Review: Impossible to Put Down
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 24, 2009
Heather Killough-Walden's new release, "Hell Bent," kept me up reading at 2:00 in the morning even though I had to be up at 6:00 a.m. Combination thriller and love story, the two main characters, Annabelle and Jack, have been in a platonic relationship for ten years, although they are each others best friend, confidante and overall most important person in the world, as well as being significantly attracted to each other. Annabelle is a beauty who turns heads without realizing it. She is a hockey-loving, Harley-riding, graphic artist - feisty but vulnerable and an overachiever with her flaws which she deals with through good humor, self-deprecation and Vicodin. Jack, with his British accent, hauntingly light eyes and rugged good looks, leaves women in his wake and barely notices because he only has eyes for Annabelle, whom he alone calls Bella. His need to be constantly married to women other than Annabelle, as well as his career choice, has left Annabelle content with the status quo of their relationship. However, the sexual tension that results from their mutual devotion is incredibly effective, while eluding overt description. This isn't the "will they or won't they kiss" tension delivered teasingly over and over. It is something much more complicated and far more stirring. When Annabelle finds herself involved in a murder, Jack's willingness to do whatever it takes to protect his Bella becomes apparent and he takes her and an extended cast of characters from one safe spot to another as together they investigate the murder. "Hell Bent' is a masterful telling by an author who delivers brilliantly complex relationships, scenes with staying power, and a story that manages to be sexy, thrilling, poignant and thought-provoking. The most fun I have had reading in a while.