Innocent as Sin

Innocent as Sin is a terrific, can't put it down, story. Kayla Shaw is a bright, world traveled free spirit who's finally settled down to work at a bank and ends up in the world of private banking, personally taking care of a few very wealthy clients. Rand McCree is an artist and former agent trying to recover from a life changing incident. One of Kayla's clients, a REAL bad guy, ends up bringing them together and sending them on the run. I don't want to give any details away but, as usual, Elizabeth Lowell has written a wonderful romantic suspense. I love how she gives great detail about her characters and their lives and I find myself always learning about something new in her books (Like all the info about the gem industry in her great Amber Cove series) I couldn't put it down...dinner was late tonight...LOL...and I loved every minute of it! Elizabeth Lowell has done it again!

Reed and Rand McCree are identical twins and in the prologue are on a "photo" mission for St. Kilda Consulting (introduced in the "Wrong Hostage" book). They are in a blind and getting photos of the Siberian -- a gun runner who is messing with the politics in various African governments not to mention accumulating millions of dollars from his "trade." Unfortunately, they are spotted and Reed is severely wounded by a sniper shot from the Siberian and further wounded and killed by enemy helicopter strafing fire. Five years later we are in Arizona where private banker Kayla Shaw has sold her family ranch, is looking forward to moving on with her life and has a very demanding client, the Bertones! She talks to her boss when this client threatens her and it turns out that her client was behind the very efficient sale of her ranch at the asking price. Her boss tells her to deposit the $22 million check in a special account in Aruba and he will take care of the rest. In the meantime in Seattle, Joe Faroe (Wrong Hostage) has gone to see Rand McCree and have him get pictures of Kayla's client as St. Kilda's believes he is the Siberian who killed Rand's brother. Rand is a painter and agrees to go to the "Fast Draw" competiton as a party the Bertones are giving to benefit the Scottsdale Art Museum. He takes with him a camera that is two-in-one: a normal camera plus on the side at a 90 degree angle a second lense that takes digital pictures onto a small memory card. Kayla knows that she is getting in deeper and deeper with the Bertones and hopes her boss will contact her soon with what she should do as she doesn't want to be involved in criminal activity. She also goes to their party and when she sees Rand's paintings she realizes this is the "R. McCree" on a painting she bought at an estate sale some time ago. Bertone asks her to meet him on his patio at 7pm after the prize presentation for the "Fast Draw". As she is waiting, lights go out and suddenly the sound system is blasting loud music and Kayla pulls a small knife from her purse as she is scared. Rand also notices what is going on and, of course, saves her from Bertone's henchman who was going to kidnap and torture her!! How they gather evidence and finally are able to find out who all the "good" and "bad" guys are and the final climax are suspenseful and exciting. The romance between Rand and Kayla is also fun if a bit rushed. A book I couldn't put down until I finished it!!

There is a reason that I wait and watch for any book written by Elizabeth Lowell...and a reason I do not hesitate to put down the money for the hardcover. She is consistently excellent in her writing. This may be her best since the Donovan days! I loved this book. The tension and suspense are well written and believable. I loved Rand and Kayla - what a great team they made - and the chemistry between them was hot!! I hated to see the book come to end, but you can bet I'll be waiting for the next installment of the St. Kilda team.

Lowell delivers an excellent, suspense-filled novel that is wonderfully plotted and drawn with interesting and realistic characters. One of the things I liked best about this book is that the author builds in seemingly insignficant details at the beginning which she then uses to great effect later, especially during the climax. (No spoilers here--you'll have to read it to find out!) The good (if slightly flawed) guys from St. Kilda are back in action, and characters from previous novels are used to great effect. Once again, Lowell has done excellent research, this time into gun running in Africa, that adds an authentic feel to the book. Kayla is no wimpy, waiting-to-be rescued woman-in-distress; she thinks on her feet and makes smart decisions once she realizes she is in trouble. She is well-matched in Rand, and together they take on the evil Siberian, a thoroughly ruthless and powerful foe. A little romance happens along the way, making this a thoroughly satisfying read. Highly recommended!

i liked this book. (for a summary see the other reviewer) i thought it was very well written. i enjoyed the characters and the plot. the characters weren't one dimensional - even the bad guys had their soft spots (kids, etc). it was interesting and fast moving and never boring. i would highly recomend this book. (i will say the one thing i didn't like is that kayla cut corners and that is how she got in trouble. i know it seemed innocent, but there are reasons that those laws exist, as she found out)