Triple Exposure

I read everything from the back of cereal boxes to Nietzsche. Let me tell you, this author is a keeper. Easy to read, easy to love, but you won't be able to quit thinking about what she's written. Jody

Colleen Thompson is one of the truely great story tellers of our time. I enjoy reading all of her books. I believe you will too.

That is the only way I can explain Colleen's ability to create characters. I love her books, but she exceeded my expectations with Triple Exposure. You'll love Rachel Copeland.

Photographer Rachel Copeland has spent the past year learning about obsessions. She had only begun to make a name for herself in Philadelphia, still supporting her small studio by teaching at the university, when a nineteen-year-old student's obsessive attraction changed her life forever. An obsession that Kyle Underwood reinforced with lies and doctored porn shots of her on the Internet. An obsession that culminated the night she awakened to find him standing naked over her bed, reaching for her. The night she shot and killed a young man to save herself. Then came the press's obsession with the gory details of the trial that ruined her life, although she was proven innocent of anything but self-defense. Not to mention the obsession of the boy's mother for revenge. Now she has returned to her remote hometown of Marfa, Texas, hoping to find peace and put her life back together. To her father who loves her more than anything, and who stretched his financial reserves to bail her out this past year, and to the disapproval of her step-mother, whose relationship with Rachel has never been an easy one. Zeke Pike has an obsession, too. An obsession to protect the secret of his past, a past he buried twenty years before, a past that could destroy his life, take his freedom, and cause him to forsake the promise he made to his mother. His self-imposed hermitage in Marfa for the past fourteen years, hand-crafting furniture from desert wood, closed-mouthed and closed-hearted, is a testament to the strength of his resolve to allow nothing or no one to threaten that secret. Until Rachel's spunky attitude and sense of humor draws him from his shell. Only for both of them to find that true obsessions follow until dealt with, through the miles, through the years. What follows is a skillful tale of suspense; one whose characters are so - human - the reader roots for them from the very first page. The relationship that develops between Rachel and Zeke is loving and sweet and sexy, a perfect counter-balance to the darkness that tracks them. The secondary character of Rachel's stepmother Patsy, and their uneasy connection are brilliantly written. The mystery is intense and intricately woven, laid down as surely as a treasure map, which leads to its exciting conclusion. This story will keep one turning the pages, to find if these two artistic and caring souls can survive TRIPLE EXPOSURE.

Rachel Copeland returns to her home in Marfa, Texas, thinking to find safety and refuge from her past. Serenity is the last thing Rachel finds as danger lurks in every corner: in the landscape, in her family, from the loner Zeke and from someone who means her harm. Unearthly lights, known as the Marfa lights, and ghostly owls haunt the desert landscape with an inexplicable mystery. The Marfa spirit guides have a way of uncovering even the darkest secrets. Rachel Copeland's stalker won't ever let her forget that she killed a man. The courts may have let her go saying it was self-defense but no one can seem to forget, not even Rachel herself. Her defense has wrecked havoc on the life and finances of her father and step-mother. Doubt lingers. Hostilities and resentments tinge personal interactions. While in her step-mother's diner, Rachel meets a loner, a man who also shuns attention, a man no one really knows. As she photographs his woodworking, she captures on film what her heart sees --- Zeke Pike, a man ever so sensuous and talented. Rachel's camera gets her in a load of trouble as her photography peels away the layers, opening up secrets and raw emotions. When Rachel's photographs become part of a committee's program to promote local artists, the beauty of Zeke's body and art stand before her in print and in her heart in a way she can no longer ignore. Just as her heart opens, the public exposure stirs up past and current trouble. Suddenly, danger threatens both love and life --- but who is behind all the threats? A startling, eye-opening, edge-of-the-seat twist draws Zeke and Rachel together like never before. Colleen Thompson writes a thrilling, intricate tale of suspense that reaches deep into the darkness and secrets of the human heart. Carefully chosen citations at the beginning of each chapter create a mysterious atmosphere with images of the Marfa lights and indeed light itself. Eerie passages on owls, evil and justice give Colleen Thompson's narrative a haunting context from which to view the desert and inner landscapes. From the very first pages, the reader catches glimpses of the villain's heart before an identity is ever known, creating a chilling effect as the reader understands the current impetus driving the villain but not necessarily the motive or subtle connections. TRIPLE EXPOSURE interweaves multi-layered threads of suspense as the past and present merge, not just from one character but many. TRIPLE EXPOSURE will keep readers guessing until the final heart-stopping resolution. Colleen Thompson creates an intriguing infrastructure that leaves the reader feeling that only the drawing together of this unique hero and this unique heroine could ever unveil the secrets. TRIPLE EXPOSURE creates an exquisite match between hero and heroine, two people bruised deeply by past experiences who respond to each from the very depths. Despite the fears triggered by her stalker, Rachel is a strong and talented heroine. Photographer and sail