Julia Penney, Her Sister’s Keeper

Her Sister's Keeper

Julia Penney

Harlequin SuperRomance, Feb 2006, $5.50

ISBN: 0373713304

In Los Angeles, what should be the sixth month anniversary of her marriage, is instead the date of her betrayal symbolized by her need to see a psychiatrist. Two minutes before walking down the aisle, her hysterical sister Ariel informs Melanie Harris that she is three months pregnant and the father is the groom actor Mitch Carson. Melodramatically, Melanie hands Ariel to Mitch informing him he should marry her sister. Unable to sleep and losing weight at the urgent pleading of her best friend Stephanie, Melanie visits psychologist Dr. Kent Mattson.

Kent prefers his work with LAPD and with the kids his late wife worked with, but his bills are paid by his private practice. Currently, he is working on two homicides that seem linked with Melanie the surprising connection. As he fights his attraction to his new patient, she informs him that her sister, whom she abandoned at the altar, has gone missing. Melanie and Kent team up to rescue her sibling, who just might be the next victim of a sly killer protecting his film business.

HER SISTER'S KEEPER is a terrific investigative tale in which a romantic subplot simmers in the background, adding tension and embellishing the search and rescue mission. Kent wants Melanie from the moment they meet, but he is the consummate professional trying to control his libido, which is running wild. Melanie feels the same way, but her quest to save the sister she abandoned takes precedent. Though starting off seemingly like a soap opera; Julia Penney turns the tale into a fine Hollywood suspense thriller that readers will appreciate.