Karen Kelley Reviews

Page One

Added September 4, 2004

Southern Comfort

Review 2

Author: Karen Kelley
Publisher: Kensington Brava
Available At: Bookstores Everywhere
Publishing Date: August 2004
Genre: Trade Paperback
Format: Romance: Contemporary/Suspense
Price: $14.00
ISBN: 0-7582-0709-3
Author Email/Website: www.authorkarenkelley.com
Reviewer: Robin Taylor

Undercover DEA agent Fallon Hargis has experienced a close call. At a meeting with a dangerous dealer named Cavanaugh, Fallon was shot by two thugs, and now she's vying for her life. Though she's hiding, she quickly realizes the thugs have a passkey to all the rooms at the hotel. Fallon grabs a man entering his room - at gunpoint. She tells him to strip, and to get into bed. She figures when the thugs enter the room, what they'll see is a dark-haired woman making vigorous love. As she wore a blonde wig the entire time she was on this case, she is certain she won't be recognized. Her ruse works. However, the pretend love she's making with the handsome stranger quickly turns into a powerful moment of passion.

Now safe, but not knowing who to trust, Fallon has to figure out where to go, and how to find the mole that is certain to be the one that got her shot. Fallon has information that she knows Cavanaugh will go to any extreme to retrieve, even killing her. The guy Fallon accosted, Wade Tanner, feels much more than intense passion for the woman. She identifies herself as DEA, and tells Wade that she doesn't know who at the agency has blown her cover. Wade's protective instinct takes over, and the suddenly, Fallon is headed to his small town of Two Creeks.

Wade is a small-town sheriff, and can do no less than help the bold, beautiful Fallon. Attracted to her beyond belief, while impressed with her brutal honesty, he'll do what he can to help her find Cavanaugh, while trying to keep her alive. First order of business is to get to his hometown, and get her gunshot treated.

Wade's got his work cut out for him. For one thing, he's determined to break through her tough exterior. Fallon is a fiercely independent woman whose emotions run deep. Kudos to Ms. Kelley with writing Fallon's character. I felt her pain, and I also felt whenever she shut down around Wade. When you pick up Southern Comfort, no doubt you will feel the same.

As mentioned, Fallon's character was written with such tremendous flair, but that is only part of what makes Southern Comfort such a fantastic book. The action is never ending. In the meantime, it is quite humorous to enjoy Fallon's introduction to small-time life, and her reactions to some of Wade's friends and family.

Delightfully, Fallon's one rule of never sleeping with the same man twice, is broken before she can blink, because the attraction she and Wade share is utterly combustible. All the while, with the intrigue continuing, Fallon's past shading her present, and is determined to harm her future, is something that Wade picks up on. This indeed makes Wade a wonderful hero. He sees right through her tough exterior, and does his best to teach this woman about trust.

When you watch Fallon grow, all while Wade's tender nature wins out, it is quite touching. There's also a minor player in Southern Comfort who makes an incredible impact on Fallon. I thank Ms. Kelley for including her, along with the other members of the cast of characters, in order to flesh out Fallon's personality, which allows her to grow. Karen Kelley has written a wonderful love story! Every element - the story, the characters and the stunning conclusion - blends together just perfectly.

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Added April 1, 2004

Southern Comfort

Review 1

Author: Karen Kelley
Publisher: Kensington Brava
Available At: Bookstores Everywhere
Publishing Date: August 2004
Genre: Trade Paperback
Format: Romance: Contemporary/Suspense
Price: $14.00
ISBN: 0-7582-0709-3
Author Email/Website: www.authorkarenkelley.com
Reviewer: Lisa Lambrecht

Fallon Hargis was and undercover agent for the DEA and trying to shut down Cavenaugh's seedy drug operation. He was a smooth operator who had his hands in many dirty dealings and Fallon would do anything to stop him. But someone blew her cover and Cavenaugh ordered his two thugs to shut Fallon up... permanently. Fallon wasn't easy to get rid of; her immense training and her great will to survive playing no small part. She soon thwarted the thugs' attempts by throwing steaming coffee in one's face and smacking the other in the head with the pot that was still in her hands. This completed she took off running for her life.

Wade Tanner was about to go into his hotel room when suddenly he was shoved from behind into the room. Turning around he met a beautiful woman holding a gun at him. When she ordered him to strip then lie in the bed across the room at gunpoint he didn't know what to think. Especially once he did as she asked, she stripped and got in the bed with him. Was this woman looking for some kinky sex? Was she running from the law, he wondered when he saw that she was had been shot. Able to pass as a loving couple in the midst of having some great sex, Cavenaugh's men decided to continue looking elsewhere for Fallon.

For some reason this woman brought out Wade's protective instincts and he decided to help her get out of the hotel safely by taking her home with him to the small town where he was Sheriff. She could heal from her gunshot wound without worrying about Cavenaugh coming after her and she could regroup and find out whom she could trust in the Agency. Can one small town Sheriff with a dark past and one DEA agent with a death sentence upon her head and a troubled past she can't forget be able to stay alive long enough to heal old wounds and just maybe... find true love?

Southern Comfort is a wonderfully written romance filled with exciting action and adventure that pulls you in from page one and keeps you anxiously turning the pages to see what happens next. The story was well written and the hero and heroine were both very strong, likable characters. This is my first experience reading a story written by author Karen Kelley and I found the experience to be one I wish to repeat in the future. Ms. Kelley has the knack to pull her readers in from the beginning and keep them intrigued throughout the whole story. I am anxious to read more from this author in the future. For those readers who love a good romantic suspense, I highly recommend you go and pick up Southern Comfort by Karen Kelley.

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