Survival Instinct

Yes, you read the byline right; I am, in fact, a red-blooded American male who will admit to reading series romance books in public. (In both senses of the phrase, at that -- most of SURVIVAL INSTINCT went by while I was either riding on or waiting for buses. And no one even looked at me funny.) Then again, the Bombshell line -- and Doranna Durgin's books in particular -- isn't the marshmallow fare we men have been led to believe prevails in the romance world. Like its predecessors in Durgin's "Hunter Agency" series, SURVIVAL INSTINCT is a sharply drawn, realistically edgy action yarn featuring a strong female lead and a likeable if stubborn hero. As in previous novels, Durgin gets points for creating characters who don't make Stupid Action Hero Mistakes[tm] -- well, for the most part anyway. And Karin's background gives her a better-than-average excuse for walking into trouble late in the book; she has good reason to give trust sparingly, and she takes sensible precautions. Result: another solid read from Durgin, with more than enough groundwork laid for an even more compelling sequel. Don't let the series-romance labeling fool you; these books are high grade capital-S Suspense.

From the moment I opened the pages I was drawn into the world of Karin Sommers. Doranna has the ability to craft the characters so that you almost become that character. The opening scene had me on the edge of my seat. Would they get away from their step-father, and when the car came to a halt, it was almost like watching a movie, I actually flinched when the truck came up. Living through Karin's adventures was a wild roller coaster ride and I didn't stop to breath until it was over. Having Kimmer and the Hunter agency thrown in was the cream on the ice cream sundae. Yummy and I want more!

Karin Sommers decides to go straight after a life as a con artist, but to succeed she knows she must flee her stepfather, She also realizes she needs help so she turns to her half-sister Ellen, who gladly assists her beloved sibling. Alas a happy ending escapes them when Ellen dies in a car accident. Karin becomes Ellen to hide from her stepfather and to avoid arrest as there is now a warrant out on her. One year later investigator Dave Hunter finds her and, thinking she is Ellen, demands she help him locate an abducted boy snatched by her former boyfriend, a probable child molester. Karin agrees to help him though it risks her cover. However, what she fears most is her attraction to the obviously intelligent detective who if she reveals the truth will surely take her in as he is ethical by the book. The key to this action-packed thriller is Karin who feels guilt over Ellen's death, but shock once she learns her half-sister whom she placed on a pedestal had some dark secrets too. While the plot focuses on a desperate attempt to rescue the child and to a degree on the attraction between the sleuth and the woman in hiding, the tale's refreshing angle is the emotions of the heroine. Karin is a terrific center to an action-packed thriller. Harriet Klausner