By Marion Myles
The Blurb: A psychic with a shady past. A detective with a missing sister. Together, sparks fly.
Psychic Mia Reeves is still trying to let go of the past, but when a gruesome vision keep haunting her thoughts, she can't ignore the truth. But getting the sexy, smoldering detective to believe her story is going to be harder than she imagined.
Detective Roman Mancini will do anything to find his younger sister. Ten years is a long time -- and he and his family want answers. When Mia arrives at the police station with his sister's bracelet, Roman's suspicions kick in. As doubtful as he is, the red-haired beauty piques his interest, while giving him another lead. After all, he's hell-bent on uncovering the truth.
As Roman and Mia team up together, one thing is certain: their chemistry is undeniable. Putting their desire on hold may be more difficult than they expected. When Roman's biggest fears are finally realized, a new danger erupts. This enemy is one Mia never saw coming. Can the detective save the psychic before there's "no time for goodbye?"
The first sentence in the blurb had me instantly intrigued. It's been a while since I read a romance that also involved a murder mystery and I couldn't wait to see how the author inserted a psychic into the mix.
Although the story started out with promise, I'm sad to say that it wasn't as brilliant as I had hoped.
Our heroine, Mia, has a gift that allows her to see visions of the past. Throughout the novel, her own past is a bit of a mystery to us. We know that she has turned a new leaf and even changed her identity, but we're not sure exactly what has happened that forced her to leave her old life behind.
Our hero and town detective, Roman, comes into the mix early on when Mia shows up with information about his sister's disappearance 10 years prior. Mia thinks she has come up with a fail-safe plan to "re-open the investigation" but it backfires and Roman demands answers. Reluctantly, Mia is forced to explain that she had a vision of his sister and knows that she was murdered. This opens a Pandora's box that not only has the town questioning her sanity but has the killer targeting her next.
I wanted to like Mia more but she frustrated me at times. I appreciate that she is a strong and independent woman but because we know very little about her background, it was hard to empathize with her and understand her motivations. She's edgy and a little prickly at times but the love she has for her dogs adds a softness to her that was needed.
I thought Roman's character started out exactly as he should. He was tough, serious and skeptical when Mia shows up with information about his sister. I expected their relationship to be a slow burn where Roman steadily learns to appreciate, believe, and fall for Mia. I had also hoped that Mia would start to reveal more about herself while this happened. Unfortunately, neither was the case and I think Roman changed his tune way too early to be realistic.
The writing was good and the plot was interesting but we're lacking in the mystery. It wasn't hard to deduce who the killer was early on in the book and that made the story drag. So as I struggled with engaging with the characters, I was also a little let down with the intrigue and suspense as well.
I think the biggest curve ball (and not in a good way) was how the story ended. I was dumbfounded in Mia's revelation about her past because it didn't make sense with some of the clues sprinkled throughout the story. And Roman's declaration of love was weird and a tad violent.
I had high hopes and wish I had a better review. I would probably give this book 2 1/2 stars but I'll round up to 3. Onto the next!
What did you think?
