A DANGEROUS OBSESSION - J. M. Jeffries
Genesis/Indigo
November 2003
SYNOPSIS: When obsession turns to murder, the power of love leads to justice. For tragic, vulnerable Lily Alexander, the nightmare began when she was abducted by a serial killer and managed to escape. For Phoenix cop Marco Jackson, the nightmare begins when he arrives to investigate the death of Lily’s parents and stays to fall in love. Years later, Lily is still fighting the terror.
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE: (4) Katika Floyd
REVIEW: Police detective Marco Jackson’s first meeting with true crime writer Lily Alexander doesn’t go quite the way he expects. Instead of getting some helpful information about his current case, he gets a mouth full of attitude from Lily; and dragged into the machinations of Lily’s obsessive stalker.
Lily Alexander is a smart, successful writer who lives in a wonderful home filled with every convenience. Although she lives an ordinary life filled with a few close friends, work, exercise and hobbies, she does not leave her house. Lily suffers from an anxiety disorder called agoraphobia. The thought of being outside the safety of her house causes her great anxiety. The authors have presented Lily as an intelligent and vibrant woman who has problem about not leaving her house instead of using her disorder to define her personality.
Marco Jackson is sexy detective, who takes his job and the protection of those he cares about seriously. When Lily’s stalker starts terrorizing her by implying Marco will be a target of his violence Marco has no choice but to try and stop him. He is supported in this by his boss who assigns him to protect Lily. The authors give us a multidimensional view of Marco by allowing us to see into his work and family life and to peek into his dream of being an artist. The picture as a whole the authors try to create is quite nice. There is however one blemish in the characterization of Marco and that is the way he enters into a physical relationship with Lily with no thought to the ethics of the situation. Being a cop and doing a good job is important to Marco yet he blithely enters into a sexual relationship with a woman it’s his job to protect. Considering how important his job was to him I expected to see him at least give a thought to the impropriety of the situation.
A DANGEROUS OBSESSION is an intense and fast paced read. The fast pace of the novel keeps the suspense and the romance well intertwined. The relationship between Lily and Marco heats up as the stalker’s violence towards Lily intensifies. Squeamish readers should be aware that the authors use several graphic and violent scenes.
As a lover of a good romantic suspense novel, I was impressed with A DANGEROUS OBSESSION.