Sleep With the Lights On by Maggie Shayne

Ms. Shayne has an interesting mind.  She always comes up some odd, unique concept to work into her stories.  She's done it again in this book.  Nothing is ever normal in her books.

Harlequin and Net Galley allowed me to download an ebook for review (thank you).  It will be published September 24th, so check with your local bookstore then.

Rachel writes about the power of positive thinking and has made a lot of money from it.  She doesn't believe it, she just writes about it.  She's blind, her brother is missing, and she's frustrated with the police.  When she steps out in front of a car because she's too caught up in thought, she gets hit and meets Mason, a cop.  She has no idea how this is going to impact her life.  Mason donates her corneas from his brother so she can see again.

Mason's older brother is a monster.  He has no desire to be but his mind controls him.  He calls the bad part his "rat".  He's murdering young men and dumping them in a lake on property that he and Mason own.  When he finds himself being tempted to attack his own son, he does what he can to save his own young one:  he commits suicide.

Mason has a dilemma.  He can't show the suicide note or the evidence to other officers or the survivors will be twice as devastated.  So he hides it.  And he gives away his brother's organs to try to undo some of the evil.  Unfortunately, that's not how it works.  Those that got organs seem to have a bit of the "rat" in them, too.

This is a tension filled story with grisly remembrances of past murders and no clue to the current killer.  If his brother is dead, who's out there now?  And why are they targeting Rachel?   Even worse, could the bad part of his brother actually still be alive?

Reading this one will keep you awake at night.  It does give you some food for thought, too.  Trust me, you won't be bored.

Happy reading.

The Husband She Couldn't Remember by Maggie Shayne

If you woke up out of a coma and had no idea who you were or where you were, what would you do?  If you found an address in the lining of coat, would you be brave enough to go there to see what you would find?

Harlequin Treasury is reprinting books first issued in the 1990's.  They are offering them on Net Galley and that's where I snagged my copy for review (thank you both).  Ms. Shayne's books have always sold well for me (as a bookseller) so I expected this would be a good read.  It certainly was.

The author picked an unusual disease to inflict on her main character.  It's a terminal disease that offers no hope.  So when Ben found Penny had died in an auto accident that probably wasn't any accident, he tried to accept that.  All he could focus on was the fact that he had lost her and his heart would never been the same.

When the woman in the coma awakens and finds the doctor and nurse are not telling her the whole truth, she sets out to find out who she is and why no one come to visit while she was in the hospital.

Ben recognizes her as she observes him from afar, but his family is trying hard not to treat him as if he's crazy since they've never seen her.  They all know she's dead.  Then he finds Penny at her grave site.  And she doesn't have the faintest idea who he is; or who Penny is for that matter.  He's attractive, but she feels no emotional tie to him.

They both have some obstacles to overcome before the relationship can go back to normal.  Peggy needs to discover who she is now.  Ben needs to adjust to the fact that this Peggy is different from the woman he married.  If that wasn't enough, someone is after Penny and she's in danger...

This story flows well, tells an interesting tale, and has plenty of excitement go around.  It reads up pretty fast.  Not to worry, there are a lot more Maggie Shayne books can read if you want more.  Why not start with Penny and Ben and then venture into some more of her stories?  They're a great beach read.

Happy reading.

Kiss Me, Kill Me by Maggie Shayne

Someone is after her son. She's been protecting him all her life and she's not going to stop now.

Harlequin has published this book in paperback. I downloaded my review copy from Net Galley (thank you) and was pleasantly surprised by just how good a read this was. I hadn't read Maggie Shane's books before because she was doing a vampire series, and I'm not into vampires (despite the latest craze for them).

A new doctor is traveling to her new job when she finds a pregnant woman ready to deliver. She helps her deliver the baby, then goes to find a phone to call for help. She can't find a phone but when she returns, the lady is gone. However, her jacket has the baby cuddled in it!

Carrie adopts the baby but lives in fear that someone will take him away from her.

Ms. Shayne's characters are strong and vibrant. The plot is interesting. It's a bit far fetched, but this is fiction and it makes a good story.

The author gives you three new people in town that could all potentially mean trouble for Carrie and Sam. I didn't see the ending coming - it has suspense all the way through the book.

This is a good thriller/romance tale and well worth a read. Get yourself a copy and see what you think - I think you'll like it.