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I enjoyed this book as it was interesting, had strong characters and a fast pace that kept you engaged with the story. Laurel is a bit pampered and spoilt and has been trying to rebel against her controlling father, including starting her own private investigator business. She can be frustrating and thoughtless at times as she heads off into danger but I liked that about her. She isn't a perfect heroine and of course she might behave erratically sometimes as her whole world starts to crumble around. I particularly liked that she wasn't as good at Tae Kwon Do as she thought and also her reaction towards the end of the book in the dining room was very realistic and well written.
Dylan is the other main character in the story and although he is more your typical strong macho male lead, he is very likable and sensitive. His evolving relationship with Laurel draws you into the story and kept me turning the pages to see what happened between them.
The plot was good and I loved the twist mid way through the book. It was intelligently written in a low key way that gave it greater impact and I certainly didn't see it coming! However, I did have issue with some of the other characters and plot lines. The investigator Mike turns up at the funeral with an old newspaper article and sparks off the feeling of mystery but he goes nowhere in the story. In fact the whole book could have done without him as Laurel finds the same article in her fathers' affairs. It was a huge coincidence that Mike decided to look into this unsolved crime and he serves no real purpose. Also the involvement of the plastic surgeon, Dr Gunderson, seemed off key. By another coincidence his wife comes to ask Laurel to investigate if he was having an affair which leads Laurel to discover new information about her father as the two knew each other. It turns out that the doctor was involved with the mysterious scheme but only in the capacity of a plastic surgeon so it doesn't really make sense that he would be involved with other details of the day to day investigation and sending emails about them.
I give this book 3 out of 4 stars as I enjoyed it and it held my interest throughout. The characters were well written as was the relationship between Laurel and Dylan. The style is similar to Mary Higgins Clark although I preferred Patricia Harreld as I found her plot a bit less predictable and the characters less stereotypical. I'd recommend this book as a good romantic thriller and I would be interested in reading more of her books.
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