Merline Lovelace: The Middle Sin

The Middle Sin

Merline Lovelace

Mira, May 2005, $6.99, 384 pp.

ISBN: 077832172X

In Charleston, CEO of Sloan Enterprises, Marcus Sloan hires Dallas-based private investigator Cleo North to look into the disappearance of a young office assistant, Trish Jackson. Marcus' personal assistant Diane Walker knows that he met Cleo a few months ago on a case involving his twin and though she turned out to be an excellent sleuth, he probably wants to bed her too.

Cleo, a former Air Force Office of Special Investigations Agent, arrives in town and begins immediately trailing Trish's path to include Weight Watchers where she learns the woman might be pregnant. The next day Air Force Office of Special Investigations Agent Jack Donovan arrives at Sloan Enterprises to interview Marcus, whose prime customer is the military. Jack and Cleo have been lovers whenever the time and place converge. Jack asks Marcus when he last accessed the DNA signature Top Secret Defense Department Afloat Prepositions Program; Marcus responds several weeks ago; Jack states yesterday. Someone perhaps Trish has used Marcus' DNA to attain access and perhaps gained a schematic of a vessel carrying a potentially deadly weapon. Jack and Trish know their cases have converged and work closely to stop a potential calamity.

THE MIDDLE SIN is an exhilarating military-industrial complex investigative tale that starts off at a leisure private detective tracking a missing person through the suburbs, but soon turns into a race against time thriller. Merline Lovelace smoothly transitions the story line while keeping the believability intact due to strong characters and building off of Cleo's first day inquiries. This is a five star billet with a sequel to follow starring the lead couple of this fine tale.

Harriet Klausner