Series: Burning Cove #5
Published by Berkley on May 4, 2021
Pages: 352
Goodreads
FINAL DECISION: This might be my favorite of the series because it felt like it brought the whole series together. I loved that we essentially get two romances in one.
THE STORY: Lyra Brazier (sister of the heroine from CLOSE UP) comes to Burning Cove and takes a job as an investigator for Raina Kirk’s investigative agency (who is seeing one of the town’s mystery men Luther Pell). Lyra’s first day of work is already shocking when Raina disappears. Lyra takes on the job of locating Raina along with Luther Pell’s associate Simon Cage. Simon is an antiquarian book dealer but has other skills useful for an investigation. Lyra and Simon pose as a married couple trying to discover what happened to Raina and fall into a series of dangerous plots.
OPINION: I loved this book. It is definitely Quick’s flavor of romantic suspense which means more suspense than romance, but because we essentially have two different romance stories (Lyra/Simon and Raina/Luther) there is plenty of romance and drama here.
The plot beats of this book were so good here. I gobbled this book quickly to find out all the twists and turns — and there were plenty. Just when the book seems to be resolving the “big mystery” there was a new twist that made the book feel like a rollercoaster (in a good way).
I liked the give and take between Lyra and Simon which really felt like a relationship between equals. The two reminded me of the old “Nick and Nora” movies with witty dialogue and definite chemistry.
For some time I have wanted more about Raina and Luther. I had hoped that the two would get a book of their own, but it seems that their relationship might be part of a continuing story in the series. The two end up in a good place here, but I am still hoping for more.
Many of the characters in the story felt a little too modern at times, but honestly, for someone who reads all three of Jayne Ann Krentz’s nom de plumes, the characters all tend to read the same these days with just some small differences in locations and time periods.
WORTH MENTIONING: Plenty of characters from the series make appearances here. For that reason, I really enjoyed this book.
CONNECTED BOOKS: THE LADY HAS A PAST is the fifth book in the Burning Cove series. I think this book is much better if a reader has already read the other books in the series. The mystery here involves Raina Kirk, who has been a continuing character in the series along with her love interest Luther Pell. While it is not necessary to have read the other books, this story spans other books in the series and this is somewhat of a culmination of that ongoing story.
STAR RATING: I give this book 5 stars.