Beguiled

November 30, 2009
Veteran romance writer Gist (A Bride Most Begrudging
) teams with tyro crime writer Bertrand to create a mix of their specialties. Their hybrid is a crime mystery with an irresistibly attractive and oh-so-naïve dog walker named Rylee Monroe. A young adult resident of Charleston whose parents are dead, Rylee is accused of robbing her wealthy dog-owning clients. Aghast at being accused of theft, she pleads her case to her newspaper reporter beau, Logan Woods. Certain that sweet Rylee is innocent, Logan tries to protect her reputation until even he grows suspicious of the mounting evidence against her. Enter in old family ties and unanswered questions regarding Rylee's parents' deaths, and even Rylee is confused as to who's telling the truth. Fans of Gist will appreciate her characteristic genteel manner of presenting the male/female courtship dance. Bertrand's deftness at adding in the crime dimension lends depth to this likable yet predictable story.

February 15, 2010
J.Mark Bertrand joins popular inspirational fiction writer Deeanne Gist to create this story of romance and suspense in modern-day Charleston. Dog walker Rylee Monroe works in the older, richer part of the city. In one mansion, she has an up close and personal run-in with the so-called Robin Hood thief, who, like the legendary robber of yore, steals from the rich and gives to the poor. Newspaper reporter Logan Woods is determined to catch the Robin Hood thief in action, thus getting some extra street cred to follow his true dreampublishing the great American crime novel. After their paths cross, Rylee and Logan find themselves falling for each other. But theres something about the pattern of the thefts and Rylees clientele list that seem just a little too coincidental. The impressive debut of this new writing partnership has just the right balance of interesting characters, action, mystery, and of course, love.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)