E.C. Sheedy, Without A Word

Without A Word

E.C. Sheedy

Kensington Brava, Mar 2007, $14.00

ISBN: 0758215614

Though he knows he made a mistake when he married Holly, Dan Lambert loves her little daughter Kylie who calls him "daddy" as is if he sired her. He plans to keep the child safe as he does not want to lose another one; and he is determined she be raised by a mother and father who do not cheat on one another.

Craig Bruce informs his wife Camryn that he is leaving her as she is too obsessed with becoming pregnant though the doctors have told her chances are less than zero; he tells her he will no longer be a sperm donor and nothing else in her life. She helps him pack.

Holly's father Paul Grantman calls Dan with the news that someone killed Holly while she was jogging in the woods. To the shock of Holly's parents and Dan, Cam is named as Kylie's guardian. Dan is outraged even more than the kid's grandparents as he plans to raise her in safe environs unlike what happened to his Billie years ago. As someone tries to take Kylie anyway from her using any means possible, including attempted murder, Cam finds herself attracted to Dan, but she wonders if she loves a psychopathic killer.

Romantic suspense readers will enjoy this powerful thriller that centers on a tug of war with a little girl as the rope being yanked in three obvious directions and a few other pulls. The cast makes the tale believable as the Grantmans demand blood rules over wills and Dan has an inner demon that insists he is the one while Cam always wanted to raise a child. Though the climax seems abrupt, E.C. Sheedy will keep her fans reading this book in one tense sitting because they need to know who killed Holly and why and how that relates to an innocent little girl caught in an adult power struggle.

Harriet Klausner