Murder in the Hamptons

Maggie Harding is a rather uptight young woman who craves control and likes rules and boundaries. She rarely does anything crazy or spontaneous but she did so in a big way five years ago. She spent a wild weekend in a Key West hotel room with a gorgeous and very sexy man. They did not exchange last names and she snuck out like the coward she is while he was sleeping. Fun as it was, thank God she'll never see him again! And she's determined to never lose control like that again. Now she has agreed to accompany a girlfriend to a weekend houseparty in the Hamptons. The occasion is the launch of a former teen idol's comeback after a stint in rehab. The house is full of "beautiful people" who are really quite ugly. Jealous co-stars, nasty producers, agents and so-called friends. And one tall, dark and gorgeous man that is all too familiar. Oh no! It's him! Tyler Brody did a double-take when he saw her. He never forgot that wonderful weekend in the Keys with that beautiful, fun-loving woman. And now here she was being introduced to him by their hostess. Unfortunately, she seems nothing like the woman he remembers. She seems uptight, nervous - what happened to her? He was extremely disappointed when he woke up alone five years ago, sorry that there was no way for him to find her. But Tyler is a live-for-the-moment kind of guy. He's spontaneous, free spirited and he does what he wants, when he wants. And right now he wants to rekindle the romance with Maggie. The weekend is off to a bumpy start with Tyler pursuing Maggie and Maggie trying to avoid Tyler. Not to mention the tension of the assembled company. So much sniping and drinking making the atmosphere extremely uncomfortable, especially for outsiders like Maggie and Tyler (who's reason for being invited I never really got). Maggie's resolve begins to crumble fast under Tyler's dogged pursuit and her own attraction to him. Soon they are lovers again though Maggie still has her concerns about the kind of man Tyler is. But there's little time to worry about that when one of the guests is found dead on the lawn and the police place them all under house arrest until the crime is solved. Great. So much for avoiding him or even leaving early! Maggie decides she needs to find the murderer soon before she loses her heart to a man who's likely to take off again as soon as the mood strikes him. So Maggie begins doing some amateur sleuthing and, because he wants to be near her, Tyler tags along and together they set out to find out which of the guests is a murderer. I loved Tyler. What a terrific guy! I couldn't understand why she fought her attraction to him so hard and that's my biggest problem with the book. The lady doth protest too much that he was somehow wrong for her. As for the murder mystery, I found that on a certain level I didn't care who done it. There were a few too many suspects and they were all so unlikable that I really didn't care about any of them. A

Manhattan designer Maggie Harding accompanies her friend Lucy at a Hollywood stars gala at Paige Redmond's Hampton Estate. However, her stomach turns upside down when she sees Tyler at the event. Five years following her boyfriend "Terrible Tom" ending their relationship via voice mail she met Tyler in the Keys; they exchanged first names and had three incredible one-night-stands before Maggie fled in the morning light. Tyler has looked for her ever since. Maggie hopes to sneak away as she fears how deep Tyler touched her then and how much she wants him now. Tyler plans to never let her go as he knows she is the one. She tries to slip back to Manhattan, but a corpse on the lawn has led to the proverbial don't leave town by the police. While Maggie concludes she must uncover the killer to escape from Tyler, he mounts a campaign to win her heart. This is a fun amateur sleuth romance starring a likable hero who knows who he wants for life and a confused chick lit like individual who sees solving the case as her escape from her heart. Converging on Maggie, the two subplots keep the reader entertained as Tyler pursues a running away Maggie while she chases after the killer. MURDER IN THE HAMPTONS is a fine tale. Harriet Klausner