Heart's Desire (Arabesque)
While dying from cancer, Kara Smith's mother tells her that her father isn't dead, but living the good life as Congressman Sidney Eastman.  He'd refused to marry her because of her lower class background, and darker skin. With revenge in mind, Kara, a thirty year-old virgin poses as a high-class prostitute at a Washington cocktail-party and seduces the hero, Brent Stevens, into taking her back to his room.  The next day Kara shows up with papers from Brent's briefcase that would indict the congressman in a banking scandal.  She blackmails Brent into giving her a job as the congressman's legislative assistant. While settling into her new life, Kara meets her father, her stepbrother and sister, and stepmother.  She also meets up with Taylor - her psychic next-door neighbor, who becomes her best friend.  Jenny Eastman, the heroine's stepsister and Brent's ex-fiancée, refuses to accept the hero doesn't love her.  Kara feels sorry for Jenny and realizes her stepsister is an alcoholic.   Just as Brent and Kara's relationship heats up, Jenny is involved in an auto-accident and the information Kara had on the congressman is leaked to the public.  A tangled web unfolds, threatening to destroy them all.Heart's Desire is an Arabesque Romance - a line developed around multi-cultural heroes and heroines.   I found the plot intriguing; Monica Jackson put so many twists and turns into the book that it was definitely not boring.  I did find it hard to believe that a strictly brought up, thirty year-old virgin would pose as a prostitute, however, or that in one year's time she could learn everything it took to be a legislative assistant.  And I felt the characters had too much baggage to be likable - I never sensed they could ever lead normal lives.  I do believe, however, Monica Jackson is an author to watch.  She has a humorous touch to her writing and certainly can spin a story.   And despite the fact that this tale had flaws, I'm looking forward to her next book which features Taylor, the psychic next door neighbor, and a private investigator who solve a series of murders together! Monica Jackson spins a dark tale of political intrigue that will keep you locked into the pages until the very end. Phoebe Imel  --Copyright © 050198 Literary Times, Inc.  All rights reserved--FromLiterary Times