Like a bit of suspense with your romance? What is it about the woman in jeopardy story that we all like so much? Is it the hero who´ll go to any lengths to rescue her? The strong women who manage to survive no matter what the odds? I´m not sure but I´ve realized that there are more than a few of these on my shelves, and I´ve got three new ones to share with you.

The first is Body Guard by Suzanne Brockmann (Fawcett). Wow! That sums it up for me. This contemporary starts off at a fast clip and maintains the pace right up to the last page. Alessandra Lamont´s year is off to a bad start. In January, her husband wanted a divorce, and from there is got worse--her generous settlement turned out to be bills and debt; as a result, her adoption application was turned down; then her ex turned up dead. Now she´s got to hide out from mobster Michael Trotta with FBI agent Harry O´Dell, whose grudge against said mobster could get her killed. Very sexy hero, strong heroine--this one gets four and a half of Cupid´s five arrows. This is a keeper!

The second book this week is "Morgan´s Woman" by Judith E. French (Ballantine). Tamsin MacGregor is a woman with a plan: the widow intends to take her horses to California to start a new life. It´s not part of her plan to have her horses stolen and then be accused of killing the thief. Ash Morgan, bounty hunter, is hot on her trail, however. She´s caught, then escapes and is caught again, and the pair must travel back to the scene of the crime for her trial. Close quarters encourage intimacy, and they share enough eventually for the inevitable to happen. For a man who trusts enough to be physically intimate, Ash is pretty stingy with his trust otherise. This book was enjoyable, but the story dragged for me. I´ll use two and a half of Cupid´s arrows for this one.

The final book is "Searching for Sarah" by Lynn Erickson (Jove). This book is labeled a romantic suspense, but it was very light on the romance. It´s hard to feel a connection when the heroine doesn´t make an appearance for nearly a hundred pages. Sarah Jamison has witnessed the murder of a Senator hot on the Presidential trail and fled, unknown to the murderers. Jake Savelle´s life has been ruined by the case. His obsession with finding Sarah is a bit disturbing to me, especially his reaction when they finally come face to face. As a suspense novel, this worked for me, until the ending. As a romance, this falls way short. This gets only one of Cupid´s arrows.

Look on Amazon.com for Bodyguard. Until next week, happy reading.