Touch of Evil

If ever a character deserved to jump the turnstile and take off with her own book, it's smart, funny, compassionate Justine Wofford, who first showed up in Colleen Thompson's "Beneath Bone Lake." As always, Thompson delivers the goods with engaging characters, zingy dialogue, great atmosphere, and plot that makes like a freight train.

One suicide seems to change the face of a small lakeside border town between Texas and Louisiana. When not one but three members of a zydeco band turn up dead with nooses around their neck, Sheriff Justine Wofford doesn't believe the deaths are suicide. Justine has her hands full enough as it is but she can't help but go against her. Serving out her late husband's term, she butts head with other law enforcement officers and she herself is under investigation for corruption matters. Her personal life is not much better, She worries about her autistic son and an old flame, Doctor Ross Bollinger is back in town. Ross Bollinger's cousin Laney Thibodeaux is the sole surviving member of the zydeco band. A break-in at Laney's house complicates the case. Once a suspect, now possibly in danger, Laney brings together Justine and Ross in an uneasy relationship. Together they ignite the passion that once was but life and this case has a way of complicating matters. As Justine investigates the case, suspicions turn to her as the guilty party, but somewhere out there a killer still threatens. Will that danger bring Ross and Justine back together or separate them forever? Will they discover the identity the murderer before it is too late? In TOUCH OF EVIL, Colleen Thompson revisits the community of Bone Lake, a book that first introduces Sheriff Justine Wofford to readers. A TOUCH OF EVIL can most definitely be read as a stand-alone novel or even in reverse order. However, to feel the full effect of the effect of Colleen Thompson's innovation, this reader recommends reading both TOUCH OF EVIL and BENEATH BONE LAKE. Justine Wofford is surely a fascinating character in both books, but Colleen Thompson fans will find a special delight in seeing the development of Justine from the previous novel into a heroine of romantic suspense in A TOUCH OF EVIL. Colleen Thompson is an innovative writer, a writer who takes chances -- chances that work. Each book provides something new, something daring, something exciting. Quotes about hanging begin each chapter, ramping up the eerie, emotional dimension of the suspense and the deaths of the Zydeco band members. At first glance, Sheriff Justine Wofford seems an unlikely heroine with all the issues pressing down on her, and yet Colleen Thompson brings a richness of character to her. Despite all the hecticness of her life, Justine is quite alone inside. She doesn't love easily. Ross is an admirable man. The passion between them was intense in the past. Why did he disappear? Colleen Thompson adds a touch of mystery to the romance as well as the exhilarating hunt for the answers to the case. Colleen Thompson's flawed characters make for one exciting thrill ride. When physical passion between her and Ross turns to love, the romance feels all the richer and complete. TOUCH OF EVIL is edgy fast-paced romantic suspense with chilling twists and turns to keep readers on the edge of their seats. The passion

On the rural Texas-Louisiana border Widow Preston County Sheriff Justine Wofford is completing her late husband's term, but has no support. Her deputies believe she is incapable of the job; the state is investigating corruption charges, and the Dogwood Sentinel editorial wants her hanging just like the three band victims of an apparent serial killer as suicide seems a stretch to Justine though statistics say serial suicides occur. To add insult to literally her on the job injury, her former lover Dr. Ross Bollinger treats her for a blow to her head. He has only recently returned to work after a virus caused heart damage that enhanced his already broken heart after his ardent affair with Justine ended a few months ago; not that the sheriff is handling their heated affair and break up any better. A break in into the home of Ross' niece Laney is investigated by Justine. The sheriff loathes this inquiry because it brings her back into Ross' circle and besides Laney is a prime suspect in the three suspicious deaths. However, subsequently another homicide of a deputy places Justine on the top of the suspect list. Touch of Evil is an action-packed police procedural romantic suspense enhanced by a strong ER medical thriller subplot. The cast is solid especially the beleaguered sheriff and the emergency room doctor. However, it is the investigation that owns the novel as evidence points to serial suicides in what looks like a band member's pact until the deputy dies. Although perhaps there is too much negative activity engulfing Justine that threatens to overwhelm the whodunit, Colleen Thompson provides an entertaining gripping thriller. Harriet Klausner

Beneath every innocent small town, with its friendly faces, the familiarity of family, and the comfort of acquaintances known since childhood, exists an alternate world of greed, gossip, petty jealousy, and personal failures that can easily slide into a touch of evil. Sheriff Justine Wofford's personal failures have left her alone raising her nine-year-old, autistic son, Noah. She also finds herself under investigation by Texas Rangers when financial problems prompt her to accept without question extraneous funds that appear in her late husband's bank account. Too late does she realize the good `ole boy network of business men in Dogwood, Texas expect a return on their investment in the form of awarded county budget contracts and her "looking the other way" when necessary. She's even blown the only good thing to come into her life recently, Dr. Ross Bollinger, an emergency room doctor who won Noah's trust and Justine's heart. But he broke it off with her after a torrid, six-week affair, leaving her once again alone. A rash of hangings at Bone Lake, which appear to be suicides, leaves Justine with little time to focus on anything but her job, which includes butting heads with her red-necked deputies who believe the sheriff should be a man. Ross Bollinger has been away for several months, incapacitated with a heart virus, and is shocked to find that his young cousin Laney has not only lost her boyfriend, but is the only surviving member of her zydeco band, the others all dreadfully dead by their own hand. When Laney is threatened, and Justine is attacked, Ross must again deal with his feelings for the town's sheriff, a woman who refused to give him anything but hot sex when he wanted so much more. Justine doesn't believe the hangings are suicides, and will not close the files. Instead, she broadens her investigation, checking for similar deaths in the state, looking for any signs of foul play. When a deputy is shot, and her young son is threatened, the sheriff will risk all to solve the crime, including life and love. Colleen Thompson has written the quintessential romantic suspense novel, filled with mystery and intrigue, situations that shimmer with ambiguity, only to come into clear focus when explained, and a romance filled with impossible conflicts overcome by the intensity, heat and emotion of true love. This is an exciting page-turner, with a stomach clenching climax and a sigh-of-relief ending.

After her husband dies due to a sudden stroke, Justine steps into his position. During Sheriff Justine Wofford's grief and trying to care for her nine-year-old autistic son, Noah, she does not make the best decisions. Therefore, Justine is blindly led by various people down the wrong path. By the time she pulls herself together, Justine's career is circling the drain. In the past month, three men have been discovered dead by hanging. Chief Deputy Savoy, who is gunning for her office in next year's election, tries to convince Justine that they were suicides. But this time the sheriff finds evidence of murder. All three men were part of an up-and-coming zydeco band. Now only one band member still breaths, the female lead singer named Laney Thibodeaux. Laney is the cousin of Dr. Ross Bollinger, one of the local emergency room physicians. A few months prior, Justine and Ross had a brief affair. Ross ended it. But when Justine is brought in with head trauma due to an assault, Ross must admit to himself that he still cares for the young sheriff. Problem is that even though his cousin has received threatening fan mail Justine keeps her objectivity and treats Laney as she would any other suspect. The stakes are high as a killer walks free in the county. Justine must find the killer, deal with the rising body count, handle disgruntled lawmen, and more. But can Justine get to the bottom of everything while the attractive physician keeps her pulse pounding? ***** FIVE STARS! Colleen Thompson brings the worlds of law enforcement and emergency medicine into vivid Technicolor life, complete with surround sound! I was kept on the edge of my seat from the beginning. By the ending, I had succeeded in biting all my fingernails down to nubs. This story will take your breath away and leave you gasping for more. ***** Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.