Cold Hearted

Beverly Barton

Zebra, Sep 2008, $6.99

ISBN: 9781420100495

Everyone who knew the late Senator Dan Price refuse to believe he committed suicide especially since he seemed to have everything now that he married Jordan.  His brother Ryan refuses to accept the official declaration that Dan killed himself.  He hires the Powell Private Security to uncover the truth.  Rick Carson is assigned to head the investigation.

Rick watches the widow grieve at her husband's grave and can see why she has supporters amongst Dan's family and friends who insists she is a paragon.  He wonders if she might be a black widow as he immediately suspects the worst of the twenty-four year old Jordan Price; although he also is mesmerized by her. Everyone in Jordan's tightly knit group insists that is impossible, but Rick remains unconvinced, especially when he learns of the other deaths that surround Jordan's past; her fiancé Robby Joe Wright in a car accident and her first spouse Boyd Bannon in a hunting accident.  Despite his distrust, Rick falls under Jordan's spell as well; he becomes her alibi for the murder of the senator's first wife, who he knows was blackmailing his suspect.  Rick wonders if he was set up by a brilliant sexy strategist black widow or is there someone even more diabolically clever using her as a victim of sorts.

Rick makes this thriller work as he falls in love even though he increasingly believes his beloved is a COLD HEARTED black widow.  The story line is driven by the relationship between the sleuth and the widow as each is attracted to the other, but she senses his doubts.  Fans will enjoy this tense suspense tale as Rick knows any man intimately involved with Jordan has a short life span; he hopes his focus is with his upper head, but from the moment he saw her at Dan's funeral, his blood went south.

Harriet Klausner