Annabelle Vanderley is 34. Since she was 23 she has been the one to handle all the responsibility in her family. Her fiancee was in an accident and was paralyzed. For the last 11 years she has been alone taking care of him for the 9 years until his death and still taking care of her uncle and his 2 preverted children, Lulu and Wythe. At 28 Lulu is wild and selfish, Wythe is an abuser and even worse. But Annabelle loves her uncle and protects him from the truth about his children.

Quinn Cortez is an attorney. He has come from nothing and from the first uses his brilliant mind for the one with the most money. A judge saved him and turned him around at 16 so he tries to help other young people. He may do good for youngsters needing a hand, but he's not so good on women. Quinn is a lov'm and leav'm sort of guy. The string of broken hearts is long and winding. He may be passionate but he's not compassionate to women. His affairs are legion and so is his reputation. Quinn doesn't make love he just fills physical needs.

Annabelle is summoned to Memphis where Lulu lives. She is shocked to learn Lulu has been murdered, she was found by her latest lover, Quinn. Naturally he is the main suspect. When they meet the unexpected happens. Quinn finds for the first time he has met a woman he can relate to. Annabelle finds him attractive but knows only to well, that the man is a player and he may have killed her cousin.

Both try to hire the same private investigator and thus find themselves joining together to find the murderer. If Annabelle can learn to trust Quinn and overcome the unwanted attraction she feels, maybe they can solve this case. However, suddenly another one of Quinn's lovers is found dead. The police and the PI find 3 other women over the last 2 years who have been killed in the same way. All of them had had affairs with Quinn, and since he has been having black-outs he is not even sure he didn't do it. So how can Annabelle be so sure?

When Annabelle starts an affair with Quinn she puts herself in the path of a psychopath. One who will stop at nothing to make Quinn pay for his free and easy life style. The rage of a woman scorned can cause the most terrible pain. And someone has to pay.

The mix of characters is wonderful and we are assured that Beverly will give each of these new personalities their own story. I look forward to each and every one. Her suspense thrillers just get better and better.

WHEN A KILLER DOESN'T WANT TO GET CAUGHT...

The woman has been waiting impatiently on her satin sheets. Her lover knows exactly how to satisfy her. But this time, he has something else planned...something that will really take her breath away...

THERE'S ONLY ONE WAY TO ELIMINATE HIS VICTIMS...

In the courtroom, defense lawyer Quinn Cortez has a reputation as a ruthless predator who always gets what he wants. In the bedroom, it's no different. Quinn is an accomplished seducer with a long list of conquests. But now, someone has brutally slaughtered one of them, and Quinn has no memory of the night he was found in her home...

SOFTLY...

Annabelle Vanderley wants justice for her murdered cousin, and if Quinn Cortez swears he can find the true killer, she's willing to give him the benefit of a doubt. But then another body is discovered...and another...each victim an ex-lover of Quinn's. Now, consumed by dread, Annabelle wonders just how close she may be to a twisted psychopath for whom her pain would be the ultimate pleasure...

When Annabelle Vanderlay arrives in Memphis to claim the body of her slain cousin, the last thing she expects is to find herself attracted to the man who discovered her body, who also happens to be a suspect in her death.

Quinn Cortez is a confident, sexy, self-made success. He is a shark of an attorney, with the same reputation in the bedroom. But someone is killing his lovers. As the investigation unfolds, four additional murders have the same calling card - smothered and the index finger severed, and all but one is tied to Quinn. It has all the markings of a serial killer - could Quinn be living a double life? After all, he seems to suffer from blackouts at the same time as the killings.

Both Annabelle and Quinn retain the services of a top notch private investigator to insure that the killer of Lulu Vanderlay is caught. Though in her heart she knows that Quinn is innocent, she can't help but wonder... Also in competition for her affections is one of the investigators, Chad George. Outwardly, he is the perfect man, but as Annabelle gets to know Chad and Quinn, she gets to know who is truly the more honorable man.

I did not get the sense that the two had much chemistry; prior to Lulu's funeral, she barely gave him the time of day (she seemed more interested in Chad), then suddenly she is totally hung up on him and they can't leave the hotel room? So much was made of him being a womanizer, but when he made a list of lovers over the last two years, it was single digits... I expected a lot more from a womanizing himbo.

While there is a great deal of suspense, it really does not take a brain surgeon to see the direction the story will take when all is revealed, nor the identity of the killer. And that creepy cousin just gives you the willies. I found that I like the secondary characters better - Jim and Griffin - and I am happy to hear that they will have a story of their own coming to a bookstore soon.

Cast of characters: Quinn Cortez, self-made zillionaire lawyer and quite the womanizer. Annabelle Vanderley, smart, born to wealth and privilege, and keeps the Vanderley family business running smoothly. Lulu Vanderley, gorgeous cousin of Annabelle who lived hard, played hard, ended up dead. Wythe Vanderley, Lulu's creepy, lazy stepbrother. Kendall Wells, attorney; Jim Norton, police lieutenant; Chad George, slimy, pompous police sergeant; Griffin Powell, investigator extraordinaire.

It's early spring in Memphis. Lulu invited Quinn to her home to celebrate winning his latest big case. He arrives and finds her dead. He, of course, becomes the prime suspect, even though her date book lists other names many times. He hires his long time friend, Kendall Wells to defend him; a few days later she's dead. Annabelle comes to Memphis to make funeral arrangements and find out who killed her cousin. Annabelle meets Quinn; did he kill Lulu? Can she trust him? They both hire Griffin to investigate the case. It's soon discovered that other former lovers of Quinn's have been killed in the same manner as Lulu and Kendall. Is a serial killer on the loose? Is Quinn being set up? Why? Will Lulu's secret be revealed? Will Annabelle be Quinn's next love interest? Whodunit?????

There are just enough surprises in this story to keep your interest and really keep you guessing whodunit.

I have read all of Bevery Barton's other books for Zebra & enjoyed them, but I could not get into Quinn Cortez. He is not a likeable hero. The story itself is good, no problems there. The problem for me was Quinn & Annabelle. I personally thought they had no chemistry and I found nothing appealing about Quinn, except that he has good looks. For followers of Beverly Barton it is worth reading but nothing to get exicted over.