Sharron McClellan, Hidden Sanctuary

Hidden Sanctuary

Sharron McClellan

Silhouette Bombshell, November 2006, $4.99

ISBN: 037351428X

Currently, dowser Tru Palmer is using her talent searching for oil deposits, though many of the locals want her and her team out of the area. Her personal bodyguard Griffin Sinclair is attracted to her, and her to him, but she trusts no one having been betrayed once before, and he takes his work seriously so he avoids dalliances with a client.

However, when she meets native Efra, Tru feels a need to trust this woman who understands her gift, as no one has ever done before. Efra explains to Tru that both of them are Marians, descendants from powerful earth priestesses. She further shows the visitor her tiles that she guards diligently, because if they fall into the wrong hands, evil could manipulate the earth and harm those with the Marian power. Tru needs to depend on Griffin to prevent a cataclysmic tragedy, but her deep rooted feelings of mistrust make it difficult for her to do so, though she loves him.

The latest Madonna Key thriller stars two likable independent protagonists falling in love, even while they try to prevent a catastrophe of biblical proportions. The storyline is fast-paced, but that keeps the audience from fully understanding Tru's gift of dowsing, even after she (and we) learns the truth from the Nubian guardian of the Tiles. Though HIDDEN SANCTUARY can stand alone, romantic suspense with a touch of fantasy fans will be better suited reading the previous Madonna key tales, as this is a complex series.