Review: Unique Romance with Danger and Mystery Thrown In
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 23, 2013
"Not Always Mr. Smith" takes a fairly common plot thread in mystery/suspense novels--the bodyguard falling for the woman he's hired to protect--and gives it a unique spin. Aden, a childlike artist, has been protected her whole life--when her mother falls to her death from the roof (or jumps, the situation is unclear), Aden retreats into a world of her own. In an effort to control her own life story, she renames everyone she meets and refuses to call them by their given names.Her rich father hires numerous caretakers to watch over her and assist her, and she loses herself in painting, becoming an in-demand landscape artist. When her father dies, though, the future of the family fortune is precarious--and the villainous Witt is angling to inherit it, even if it means killing Aden. Enter James Geraghty, a hardened man whose broken heart has left him disconnected from his emotions--his old major has called in a favor, and he wants James to watch over Aden until she inherits.Though Aden and James fight their attraction to one another and their growing feelings of affection, it's soon apparent they bring back out the best in each other and may even allow each other to start healing from their emotional wounds. I enjoyed these two characters, and was rooting both for Aden and James to overcome their fears of being fully present in the world. Though the bulk of the book focuses on their budding romance and interactions (many of which are playful and a delight to read), the suspense at the heart of the book is what propels the reader through the narrative.I would recommend this novel to readers who enjoy romance and suspense.