Affair of Risk

Kendra Loring met Case Garrett in his Lake Tahoe casino while she's on an errand delivering a partial payment for a friend in trouble. They are instantly attracted though she doesn't want anything to do with any man and hasn't for four years. Things might have simmered for a while but Kendra is accosted by a thug outside her hotel room and calls Case for help after she takes the man out with judo. She's afraid he might be dead and figures Case will know how to handle it, drawing the two characters much closer together. And that's just the beginning. An early work by Jayne Castle/ Krentz, this book's main flaw is the overly dramatic behavior of the characters. Still, the author is very good at taking what might be stereotypical characters (the strong woman who has been hurt in the past, the man with mysterious connections) and pull them right down into mundane reality. I think Case overdoes it quite a lot in enjoying his criminal reputation, though. Recommended.