A STRANGER’S GAME
Joan Johnston
Pocket
Romantic Suspense
ISBN: 9780743454384

• About the Book
• Read an Excerpt
• Author Interview –– March 14, 2008

Dirty little secrets --- addictions, infidelity, murder, cover-ups, betrayal, desertion, lies. Not one of these vices can stop romance from blossoming between accused murderer Grace Caldwell and FBI special agent Breed Grayhawk in A STRANGER’S GAME. Grace and Breed play with fire, hot on the trail of a murderer and hotter as they explore their insatiable passion for each other.

“A few husky words. A look of invitation.” When Grace meets Breed’s eyes in the mirror above the bar, “the attraction was immediate. And powerful.” Breed is soon uttering, “What would it take to get you into bed?” Sex under the Texas stars with a handsome, Stetson-wearing FBI agent launches Grace’s plan to clear her name of this tragic double murder. This all sounds like the latest Alan Jackson song, but the scene is expertly played out on the pages of A STRANGER’S GAME. New York Times bestselling author Joan Johnston leads the novel with violence, inserts the power and passion of romance and closes with trust.

Johnston rivets the reader with an opening scene of domestic violence. Homicide cop Big Mike Finkel physically abuses his 13-year-old daughter Merle Raye; he then turns on her stepmother Allie and beats her too. Merle Raye hates Big Mike and wishes he were dead. When both Big Mike and Allie are found slain, Merle Raye is wrongfully convicted and imprisoned. She emerges on parole, takes the name of Grace Caldwell and sets out with a plan to seek revenge against whoever framed her. After eight years in the Texas Youth Commission’s high restriction facility at Giddings, east of Austin, Texas, Grace had learned to be a criminal.

As she pursues the clues to her parents' murders, Grace uncovers a shocking string of secrets that leads to a respected FBI special agent, Vince Harkness, and his wife, Stephanie.
Grace turns to Breed to help her prove her innocence and expose Vince, who happens to be Breed’s boss. Breed is torn between his duty and Grace’s plea. But can Breed trust Grace? Lust is a powerful motivator, and Breed succumbs to Grace’s blue eyes and the compelling evidence in the diary she stole from Stephanie. The race begins to clear Grace's name --- before she's set up again.

Addictions (sex, gambling, abuse, alcohol) and the powerful role they play in shaping Grace, Breed and Jack create believable characters who face fears born of painful childhood experiences. Trust is a major issue, and how each finds the courage to close the door on the past and indulge in a little fantasy defines Johnston as a writer who can combine romance side by side with tragedy, proving that there is magic in relationships and that love is worth the risk.

    --- Reviewed by Hillary Wagy

Click here now to buy this book from Amazon.com.

© Copyright 1996-2008, Bookreporter.com. All rights reserved.

Back to top.