Scarlet Vows

Courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques Brie Dudley is a young waitress and single mother to her three-year-old daughter, Nicole. She has managed to keep secret who the father is, afraid of what the town's reaction would be to the truth. She has her life on track; working towards her college degree, keeping a full-time job to pay the bills, and raising Nicole, her pride and joy. Life starts to fall apart though when Brie's mother's cancer returns, inoperable. Drew Pierce is one of the sons of the town's leading family, and is following in his father's footsteps to the life of a politician. He has returned to Moriah's Landing after several years away, to run for mayor. He is the prodigal son returned, who has never quite gotten over the one woman who made his heart sing, the one that got away. When Drew first sees Brie again, he is stunned to feel the twinge of feelings he thought long buried and forgotten. Upon seeing Nicole, he is even more surprised to see his own eyes staring back at him. Now that he has found the daughter he never knew existed, he won't let her or her mother get away again. Brie has loved Drew for as long as she can remember, but she longed for a marriage of hearts, not convenience which is what she feels she is getting. When the wife of well-known research doctor and gene therapy expert, Leland Manning is killed, rumors about "whodunit?" start to fly. Brie turns to Dr. Manning in desperation for her mother's life, and finds she runs the risk of becoming the next target of the murderer. Drew now has to track down this killer before Brie ends up dead, especially when it appears the same person is after Nicole as well. Who is the killer and why do they want Nicole? Is this the serial killer of 20 years ago returned? Or is it one of the secret society of scientists, who wants Brie and Nicole for their twisted lab experiments? Will Drew and Brie admit their love before it is too late? This third installment in the MORIAH'S LANDING series is another engrossing read. After having met Brie in the previous two books, it was good to see her own story finally. Her entire life revolves around everyone but herself, and especially around her precious daughter. Drew is a pillar of the community, well loved by everyone. He seems slightly reserved at first, though thoughtful of others, but upon finding Brie again...and his daughter, the reader sees the true extent of his emotions and passion for his new family. Brie is fiercely independent and very proud, so much in fact, she has a very hard time accepting help from anyone, especially Drew, who is making his bid for mayor and she feels he doesn't need her situation to cloud people's opinions of him. Dr. Manning is suitably dark and mysterious, the perfect personality for encouraging the wild stories surrounding his secluded lab where he conducts who knows what kind of experiments. Once the real adventure starts, with some unknown stranger stalking Brie and Nicole, the story heats up and

This is book 3 of a 4 book continuity series entitle Moriah's Landing. Book one is "Secret Sanctuary" by Amanda Stevens (Harlequin Intrigue, No. 650). Book two is "Howling in the Darkness" by B.J. Daniels (Harlequin Intrigue, No. 654). The final book is "Behind the Veil" by Joanna Wayne (Harlequin Intrigue, No. 662). This romance series is suppose to be classic gothic fantasy set in a modern day New England town. I enjoyed these books. I hate to say more, since I don't want to give anything away ;-)

I found this to be an exciting book by this author. The story moves swiftly with convoluted directions, scary thoughts and a satisifactory ending. Can't wait for the next issue of this series about a small coastal town where once witches were thought to reign.