Review: For a Cold Day & Warm Fire.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 13, 2013
Surprisingly good story, despite the cover & blurb.  Ms Kress works on the assumption that her readers have some intelligence, and a vocabulary above 6th grade.  The story has parallel plots and characters that are a good fit, as well as entertaining.  The characters are well-defined, and the author even gives a 'why they are', instead of just the usual 'who & appearance'.  I especially appreciated that the supporting characters were fully-drawn, and not page-fillers plopped in & out of the story at the author's convenience.The basic premise  is 'iffy', so it took some fancy writing to make the story believable: mission accomplishedl.  The finale ties up all the plot lines very neatly (problem > work through it > solution  instead of jumping to the end).  I think this book is a great read-at-the-fireplace choice, entertaining and relaxing.  There's some repitition (as if Ms Kress told "write so-many-words")-- obvious, but not terribly annoying.Don't let the cover fool you -- it's a 'seller' cover, and has little to do with the story.  Spoiler alert 1: not all Vegas dancers are showgirls.  Spoiler alert 2: he does put down the phone.