The Bodyguard's Baby

I love rediscovering the Harlequin Intrigue line. I was an avid reader when they first came out in the 80's, then I got away from them because they got to be the same old thing. But with new authors like Debra Webb and her Colby Agency series, (along with a few old favorites) I'm an Intrigue fan all over again. I prefer grittier stories with lots of tension and suspense, and Ms. Webb really delivers with THE BODYGUARD'S BABY. Stubborn and dark, Nick is a hero to love. And Laura's predicament kept me right on the edge of my seat. I wouldn't normally pick up a secret baby story, but GO GET THIS ONE NOW! It's a real page-turner. An emotional feast.

What a scary situation for the heroine, Laura Proctor! I cannot imagine one more frightening that for everyone around you to consider you crazy when you're scrambling to find your kidnapped child. And no one believes the child really exists, even the father. This one will keep you up ALL night turning pages. Debra Webb never lets a reader get complacent, never allows one to think, "Aha, I know what's gonna happen next." Nick, the hero, is my favorite kind of guy, a go-getter who never gives up and never gives in, and his feelings run deep. If you love suspense, you've gotta read this one for sure!

I just finished The Bodyguard's Baby. This is a book you don't want to start before dinner, or if you have to pick the children up. Ms. Webb's heroine is in serious trouble from the beginning, and Ms. Webb has a real talent for making the reader feel her tension and pain. And, there IS tension as she tries desperately to figure out what's happening. The hero also is well developed and I found myself wanting to yell at him that the heroine was telling him the truth. Finally, when it seems things can't get worse, they do. This one is a real page turner. I can hardly wait for Ms. Webb's next offering.

Debra Webb kicks off a new line of secret child books with "The Bodyguard's Baby." Two years after the woman he was supposed to be guarding disappeared, Nick Foster learns that Laura Proctor has been spotted. He goes after her, intending to return her to her brother as he was originally hired to do. Laura claims her baby is missing, only she can't prove she has a baby and all the evidence is disappearing. Someone is trying to make Laura look crazy. Can she hope that Nick will believe her without giving away the secret of her baby's father?"The Bodyguard's Baby" is a big step up for Webb from her first Intrigue, "Safe By His Side." In this taut, compelling thriller, the author's relentless pacing dares the reader to leave the edge of her seat. The mystery is far superior to that in "Safe By His Side," full of old secrets and hidden motives (though again, only two suspects makes it a little too easy to guess who the villain will turn out to be). The heroine is also better. Laura is stronger and more courageous for everything she has to go through, though too much of it comes at the hands of her hero. Nick's hardheadedness and lack of faith in the heroine make him hard to warm up to (I laughed out loud when a villain made a comment about the hardness of Nick's skull. It's so true) and go on far too long. But it's impossible not to root for a heroine who finds herself in the nightmare Laura faces. Chased by a killer no one believes exists, trying to find a child no one believes she had, Laura's struggles make this a thriller in the best sense of the word. This is a truly frightening scenario, and any reader who puts herself in Laura's shoes will be anxiously turning pages to find out what happens next. Best of all, Laura doesn't whine and she doesn't give in. She keeps fighting. Anyone who wants to read about a great heroine, here's a book for you. In 220 pages, Webb delivers a better thriller than most mainstreams I've read, with enough suspense and emotion to lift this book above its cliched plot hook.For the first 220 pages of this book, I was sure I had a five star read on my hands. It's the ending that disappoints. The wonderful tension of the first twelve chapters vanishes, and the final two chapters sputter along after the story should have reached its natural conclusion. The delay of the happy ending is unnecessary and annoying. One final suspense-free action sequence and a drawn-out emotional climax are not what this book needs. The wonderful beginning and middle needed a great finish. Sadly, "The Bodyguard's Baby" doesn't have one. By the end, I just wanted the book to be over before I got more irritated.On a side note, I really wish the Intrigue editors could space out books that are so similar. This is the second January Intrigue to involve a woman being made to look insane, with Harper Allen's "Woman Most Wanted." (For the record, Allen's is more original, humorous and wonderfully surprising, Webb's more suspe

I loved Ms Webb's second book for Harlequin Intrigue, Bodyguard's Baby. In a well-crafted book, Ms Webb spins another wonderful Colby agency case, this time with Nick Foster and Laura Proctor. He's her former bodyguard (Colby Agent). He thought she was dead for the last two years (blamed himself); plus he was almost killed the day she disappeared. Now he's found her and she claims her baby is missing (his baby, of course).Ms Webb grabs the reader from page one and doesn't let go. Bodyguard's Baby has the same fast pace as her first intrigue, Safe By His Side. Even though I knew that this would end happily, I kept turning the pages as fast as I could read to get to the bottom of this mystery. This is catagory romance at intrigue's best and hopefully, Harlequin will keep her producing more great books.