Meredith Fletcher

Lauren Cooper goes to Jamaica where her sister has been found murdered. While there, she crosses paths with Heath Sawyer, an Atlanta homicide detective out of his jurisdiction and on unofficial business. He believes a famous magician named Gibson is responsible for the murder of his fellow detective and friend, Janet. He also believes Gibson is responsible for the death of Lauren's sister and many other women and he intends to track him down, prove his guilt, and make him pay for his crimes. Lauren's not leaving Jamaica either until Gibson is caught, so she and Heath unwillingly team up in their quest to catch the killer.

This was an entertaining story with action, suspense, and romance. Heath and Lauren made a great couple. I liked that Lauren worked in a magic shop, so she was no stranger to magic tricks and illusions. I thought the crazy magician killer was unique. Fun book.… (mere)

CHAMELEON by Doranna Durgin

Samantha Fredericks has a very rare talent. Unlike most people, who sometimes imagine that they are someone else-anyone else-Sam has the ability to actually make others believe that she is whatever persona she wishes to put on. Sam wants to be a gothic punk-rocker on a skateboard? Sam pictures it in her mind, and everyone who glances her will see that girl on a skateboard with the multiple piercings, black eyeliner, and constant sneer.

Or maybe Sam needs to get somewhere without anyone knowing there's another presence in the room. With her abilities to go unnoticed or even unseen, Sam can infiltrate any type of situation. The only time where her façade fails is in photographs-pictures don't lie, even for a woman who is every bit the master of disguise.

When Jethro Sheridan shows up not once but numerous times around a secret shelter for battered women, Sam uses her special abilities to warn him off. Not one to take the hint easily, Jeth becomes a thorn in Sam's side. As the stakes are raised to do a dirty mob boss intent on bringing his abused wife back home, Sam and Jeth find themselves in danger-from outside forces, and from the attraction that's brewing between them.

Romantic suspense with a paranormal twist, CHAMELEON is an engaging story with remarkable and memorable characters. Maybe if we all send Ms. Durgin an email, she'll write a follow-up story starring Sam I Am and her "Holy Batman" beau. One can always hope.

UPGRADE by Meredith Fletcher

In the year 2052, many things have changed in the way of technology and bioengineering, especially when it comes to advances made to the human body. For FBI Special Agent Christie Chace, advancement has brought change in the form of her special enhancements-vision, hearing, strength, adrenaline, speed. You name it, and Christie's probably had it enhanced-upgraded.

The enhancements help her do her job, but when a blackmailed scientist is murdered right before her eyes, Christie gets caught up in a dangerous game of hide and seek-and search and destroy-with a terrorist group known as Bronze Tigers. Thanks to the help of former Master Sergeant Dalton Geller, Christie escapes the set-up that claims the lives of several of her fellow agents. But now she's determined to bring down the Bronze Tigers, and she needs the ex-Ranger's help to do it.

But Dalton has his own problems, the least of which is his growing attraction to Grace. Ever since the death of his best friend, Mac Reynolds, was killed in battle, Dalton has made it his mission to protect Mac's widow, Dr. Grace Reynolds, and his son, Michael. Now that the Chinese Triad is after Grace and her research, and threatening her son to get it, Dalton has no choice but to work with Christie to protect everyone he loves.

Fast-paced action adventure with a strong romantic subplot, UPGRADE is the best of suspense, sci-fi, and medical thriller all in one. You won't go wrong with this strong, factually based story.

TOTAL RECALL by Vicki Hinze

Captain Darcy Clark, who works for the top-secret government agency known as S.A.S.S., has the unique abilities that require her to work alone. After a devastating fire in which she suffered a traumatic head injury, Darcy has the rare talent of total recall-everything she reads, hears, smells, tastes, or senses is immediately-and forever-imbedded into her brain.

When her commanding officer, Colonel Sally Drake, is ordered to put Darcy undercover as a customs agent alongside Agent Benjamin Kelly, things really start to get interesting. For Darcy, a self-imposed hermit since her accident, learns that she must not only work side by side with Ben, but at a very busy border crossing where she's bound to be inundated with an overload of sensory input, panic sets in. But Darcy is above all else a professional, and she sets out to do her job.

This job is beyond important, and failure is not an option. GRID-Group Resources for Individual Development-is a terrorist cell headed by Thomas Kunz. Kunz doesn't just hate Americans, he's made it his mission in life to destroy as many of them as he can. And when S.A.S.S. and its superiors learn of a plot to unleash radioactive bombs disguised as fireworks at the White House Fourth of July celebration, its up to Darcy and Ben to save the day.

For Ben, his attraction and admiration of Darcy is strong and immediate, but he knows as well as Darcy that the job must come first. Finding the traitor within their midst, stopping the delivery of the "dirty" bombs across the US border, was imperative. For the two of them, failure didn't just mean disappoint-it could well have lasting recriminations upon millions of United States citizens.

Tightly paced action and adventure along with two strong characters determined to overcome their own personal grievances make TOTAL RECALL a short story that you won't soon forget.

SMOKESCREEN is a book of three short stories in the Silhouette Bombshell tradition. You won't be disappointed with any of the three stories, and might, in fact, have only one complaint-that they had to end at all.… (mere)

Storm Force, by Meredith Fletcher, is a perfect vacation read. The author was kind enough to send me a copy, and I finished it over the course of just a few hours.

Kate Garrett is a wilderness guide in Florida. But an impending, disastrous hurricane is the least of her worries. Her ex-husband has sent their children to stay with her for a while, but someone seems to be following them. Escaped convicts capture Kate and use her to guide them to a hidden stash of money. One of the men claims to be an undercover FBI agent. But can she trust him? Especially, when her children's safety is at risk?

With colorful imagery and a strong heroine, Storm Force is a fun, fast-paced action/adventure story with heart. And a touch of romance. I'll definitely be looking forward to getting my hands on more books by Meredith Fletcher.… (mere)

Samantha St John works for the CIA, mostly in translation and things like that. However it looks like she's been working against the Government and trying to double cross them. However it looks like there are more than one of her and the other one is guilty, but is she.

Interesting romp of a book with likeable characters. The romance aspect is kept very much as an undertone. I wouldn't like to be her when they were suspicious of her, being locked up for a few weeks in a small cell would have driven me batty.… (mere)