Musings of a Bookish Kitty

First Sentence: Somewhere in her heart, Danielle Montgomery knew this was wrong, and her guilt had a face.

No One Heard Her Scream by Jordan Dane
Avon, 2008 (ARE)
Crime Fiction (S/T); 354 pgs

Detective Rebecca Montgomery is hanging by a thread emotionally and career wise. Her sister’s disappearance and the lack of progress in the investigation have the grieving San Antonio detective on edge. Her coworkers are tired of her butting in and jeopardizing the investigation, one that involves more than just Becca’s sister. Other girls have gone missing across the country with possible ties to the San Antonio area.

In order to divert her attention and keep her busy, Becca’s superior assigns her to a case involving the discovery of skeletal remains in the old Imperial Theatre, which had just recently burned down in an arson fire. When Becca’s investigation takes her to the doorstep of a shady wealthy businessman, she is suddenly pulled off that case as well, and the FBI takes over. Not ready to give over the reins completely, Becca decides to continue with the investigation on her own. Becca must decide if she wants to try to enlist the help of an insider, Diego Galvan, whose own motives are questionable.

Billed as a romantic suspense, it is easy to see why. Sparks fly the moment Becca and Diego first lay eyes on each other. She is not sure which side he is on, but it’s clear he has a dangerous streak that she must not underestimate. While at first I questioned the believability of her falling so fast for Diego despite common sense and the walls she had built around her, I came to recognize that her toughness was only a façade. She wanted—needed—a connection with someone and her mysterious stranger was able to get under her defenses from the very first moment. In addition to the physical attraction, he showed an interest in her and listened to her, filling a void in her heart. She had been living a relatively lonely existence since her sister’s disappearance and apparent murder.

I tend to shy away from books with heavy romance overtones as a matter of preference, and I had been hearing here and there that this particular novel might be too much in that direction for my tastes. While the sex scenes were certainly sizzling in content, they did not overwhelm the overall story, one that exposes a very dark and ugly criminal underworld that unfortunately is very much a part of our world today.

The players in the novel become obvious fairly quickly as I am sure the author intended, but where all the pieces of the puzzle will fall remain unknown for most of the book. No One Heard Her Scream is predictable in some respects, but not in all. Jordan Dane is off to a great start with her first novel. It is suspenseful and fast paced, always a good combination for a book like this. Jordan Dane’s No One Heard Her Scream came to me through the Harper Collins First Look Program.

Rating: (Good)

Be sure and stop by Jordan Dane's website website for more information about her recent books.

Read what Bookgal and April had to say about this book:
Books, Memes and Musings (Bookgal)
Cafe of Dreams (April)