Monday, July 23, 2007
The Edge of Dawn
**** The Edge of Dawn by Beverly Jenkins. Romantic suspense.
I bought this book not too long ago when I was checking out new-to-me authors.
The Edge of Dawn starts off with a bang, as Narice Jordan is abducted, first by one group headed by a man named Ridley, then abducted from them by a man known as "Saint."
Narice is the wealthy owner & founder of an exclusive school. She's just buried her father, who died in a house fire--murdered.
Saint is Galen Anthony St. Martin, formerly military, now a troubleshooter for the government, among other clients. In this case, he's working directly for the president to recover the Eye of Sheba, to return it to the Queen of Nagal, to help assure her return to power.
Ridley & co. are also after the Eye, representing a rival faction in Nagal. The action starts on page 2, and never really lets up. Car chases, explosions, high-tech weapons and equipment, dramatic hand-to-hand combat--enough for a James Bond movie.
And there's also a nice puzzle aspect to the story--the clue her father left about the Eye was in the form of a slave quilt--the picture in each square having a meaning, telling them where to go and how to find it.
Narice is a wonderful heroine. She's smart--she tries to escape every chance she gets, but doesn't blunder into things. Despite an attraction to Saint, she doesn't trust him until he's proven himself trustworthy.
Saint... well, he's pretty hero-worthy. A nice alpha hero with a tortured past. He's also got two half-brothers, and I'm guessing that they have stories of their own, which I'll have to look up. I didn't feel lost, but it was apparent there were stories there that I'd missed.
Much of the story takes place in Michigan--mostly Detroit, but also Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor, which I loved. It's not a common setting, and it made me a bit nostalgic. Saint & Narice also traveled to the Okefenokee swamp, which was very interesting.
My only problem with The Edge of Dawn was the backstory. The action got interrupted at times with explanations that really slowed things down, and didn't seem to be all that necessary. Interesting, yes, but not necessary. It's a fine line.
The Edge of Dawn was also a bit over-the-top, just shy of JamesBondishness, but that's okay with me--I liked that.
I'll definitely look up Saint's brothers' stories, and keep an eye out for Beverly Jenkins's other books.
...more
Categories: Books, 4stars, RomanticSuspense
Labels: 4 stars, books, RomanticSuspense
