Triple Exposure by Colleen Thompson (Leisure Romantic Suspense July 2008)
Mysterious suspense, Mysterious Mafia lights, photographer, glider pilot heroine and loner hero make for an awesome tale of suspense and family healing
Rachel Copeland returns to her home in Mafia, 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 Mafia lights, and ghostly owls haunt the desert landscape with an inexplicable mystery. The Mafia 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 Mafia lights and indeed light itself. Eerie passages on owls, evil and justice give Colleen‘s 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. Despite the fears triggered by her stalker, Rachel is a strong and talented heroine. Photographer and soar plane pilot, Rachel may have been a victim once but she is certainly not a passive woman. She has an eye for beauty and a heart for her family. Colleen Thompson paints a beautiful portrait of father and daughter as well as the underlying resentments triggered by change within Rachel‘s family. Colleen Thompson's descriptions (as seen thorough Rachel's eyes) of photography and flying are sheer beauty. She captures the very essence of the spirit found in the natural and artistic world. Zeke, the stunningly handsome stranger, the man without a family, has a heart that intrigues just as much as his body and art. Protector of horses and abused animals, Zeke nurtures them, but can he bring his own heart back from despair? Zeke is a man who treasures solitude but as Rachel enters his life, Zeke's true self emerges, both the person that he was and the different man he is today. Colleen Thompson's descriptions of solitude and intimacy create a magnificent portrait of romance as a healing force.
Triple Exposure is not only a powerful romance but also a rich story about family dynamics and about the grief and forgiveness. In Triple Exposure, Colleen Thompson writes a tension-filled tale of a multi-layered danger with an eerie connection between landscape and the human mind. Suspense and romance combine, igniting the hero and heroine with a healing love that transforms, rippling outwards to others and through time, bringing past secrets to new light.
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At the moment, I include in my list Rita Herron, Jordan Dane, Amanda Stevens, Colleen Thompson and Suzanne Forster in my list of must read suspense/romantic suspense. All on the darker side but all writers whose releases I eagerly await. All writers whose works really move me and stay with me long after I have finished the book.
Merri
Hildie's blog: http://blog.hildie.net
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