Sandy M’s review of Shadows at Midnight by Elizabeth Jennings
Romantic Suspense published by Berkley 3 Aug 10

It makes so difference to me if this author is writing as Elizabeth Jennings or Lisa Marie Rice, I love whatever she does. Her storylines are always intense with a good dose of action and mystery; her heroes are always alpha; her heroines always strong and independent; her love scenes either fast and furious or slow and easy, both filled with intensity, need, and desire; and through it all she keeps it real, which is saying for me something since I usually don’t give a rat’s ass about realness (or historical accuracy) in my reading.

Having finally maneuvered himself to work with the lovely Claire Day, Gunnery Sergeant Daniel Weston’s dream of being near her, let alone having her, turns into a nightmare before it even begins when she’s killed in the explosion that rocks their embassy in Laka, West Africa. Injured himself, Dan retires from the military and opens a private security company once he’s recuperated.

Claire Day has been out of her bomb-induced coma only a year, still suffering from nightmares which star a face she can’t recall, and she’s as skittish as a newborn colt when it comes to being around people, is weak and her panic attacks are frequent. But when she catches a familiar name on the news, Claire pushes herself to get to Washington, D.C. and the man who hopefully can help her remember that hellish day in Laka, when her life as a government spook came to an end.

Dan’s dream once again comes true when Claire shows up in his office after a very long year, asking him for help to recover her memories of the worst day of their lives so she can move on and live some semblance of a normal life.

I really enjoyed this couple. Dan is definitely the typical alpha ex-military man, but when it comes to Claire his protectiveness is both hard as nails when dealing with the outside world and soft as down when interacting with his woman. He’s not about to let anything happen to Claire again, he won’t fail her a second time.

It was intriguing to watch Claire emerge from her cocoon she’s built around herself since her injuries and loss of memory. Though she’s pretty darned weak, vulnerable, and doubts herself  for a good part of the book, with Dan’s love and help, her emergence is slow but steady, culminating in her finding herself once again, the super intelligent and logical agent she had been before.

It’s especially satisfying when Claire’s the one to face the villain, seeing his mistake stand before him, strong and capable when his end is just beginning. As usual you feel as though you’re right in the middle of the fighting, experiencing every little nuance in either action or research, feeling Claire’s frustration and Dan’s sorrow, getting hot and bothered each time they make love.  And the ride is not always pretty, thus the realness in Ms. Jennings’ writing, as I mentioned early on. She doesn’t hold back on any scene, memory, flashback, or conversation.

Ms. Jennings keeps me mesmerized, turning page after page as fast as I can, and this read is no different. I read it way too fast and thought I’d have to wait way too long for the next book, but it seems she has two more books out this year, one under each pseudonym.

Thank heaven.

Grade: A+

Summary:

She was just a shadow of her former self.

Until he came back into her life.

U.S. intelligence agent Claire Day and former Marine Sergeant Dan Watson must solve a deadly conspiracy – or forfeit any chance of having a future together.

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