Veena’s review of Desperate and Deceptive (The Guinevere Jones Collection, Volume 1) by Jayne Castle
Contemporary Romance published by Berkley Trade Reprint 07 Jan 14
This is a reprint from some of the earliest works by Jayne Castle and contains two books of novella length. I have always enjoyed her cool, calm, almost cold heroes with their dry, tongue-in-cheek humor and the down-to-earth heroines who continually push their boundaries, trying to see how much they can get them to melt. I am pleased to report that these early books are no exception.
Guinevere is a small-business owner. She runs a temporary agency and is very conscious of what it takes to succeed in business. One of her previous jobs skirted into the grey enough that it brought her into the view of Zac Justis, who is a newly minted private eye trying to get his own company off the ground. He needs an inside man, and Guinevere is the perfect woman for the job.
The interactions between these two as a tentative trust and even friendship is forged are very interesting. Zac proves his worth in gold in not only solving the robbery that he was hired to solve but also in understanding Guinevere’s motives for walking the dark side. As the story progresses, their relationship changes from cautious adversaries to cautious lovers and definitely good partners, so it’s no surprise that in the second story Guinevere brings Zac in to do a security job for her current boss.
Zac takes on the job, thinking it’s going to be his great opportunity to romance Guinevere and spend some time on an expense account, but the job and the situation has other things in store for him. From being a boon doggo, the job changes into a sinister mystery with life and death consequences.
I thoroughly enjoyed the finding clues and solving the mystery nature of these stories and I would love to read the next two in the series when they’re published.
Grade: B
Summary:
The Desperate Game and The Chilling Deception, together for the first time!
Meet Guinevere Jones—a woman with a talent for love and trouble—and Zac Justis—her sexy and dangerous partner in crime—in the first two books in the New York Times bestselling series.The Desperate Game (originally published June 1986 in mass market paperback by Dell Books and July 2012 in eBook format by InterMix)
It’s hard to keep a small business afloat—just ask Guinevere Jones, owner of a struggling temp agency. And security consultant Zac Justis isn’t making her life any easier. After he blackmails Gwen into helping him solve a computer crime, she finds herself caught in a web of suspense, danger, and love.
The Chilling Deception (originally published August 1986 in mass market paperback by Dell Books and July 2012 in eBook format by InterMix)
A temp job as an executive secretary gives Guinevere Jones access to high places—and sets her instincts for danger tingling. Convincing Zac Justis to provide security for her client during a meeting on the wintry San Juan Islands gives her peace of mind, but brings them face-to-face with a dead man determined to avenge the past.
No excerpt available.
Other books in this series:
