Review: A Good Balance
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 11, 2014
Romantic suspense is a tricky genre for me. I need balance! Enough romance to balance out the suspense, but not so much that the suspense plot feels like an excuse. I need both main characters to be smart, not taking stupid risks or trying to "save the day" against ridiculous odds.  I especially don't need a man saving the woman because she can't take care of herself.This book made me happy. Because Lucy is a true-crime writer, she is smart about crime and police procedure. She doesn't make rookie mistakes, and she is very much in capable charge of her investigation. Ethan figures that out pretty quickly, and he shows respect for her intelligence and good sense, as well as a healthy appreciation of her as a woman (which she returns). They work well together, and their gradual opening up to each other and trusting each other felt very believable to me.The suspense plot definitely worked for me; I didn't figure it out too early, and there were lots of twists (ha!) and surprises -- the plot made sense without being predictable. I also thought the setting and the secondary characters were well-written; I'm pleased to see that they'll be featured in the author's next book.