Wedding Captives

I thoroughly enjoyed finding that Dr. Spence Cannon has his story after the help he had given to Jordan Shane in STATE OF EMERGENCY. Although I truly detest women like Thea Sarazin and her ego trips. Her maturity growth was a bit slow. And tooo emotional. Yup! she sure could take care of herself. Ha! [my term: idiot female] She and Spence were invited to the wedding in the "Castle in the Clouds" of Jenny Travain on this blizzardly week-end. Trouble is Jenny couldn't be found. Nor did she or her intended show up to escort the party members to the castle. Dr. Mona Nance - a little old lady psychaitrist who knows a lot of people's secrets but doesn't voluntarily give any up. Reverand Joshua Handy - was there to perform the ceremony, but what was his life before he found God? He is highly nervour and wants off the mountain. Lawrence - a butler? he is toting a gun and doesn't know much about his housekeeping duties. He appears helpful but wary. Then there is Travis Travain - the bride's brother, he claimes to be an Olympic-class freestyle skier and the best everything, even whining. A bit of a skrew-ball. And don't forget Gregory Rosemont - the intended groom who is a reclusive Internet billionaire. He has never been photographed so no one knows what he looks like. He appears to have spent his life and fortune plotting revenge. Ah, that is the plot of the story - It does keep you guessing - the description of the Castle and it's various spooky happenings keeps a grip on your imagination. Where is Jenny? Is she in any danger? How does Mona disappeare? Really, who is after whom? Thea starts out witchy, Spence has learned a certain amount of patience working with the Search and Rescue of Cascadia. Jordan and Emily come to the party's rescue - what is left of them. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - M - sex always sidetracks our characters, I would expect a lot better self-preservation instincts running in the lead characters, ah well - a duo keeper set.

An already strong year for Intrigue gets even better with the extraordinary "Wedding Captives" by Cassie Miles. Full of dark suspense and strong romance, this is one of the very best Intrigues in some time.Thea Sarazin's best friend has been swept up in a whirlwind courtship with a mysterious millionaire. Now Thea is attending the wedding at the groom's isolated caste in the Rocky Mountains. She doesn't expect to find her own ex-fiance in attendance. Thea doesn't have time to recover from the shock when the wedding party finds themselves trapped in the castle, cut off from the rest of the world with no way of getting help. A madman wants revenge on all of them for a secret he claims they all have in common. Unless they confess, he will kill them. Can Thea and Spence work together to figure out the secret that links them all before a murderer takes his final revenge?"Wedding Captives" is a superb Intrigue, combining a good romance, an emotional conflict, a devious villain, a puzzling mystery and the kind of dark, mysterious setting that sucks the reader in and won't let go. The story is not a new one. Regular readers may remember Jean Barrett executing the same plot in Intrigue 351, "White Wedding" : the isolated wedding party in a winter setting, the maid of honor, her former love, the killer coming after them all, even the same red herring, executed no better here than before. In "White Wedding" it was too obvious. In "Wedding Captives," it is too pointless. This is still the better book."Wedding Captives" is clever and very smart, a perfect blend of character-based romance and a mystery full of twists and turns. The reasons for Thea and Spence's breakup aren't based on some stupid misunderstanding. They had serious differences of opinion that kept them apart. Now they are different people and it is interesting to see them grow and overcome their past. The suspense is strong. Not only is there a constant sense of danger on every page, this is the kind of book that will appeal to readers who enjoy a story they can try to figure out with the characters. Miles drops clues and lets the reader play along with the mystery. I love it when it is clear an author has put a great deal of thought into her story. Miles has obviously put a lot of effort into plotting and working out every aspect of this tale. I started out having serious doubts about the plausibility of the premise, and the author had her characters address them one by one, such as how a castle accessible only by ski gondola was built on such an isolate mountain to begin with. Her attention to detail is incredible and gives the story a realistic, present-day grounding that makes even this outlandish premise seem like it could really happen today. For instance, Thea and her friend are both teachers, and at one point Thea notes how difficult fit is to be a schoolteacher in Colorado post-Columbine. Details like that make Thea and Spence fully rounded characters, make them