TBR Challenge: Break the Night

Break the Night
Anne Stuart
Romantic Suspense
Silhouette/May 1, 1993

A silent scream, a bloodstained knife... A century past, the faceless killer had strolled out of the London fog and into history, the most infamous murderer who ever lived. And only reporter J. R. Damien knew he had never died, could never die. It was impossible, and yet it was true--Saucy Jack was back, plying his trade in the back alleys of Venice, California... 

And Saucy Jack takes another life...

Lizzie Stride refused to accept the ravings of this man who swore she was fated to die, again and again, at the hands of a long-dead madman. But J. R. Damien's haunted eyes told her she must follow in a century-old dance of death and desire--with a man who feared he was the reincarnation of Jack the Ripper...

Finally made it!  Every month this year I had every intention of joining the challenge.  I've enjoyed participating in past years and have been disappointed in myself for not doing it this year.  But now, I finally got one off the TBR pile!

While I've certainly heard of Anne Stuart and have a few more of her books, this is the first one of hers I've read.  It proved to be an interesting read; past lives, psychic abilities and one creep villain combined for something different.  There wasn't a whole heck of a lot of romance, what with the Venice Ripper on the loose and the heroine and hero having an eerie connection to him.  But that was okay since it didn't have a romantic feel to it.

Lizzy Stride is pulled into the grisly murders and becomes more terrified as each prostitute is killed. She is also pulled into reporter J. R. Damien's world since he is devoting his life to finding the Venice Ripper.  Damien will do anything to catch the killer, even using Lizzy to lure him out.  Lizzy doesn't want anything to do with Damien but is giving little choice when her life is in danger and the police can't be trusted to keep her safe.  This is where Damien started getting on my nerves.

First he insisted he would protect Lizzy, since in his opinion, the police were worthless.  Then he would change his mind and tell Lizzy she needed to get out of town and as far away from him as possible.  Then, he decides he can't live without her and he'll protect her.  Then, he changes his mind again saying, "you're not safe with me Lizzy".  Those voices in Damien's were driving him nuts!

Lizzy, for her part, does a similar dance.  First, she is angry at Damien and blames him for putting her in danger.  Then she comes to care about this damaged man.  Then she wants to get as far away from him as possible.  Unfortunately, she wants this when he wants her close to him.  While this is going on, Ripper is busy with his killing spree.  He was one nasty bastard.

The past lives slant was interesting, but ultimately what kept me reading was not the relationship between the hero and heroine but the Ripper himself.  I wanted to find out who or what he really was.

Rating: C+