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Imagine socialite Afia St. John’s surprise when her credit card is
refused at an exclusive shop. All her credit cards actually. It had to
be because she’d lost her gold moneybag charm, the one that kept her
lucky in money. One of the thirteen charms Afia relied on in everything
thing she did in life.
Turns out, not only have her credit cards gone bad, but so has her
life. Her business manager has run off with all the money left her by
her two previous – and currently dead – husbands, and she’s left with
nothing but bills. Which means 2 things: she needs a job, and she needs
to figure out how to get her money back!
Jake Leeds is the private detective Afia’s godfather, Harmon hires to
“hire” Afia. In this case, “hire” really means baby-sit, as Harmon
knows what will happen if Afia gets a real job. And Jake finds out in a
hurry why the nickname Jinx fits her like a glove.
But he can’t deny that behind that clumsy, socialite exterior lies a
woman who lights his flame in a big way. So when she asks him to teach
her the PI business he agrees, although he knows that maintaining a
professional distance is going to be next to impossible.
Beth Ciotta’s first solo release is a sexy – Jake is so
hot! – and often hilarious story that is guaranteed to hold you to the
last page. I loved the growth of Afia from alcohol-dependent ditz to
competent woman, and watching Jake go through it was so much fun. These
characters are so colourful, Jake’s contrast between Afia’s first
impression and the real Jake, Afia’s strengths she never knew she had.
The author has used secondary characters to their full advantage as
well, with the lovable best friend Rudy, the sexy Jean-Pierre and Jake’s
straight forward, very pregnant sister Joni. These characters are
beautifully written and well rounded so that you feel you know them
almost immediately. Yet they don’t take over or get in the way of Jake
and Afia – they just make you want to visit them again in the future.
Full colour is what comes to mind when I think of JINXED – and full of
sexy fun is what you can expect when you read it.
Reviewed by Sue Waldeck for The Road to Romance
April 20, 2004 |
