Review: Stolen Seduction

Stolen Seduction
Elisabeth Naughton
Romantic Suspense
Stolen Trilogy/Book 3
Love Spell/January 2010
Library book

From the back cover ~

The individual who collects all six statues and deciphers the code locked within will be awarded controlling interest in Roarke Resorts.

YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THIS ENDEAVOR IS A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH.

Hailey Roarke was never interested in her family’s fortune. That’s why she became a cop. But with her father and now her cousin dead, she’s suddenly on the wrong side of a police interrogation. The only way to clear her name is to solve the riddle before the real killer. Without getting killed herself.

Detective Shane Maxwell can’t deny the spark of lust he feels every time Hailey is near. But the woman is clearly hiding something. Trusting his gut—and the heat in her eyes—he joins her on an elaborate global treasure hunt staged by her late father. Caught between a sizzling seduction and a maniacal murderer, for Hailey and Shane the biggest reward of all will be making it out alive.

The last book in the trilogy features a hero and heroine that were first introduced in Stolen Fury, book one. Hailey Roarke is the ex-wife of Rafe, hero of book one. Shane Maxwell is the brother of Lisa Maxwell, heroine from book one. So we have already met both h/h in previous books. Hailey is a character I liked from the first time she appeared in Stolen Fury. Shane, eh, a bit on the overprotective side and very bossy. But he grew on me.

Hailey Roarke wanted nothing to do with her family's hotel empire. She gets pulled back in when her father dies and leaves a few interesting stipulations in his will. She tells herself her stint in the family business is only temporary, just until she gets the terms of the will cleared up. She's really a cop in Florida but... she admits she's not really good at that either. Her career life is in a bit of turmoil. And her personal life isn't much better. She is friends with her ex-husband, so that's always good. And there was this guy she met a few months ago but nothing really came from that. Then Hailey finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Her cousin, a real ass, is found dead and the police have some questions for Hailey. One of the detectives is especially interested in Hailey. And he just happens to be "that" guy.

There's a bit of a soap-opera feel with all the different character connections but it's not a bad feeling just a lot of coincidences of how all their lives are intertwined. Shane Maxwell, brother to Dr. Lisa Maxwell who is married to Rafe Sullivan, Hailey's ex. Shane is, of course, the Chicago police detective with a special interest in Hailey. They've met before and while there were some sparks, neither made the move to take things all the way. Now they're both involved in the murder investigation of Hailey's cousin. And what the heck is with her father's crazy will? According to the will, Hailey going to have to jump through some hoops to keep the company out of the wrong hands. She's not happy about it but it willing to search for the treasure her father wanted/hoped she'd find.

The relationship between Hailey and Shane is very volatile. They don't trust each other and under the circumstances, don't always like each other. But that spark is still there and the more time they spend together the stronger it gets. There was a surprising amount of animosity between the two, I had to wonder how they would get past it. But they did and Naughton made it work. Shane is a natural protector and now he's into protecting Hailey while he's also trying to sort things out and get to the truth of what happened. He knows Hailey is lying to him, hiding something, and being a good detective he's determined to find out. Hailey is used to looking out for herself and resents Shane's intrusion. It becomes a situation where they have to work together to resolve both of their problems.

The murder mystery coupled with a treasure hunt made for an exciting ride. I liked how Naughton incorporated the police crime solving and the treasure hunting to make a cohesive story line that had both facets of mystery and adventure. We also got to revisit with characters from the two previous books which was fun. A quick read and a good end for the trilogy.

Rating: B+

Stolen Fury
Stolen Heat

Review: Stolen Heat

Stolen Heat
Elisbeth Naughton
Romantic Suspense
Stolen Trilogy/Book 2
Love Spell/August 2009
Purchased

From the author's website ~

His past tore them apart. Her lies thrust them back together. Now a killer’s out for revenge, but the biggest threat for both may just be the heat they thought they’d already lost…

Antiquities dealer Peter Kauffman walked a fine line between clean and corrupt for years. And then he met the woman who changed his life—Egyptologist Katherine Meyer. Their love affair burned white-hot in Egypt, until the day Pete’s lies and half-truths caught up with him. After that, their relationship imploded, Kat walked out, and before Pete could find her to make things right, he heard she’d died in a car bomb.

Six years later, the woman Pete thought he’d lost for good is suddenly back. The lies this time aren’t just his, though. The only way he and Kat will find the truth and evade a killer out for revenge is to work together—as long as they don’t find themselves burned by the heat each thought was stolen long ago…

After reading and enjoying Ms. Naughton's first book, Stolen Fury, I picked up the second book in the trilogy and dove in. The story starts out with a hero who has reformed his shady business dealings and the heroine is dead. Okay, she's not really dead but everyone, including Peter Kauffman, thinks she is. Imagine his shock when he sees her at an art auction. After Kat comes back into Peter's world, his life becomes an adventure he couldn't have imagined.

Peter Kauffman is the business partner of Rafe Sullivan, the hero of the first book. Peter runs an art gallery and acquires objects for the gallery and it's customers. Over six years ago he met Kat Meyer when she was working on a dig in Egypt. Peter's initial reason for getting to know Kat may not have been honest but once he got to know her, he fell hard for her. Then the unthinkable happened and Peter is left without the woman he fell in love with. He moves on but never has the feelings he had for Kat with any other woman.

Kat Meyer is one hell of a survivor. She's had to learn how to become a different person, to blend in with her surroundings and learn to disappear when needed. She's spent the past 6 years staying out of sight while keeping an eye on Peter and his collection of artifacts. When she faces Peter after all these years it's with sadness and regret. She does help him and shows that her feelings haven't changed. Just the circumstances they find themselves in. Kat is still in love with him but doesn't think there is any chance they can be together.

There are flashback scenes that show how Peter and Kat meet and fall for each other before everything fell apart. I'm not a big fan of flashbacks but I didn't mind these. It lent to the character development and explained the series of events that led to Kat taking such drastic steps nearly six years ago. It also showed a more innocent and trusting Kat. She's darker now, more experienced with the evil in the world. I did like Kat. I liked her ability to use her intelligence and not panic when things don't go as planned. She's very good at thinking on her feet.

Peter is not my favorite hero of the trilogy. It's not that he isn't likable, but he did come across as more closed off and less forgiving towards Kat. I didn't like that he had loved this woman but had so much mistrust for her. He would rather believe the worst of her than give her the benefit of doubt concerning what she did six years ago. It's not that Kat's been perfect but she did have very valid reasons for what she did.

Stolen Heat is a fairly fast paced read with lots of intrigue. The killer that's after Peter and Kat is interesting and kept the action part of the plot moving. And I really liked seeing Hailey Roarke again. She's the ex-wife of Rafe and friends with Peter. She's also the heroine of the third book and IMO the most interesting of the group. Book three, Stolen Seduction, is Hailey Roarke and Shane Maxwell's story.

Rating: B