Toot's Book Reviews: Blog Hop Stop : Dancing With Detective Danger by Lynn Crandall (CR)

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Book Blurb

Uncovering secrets and exposing truth are all in a day’s work for private investigator Sterling Aegar. But when her latest case threatens to reveal her own buried feelings for an old love, Sterling runs for cover.

A body in the bathtub and pleas from a jilted wife to find her wayward husband mean a welcome break from the usual humdrum cases Sterling and her sister, Lacey, are called to investigate. But when Sterling’s old flame, Detective Ben Kirby, walks into the murder scene, she feels her world spin out of control. Danger from thugs and murderers poses no greater threat than the peril she’d suffer if she lets daredevil Ben get too close.

Seeing Sterling for the first time in two years is for Ben like drinking in a healing tonic. He could never forget the way it felt to run his hands over her delicious curves or the way she touched his soul. She remains the one person who can make the emptiness in his gut go away. Finding the murderer is his job, but protecting Sterling from seriously dangerous people is his mission.

As the case unfolds, Sterling and Ben not only solve the murder and locate the missing husband, they confront secrets that set them each free from a painful past.

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Book Excerpt

Here’s a peek at the main characters’ first meet up in since their break up two years ago, told from the hero’s point of view.

Ben stood behind the richly embroidered drapes at the condo’s living room window and

discreetly watched Sterling walk to the car as he shuffled paperwork through his fingers. Her

petite frame, dressed in a slim gray suit, pulled his attention as though he had no control.

That’s the way it was with her. He hadn’t seen her for two years, but all during that time he’d

been unable to will her out of his thoughts for very long. Seeing her up close and feeling her

presence today had stirred up old feelings inside him. After they’d gotten together, the terrible

aloneness he’d grown to live with had vanished. It hadn’t mattered that before she’d come along

he’d had no one, no family, because she’d completely filled the emptiness in his gut. Then when

she left, he’d felt all the more alone for having known but lost her.

Sterling’s straight, chestnut-colored hair had grown longer, brushing gently against her slim

shoulders. He liked it. And the two years apart had worn beautifully on her fine-boned face. She

looked even lovelier than he remembered. In the brief moments he’d stood next to her, he’d

taken in everything: her shapely curves, her intense, blue-green eyes, her sensuously curved lips

the color of a rich Merlot wine.

Ben’s stomach tightened. It had to happen sooner or later, he thought to himself. Even though

Sterling had left his life, it seemed inevitable that they’d run into each other sometime while

working a case. He’d like to think it meant their destinies were intimately intertwined. That even

though their paths might occasionally diverge and meander, they were actually headed in the

same direction. She’d been emphatic at their breakup that there was no future for the two of

them—that they wanted different things in life—but he just didn’t believe it. He believed in

possibilities, and though in the interim he’d given Sterling her space, the hope remained strong in

him that eventually, along the way, they would come together again, perhaps even stronger than

before.

Ben watched Sterling drive away and couldn’t help himself. Was it too much to hope maybe

this time it could be different?

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Toot's Review

Dancing With Detective Danger by Lynn Crandall is a contemporary romance/mystery/whodunit. Our heroine, Sterling Aegar is an ex-cop turned PI. She is on a case with her partner and sister Lacey when they stumble upon a body and have to call in the cops. Enter our hero, broken hearted, torch carrying, Detective Ben Kirby, whom is the detective assigned to this case. Sterling and Ben were engaged two years ago when Sterling had a change of heart and dumped his butt. She claimed that he was reckless on the job, took too many risks with his life and she didn't want to be a cop widow. So she ran away. Ben was and still is completely devastated. He loves being a cop but understood her motives. He even moved over to investigations to hopefully one day prove that he's a changed man and less likely to get killed in the line of duty. So two years and a trail of tears later, Ben is face to face with Sterling with a case to solve and his heart on the line, again.

This was a fun whodunit with a nice twist on the standard contemporary romance story. You don't usually find the hero, so torn up with having lost the love of his life and then given a second chance to right the wrong or have a heroine who's so bullheaded that she's blinded in the future by events of the past. The mystery is a nice ride as well but wasn't the sole focus of the book but more an adventure for the two characters to rediscover their connection to each other. The secondary story with the sister Lacey was interesting as well although I wish it had a bit more back story to it. Lacey's story was full of heart and romance whereas Sterling's was more cold and full of loss. I also probably connected with Lacey's story a bit more because it had a PNR twist to it, LOL. The only downside for me was, at times, I felt the story got a little preachy as far as trying to drive the story's message home to the reader but overall I did enjoy the read and would recommend it.

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Author Bio

Lynn Crandall started spinning stories as a child when she tried to entertain her younger sister at night when they were supposed to be going to sleep. In the dark, her stories typically took on a scary or paranormal element -- didn't do much to put them to sleep. Today, shehopesher stories still fail to put readers to sleep, but rather take them on a journey. That's what she’s been on since she decided to make writing her focus. As a reporter and magazine feature writer, she truly enjoys learning as she works on stories. As a romance writer, she enjoys doing the research and following an evolving story of the characters.

Links:

http://www.lynn-crandall.com/

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16719189-dancing-with-detective-danger

http://www.amazon.com/Lynn-Crandall/e/B00AX9OA40

@lcrandall246

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~*Giveaway*~