensifies and a serial
killer circles ever closer, Regan must discover who has turned her
private revenge fantasies into grisly reality.
This is Alec Buchanan’s book. Alec is finally
making a change from Chicago PD to the FBI. Unfortunately, his boss is a
jerk and decides he will end his PD career on bodyguard duty. Lewis,
Alec’s boss, looks at the victim’s status before taking them seriously.
The Madisons are big deals in Chicago. Regan Madison is in danger after
her exercise during a seminar. Dr. Shields asks the people in attendance
to make a “murder” list and then burn it to erase the hurt the people
on the list caused. Unfortunately, Regan gets a phone call and doesn’t
get to burn her list, which ends up in the hands of a killer who has
Regan as his ultimate victim.
I enjoyed this book. There is a
lot of action, a sweet romance, and a few icky characters. The twist at
the end surprised me, although it didn’t fool most people in my reading
group.
I loved the longtime friendships between the main
character and her two closest friends. They became friends in
kindergarten, and they still support one another. They really have each
other’s backs. We see these characters as children in the prologue and
then jump to the present day. Sophie wants to be an investigative
reporter and pulls her two friends into her project. I loved how they
pitched in for friends.
I loved the struggle Regan had with her
older, overprotective brothers to take her seriously. The brothers,
Aiden, Spenser, and Walker, still see Regan as a little girl. This
evolution was both frustrating and rewarding. Regan has grown a lot from
the beginning.
I loved, loved, the relationship between Alec
and Regan. It is a slow burn because Alec is on the job, trying to
remain professional. Also, he is transferring to another job in a few
weeks. Their attraction is there from the start, but they both fight it
for different reasons.
Finally, I enjoyed the journey of
discovering the murderer and his reasons behind his need to kill. He is
an interesting character whom I felt sorry for despite his crimes. The
ending was a little tense, but not like some of the previous books in
the series.
My only negative thought is, why leave a couple of
unanswered questions? The author could have explained a little more
about what Sophie and Cordie did when they followed Shields. I also
wanted a better resolution between Regan and Emily. Of the two, I wanted
Emily to pay for her nastiness to Regan more than I cared about
Shields.
This is a great series. I’m looking forward to the next book.
4 Stars
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