A DANGEROUS DECEPTION - J.M. Jeffries
Genesis Press
September 2001
SYNOPSIS:
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE: (4+) Wayne Jordan
REVIEW: African-American
romance readers were introduced to J.M. Jeffries in 2000 with the release of her
A
DANGEROUS LOVE.
Her sophomore effort,
A
DANGEROUS DECEPTION
is as riveting and exciting as her debut effort, and is sure to give her new
fans.
In
A
DANGEROUS LOVE, readers
met the intriguing Cher Dawson, the head of the Cold Case Unit.
A
DANGEROUS DECEPTION
is her story. Cher is a strong
confident woman. Born to the
streets, the daughter of a prostitute, Cher was given the chance of a better
life by David Dawson, a man who embraced her and made her his daughter.
Fourteen
years before the main story begins, Cher is at college and in love with Luc
Broussard. While he is away for her
apartment, Luc’s mother visits. Using
the fact that David is gay and a cop, she blackmails Cher into leaving her son
alone. Cher’s loyalty to her
“father” is strong, and she leaves Luc with no explanation.
The story shifts to the present. Luc’s mother is murdered and he sets out to find out who killed her and comes face to face with the woman he still loves. What evolves is a story that is wonderfully tender, and titillatingly exciting. Ms. Jeffries combines elements of romance and suspense to provide a story that is sure to please lovers of romantic suspense.
Ms.
Jeffries forté is her ability to create strong but vulnerable characters. Like Elena and Reardon of
A
DANGEROUS LOVE,
Luc and Cher are two wonderfully drawn characters.
They are strong confident individuals, but beneath the surface they are
both hurting, and in need of love. Ms.
Jeffries skillfully exposes the emotion of each character, and the reader cannot
help but empathize.
Cher
is a particularly fascinating creation. Her
sordid background has made her even more determined to be the strong, confident
individual she has become.
Luc,
too, is not perfect, and needs to realise that his wealth cannot buy what is
important in life – happiness and love. It
is only Cher who is capable of teaching him this.
With A DANGEROUS DECEPTION, Ms. Jeffries has again weaved her magic, and created a story that is the same time emotionally intense, but is also gentle and tender. There are so many secondary characters that can have their own stories. Maybe some time later Miranda can have her own story. Who’s Miranda? you ask. I’m not telling…so, rush to the bookstore, purchase A DANGEROUS DECEPTION and I’m assuring you that you won’t put it down until the final satisfying page!