Painter Jenny Kinley
has spent the last decade struggling in the New York art world. Her
grandmother's sudden death brings her home to New Mexico, but inheriting
the children's art camp her grandmother ran is more of a burden than a
gift. How can she give up her lifelong dreams of showing her work in
galleries and museums? Rob Caruso, the camp cook and all-around
handyman, would be happy to run the camp with Jenny. Dare he even dream
of that, when his past holds dark secrets that he can never share? When
Jenny's father reappears after a decade-long absence, only Rob knows
where he's been and what danger he's brought with him. Jenny and Rob
face midnight break-ins and make desperate escapes, but the biggest
danger may come from the secrets that don't want to stay buried. In the
end, they must decide whether their dreams will bring them together or
force them apart.
REVIEW:
RATING: 5
Stars
‘Counterfeits’ is
the kind of romantic suspense novel I have enjoyed since I first read Mary
Stewart’s ‘Moonspinners’, and Kris Bock used all the things I love about this
genre. Appealing lead characters,
careful development of the mysterious danger facing one or both of those
characters, a great location that is virtually a character on its own,
interesting secondary characters who might or might not be involved or
threatened, and many surprises building up to the climax.
Jenny Kinley is a
painter building a career as an artist in New York. When she returns to her
family’s art camp in New Mexico after her grandmother’s death and learns that
most of it has been left to her, she is both touched and disappointed, unwilling
at first to give up her New York dreams to run the camp. Rob Caruso, the chef/handyman Jenny
remembers fondly from her last years living there, has inherited the other
percentage, much to the angry dismay of Jenny’s father, who was left
nothing.
But suspicious
events have been occurring ever since Jenny arrived, even before the will was
read. There have been breakins at
the camp. Jenny’s father won’t tell
her where he’s staying. Jenny’s
friends Arena and Trisha come to stay with her, and Trisha is escaping an
abusive husband. Jenny begins to
suspect that her grandmother’s death wasn’t an accident. Both Rob and Jenny’s father are worried
about things that happened in their past, with a suggestion that they were
involved in something unpleasant together.
And there are threats about art work either stolen or faked. The tension
grows, the mysteries connect with each other, and although Jenny has her own
suspicions about Rob, their romance pulls them closer together. All the different elements combine for a
vivid climax.
The book leaves a
few unanswered questions, but judging from the obvious skill of this author, I
suspect this was deliberate, with the possibility that the answers will show up
in subsequent volumes of Art Theft Romantic Suspense. ‘Counterfeits’ was intriguing and fun to
read, and I really enjoyed it. I am
pleased to award this book 5 stars.
I am grateful for
the free reviewer’s copy I was given.
Reviewed by: Roberta
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