Review-- WHITE HEAT

Review For:
White Heat, by Brenda Novak
ISBN: 9780778327950
Publisher: Mira Books (Harlequin)

It was a horrible experience that jump-started New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Brenda Novak's career-- she caught her daycare teacher drugging her children to get them to sleep. Deciding she needed to work from home, she penned her first novel, and has been a sensation ever since. Other titles include: Trust Me, Watch Me, Stop Me, Dead Silence, Dead Giveaway, Dead Right, The Perfect Couple, The Perfect Murder, and The Perfect Liar. She also heads an annual fundraiser for diabetes research every May. Brenda resides in Sacramento, California with her husband and five children.

A dangerous and elusive cult has taken over the ghost town of Paradise, Arizona. Members worship at the feet, and bed, of their leader, Ethan Wycliff. But a woman has escaped, relaying a horrid ordeal of what really goes on inside their gates, worse than what anyone can fathom. Now, another woman has gone missing. A private security contractor known as Department 6 has been assigned to infiltrate the cult and bring them down. Nate Ferrentino and Rachel Jessop aren't too happy about this mission, especially because their shared history could put a wedge in plans or expose them to further danger. Posing as a married couple is their only shot at stopping the madness before more people die. And as more secrets are revealed, it seems as if Rachel might be next.

This is book one in this new series, with Body Heat coming in September, and Killer Heat in October of this year.

There are many things to love about Brenda Novak's writing-- her characters are always fresh, the danger real, the plot well-paced, the romance hot, the setting ideal, and the action gripping. But what I love most is that readers are inside the heads of the "bad guys" as often as the "good guys." It makes for a well-balanced compelling read, and, at times, feeling for the villains. Setting this book in a desert ghost town couldn't have been more perfect, as it gives the reader a real sense of isolation and aloneness needed for this plot. I also bow down to the stellar array of secondary characters which made this all the more a page-turner. Lastly, though the lead characters were strong, Rachel isn't a hard-core heroine, nor Nate a dominant A-typical hero. A must read book to what's proving to be a must read series!

Kelly Moran
Author of SUMMER'S ROAD,
and Reviewer for Bookpleasures