Elizabeth Lowell, Innocent as Sin

Innocent as Sin

Elizabeth Lowell

Morrow, Jun 12 2007, $24.95

ISBN: 0060829826

Banker Kayla Shaw has a simple normal career until she is assigned Andre Bertone as her client. Looking over his account, a stunned Kayla concludes that this VIP customer is a dangerous criminal not to mess with. When she is ordered to make illegal transfers of millions of dollars, Kayla realizes she is caught between a rock and a hard place. If she fails to do so she is dead; if she does so and is caught she goes to jail.

St. Kilda Consulting persuades former field operative Rand McCree to handle a special case involving the mystery Siberian, whom he wants to stop before others are harmed by this vicious brilliant thug. He learns that the Siberian is now using the identity of Andre Bertone, so he agrees to attend undercover an art exhibition hosted by this vicious killer. Kayla realizes her only Hail Mary escape is to bet her heart is right and that Rand can expedite her safely while initiating the risky strategy that St. Kilda is employing to bring down Bertone the Siberian.

This is an action-packed suspense thriller that never slows down once Kayla realizes what she is involved in. The lead couple is a super pairing as she is a woman in deep trouble that sees the tainted hero as her only knight in not so shiny dented armor; he has his own ghosts to deal with starting with witnessing the assassination of his twin brother. Readers will root for this couple to survive and make it, but the wintry Siberian steals the tale as few villains are as bad as this killer is with a heart that's cold as he seems to have the golden touch.

Harriet Klausner