After The Night

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So I met Guy at the summerhouse, and told him what I wanted. He was very sweet, very reasonable. He tried to talk me out of it, if you can imagine! Talk about a wound to the ego!” Yolanda smiled, her eyes misty with memory as they met Faith’s. “Here was a man who tomcatted all over the state, and he turned me down. I had always considered myself attractive, but evidently he didn’t. I almost cried. I did tear up a little bit, and Guy was frantic. He was so sweet, a real woman’s man. Tears turned him to mush. He started patting my shoulder, explaining that he really thought I was pretty and he’d love to take me to bed, but I had asked for all the wrong reasons, and Lowell was his friend—he went on and on.” This is one of the better books I’ve read in quite some time. I enjoyed myself, I loved the romance, and I loved the fact that it’s romantic suspense without it being graphically descriptive of the murder that’s happened as part of the plot line. Irresistibly drawn by curiosity and the lodestone of Gray's voice, Faith eased out of her squatting position and cautiously tugged at the handle of the screen door. It was unlatched. She eased it open barely enough for a cat to slip through, and wriggled her own lithe, skinny body inside, then just as silently let the door close. Going down on hands and knees, she crawled across the plank porch to the open window of one of the bedrooms, from which the voices seemed to be coming. Faith fell in love with Gray Rouillard, the admired son of the most powerful and wealthy family in Prescott, from afar when she was just a little girl. Unfortunately, the years have done little to diminish her attraction, but if Gray Rouillard thinks he can bully her out of town again, he’s got another thing coming! Faith is no longer a little helpless girl, and I loved her determination. Even in the face of her blinding attraction to Gray, she didn’t let him distract her from her goals.

You’re really frightened, aren’t you?” he asked gently, hunkering down in front of her and taking one of her hands in his. Her fingers were icy, despite the steamy heat of the day. “Where is it?” The puzzling contradiction formed in his mind. She had been obviously reluctant to meet Sheriff Deese, but she had never revealed any such uneasiness in her dealings with himself. She’d been bold, provoking, maddening, frustrating, but she’d never shown the least hesitation about being in his company.

After a moment there was the rapid tapping of heels on a tiled floor, and the right half of the door was pulled open to reveal a very pretty middle-aged woman, stylishly clad in slim taupe pants and a white tunic. Her short, ash brown hair was a tumble of curls, swept to one side, and she wore gold hoop earrings. Startled recognition flashed in the dark blue eyes. Curious, Faith eased to the side and carefully moved her head so that one eye peeked around the frame of the open window. What she saw froze her to the spot. To the extent we are left wondering what about the actual motivation for the murder, let alone how it could have been accomplished, and why and how his alibi became involved. I liked this for what is was. It was a light hearted romantic suspense. It succeeded best where the heroine, Jaclyn, was trying to deal with her frustration with the hero Eric. I kept picturing this as a romantic comedy. The scene where she pitched a hissy fit at a wedding rehearsal was laugh out loud priceless. I would totally go see this at the movies. So, baby, I’m going to be rattling around in that big house all by myself, and I need my own personal redhead to keep me company."

Very disappointing. I think I only finished because I usually like this author. The mystery/suspense was almost painful¸one of those in which the culprit would never get caught except that they start trying to kill the person who might have seen them do it. (Come on, if they had actually seen you do it, someone would have had a warrant out by now!) Not to mnetion that those attempts on her life were so feeble as to be almost laughable. I couldn't work up the slightest sense of apprehension. Faith Devlin (26), was a sweet and caring girl born to a drunk father and a whore of a mother. Fourth among five children it seemed she was the only responsible person in the family. Always a wanderer person she wished to take away her little brother who is ill and retarded, and to be someone of success instead of the labelled "trashy Devlins". When one night thrown away like a trash by the man she loved changes her life drastically.

As she eliminated each person from her list of suspects, the tower of motive leaned more and more toward Gray. Logically, she could see it. Emotionally, the idea met with total rejection. Not Gray. Not Gray! She couldn’t believe it; she wouldn’t believe it. The man she knew was capable of going to extraordinary lengths to protect those he loved, but cold-blooded murder wasn’t one of them. Not one of Howard’s best. Try her “After The Night” or her “Mr. Perfect” if you really want to get an idea of her style. Those two are near perfect and stellar reads, and I would highly recommend either of those two novels to anyone.