DEADLY ILLUSIONS

(A FRANCESCA  CAHILL NOVELL)

BRENDA JOYCE

  • Pub. Date: December 2010
  • Publisher: Harlequin
  • Series: Francesca Cahill Series , #7
  • ISBN-13: 9780373775415
  • ISBN: 0373775415

From the Publisher

Irrepressible heiress and intrepid sleuth Francesca Cahill moves from her own glittering world of Fifth Avenue to the teeming underbelly of society, a place of pride, passions…and sometimes deadly perversion.

Despite the misgivings of her fiancé, Calder Hart, Francesca cannot turn away from a threat that is terrorizing the tenement neighborhood of Lower Manhattan. A madman has attacked three women, but while the first two victims survived, the third is found dead. All the victims are impoverished but beautiful Irishwomen—andFrancesca fears that her dear friends Maggie Kennedy and Gwen O’Neil could be next.

Soon she is working with her former love, police commissioner Rick Bragg—Calder’s half brother and worst rival. But even as Calder’s jealous passions leave his relationship with Francesca teetering on the brink, Francesca is frantically on the killer’s trail, certain the Slasher will strike again, afraid she will be too late.…

SOURCE: THIS BOOK WAS RECEIVED FOR THE PURPOSE OF REVIEW FROM NET GALLEY AND THE PUBLISHER AND DOES NOT EFFECT THIS REVIEW!!

MY THOUGHTS:

DEADLY ILLUSIONS(A FRANCESCA CAHILL NOVEL)by Brenda Joyce is an interesting Regency suspense/romance.It is the seventh in the series,but can be read as a stand alone.As this is the first in this series I have read.The author gives you updated information so it is not too hard to follow the storyline,if you have not read the others in this series. It is a fast paced story of a female sleuth,a serial killer,a friend who was her first love,but he was married,a fiancee,who is not sure about love and trust.The fiancee,Hart,just happens to be her commissioner’s estranged half brother.As Francesea and Hart struggle with their own love life.As they both have trust issues,Hart more than Francesea,a serial killer is in the lurk,killing young women.The first two manage to survive,remembering much of nothing,But as Francesea investigates she finds one of the survivors actually remembered he had a ring on his right hand with a large stone and they both remembered he called them “faithless bitch”.In the meantime,the chief commissioner,Bragg, is trying to reconcile with his wife,who was run over by a carriage and left paralyzed. The plot in intriguing,while it does have multiple facets and multiple plots going on with only one conclusion,the killer is found.The characters are enchanting and will capture your heart.While,I myself find I like stories with an ending or completion to each plot, this one it is a wait and see.For instance,Francesea and Hart,Bragg and his wife, and Francesea’s brother,Evan,Maggie and the Countess,who claims to be pregnant with Evan’s child,what a triangle of unfinished business.But we will have to see what happens with the next installment.I hope they all find their happy endings.Otherwise this is a fast paced,page turning story full of action,mystery and romance.This book was received for the purpose of review from Net Galley and details can be found at HQN.

RATING: 4

REVIEWED BY: April Renn