In the Shadow of Evil

Nancy C.
Weeks
Genre: 
Suspense-Thriller

Evil has followed Jennie around for nearly her entire life.  Pursued and obsessed over by a powerful, vindictive man, Jennie only wants to teach her students and get rid of the man who killed her parents and so many others. Jared McNeil knows the hell that Jessie has been through.  He once infiltrated Mendoza's household and protected the teenage Jessie as best he could.  Now that Jessie is a fully grown woman, Jared's protective nature is nearly overtaken by his attraction to the headstrong and lovely teacher.  With the help of his brothers, Jared once again comes to Jennie's rescue.  However, evil takes many forms, and their desires are put on hold as they come face to face with their mutual enemy.

This is a fast-paced story full of action and movement.  Jessie and Jared's past muddles the romantic waters for a bit as they work out just where they stand with each other.  There is also an awkward telepathic element and a confusing secondary storyline that seem to come from nowhere and detract from the initial plot. Aside from that, Jared and his brothers have a great camaraderie that really fills out as the action progresses. Jessie and Jared's romance builds slowly from a tentative, barely there attraction to full blown awareness.  Admittedly, the romance seems a bit fast for the time frame.  But the suspense elements and the secondary characters really help to fill out the empty spaces and add much to the life of this story.  Add in the truly evil, sociopathic villain and his minion, and this is an author to watch out for in the Romantic Suspense genre! 

Nicole Duke