Judith’s review of The PA’s Revenge by Diana Fraser.
Cassandra Lee doesn’t do emotion. Why would you want to feel anything when your son and father have died in horrific circumstances? Why would you want to do anything other than exact revenge on the man you hold responsible for the tragedy? Revenge is her only focus so she studies his business and revamps her image with the aim of becoming his PA and sabotaging his fortune.
And Dallas Mackenzie’s wealth is important to him. He’s restored his family’s fortunes after his father nearly lost everything through drink, violence and deceit. He believes he’s inherited his father’s violent temper and alcoholism and is determined not to succumb to them. He values honesty above all else and focuses on working hard and avoiding emotional attachment at any cost, even an empty life.
But empty lives can be filled—at least for a short while—and Dallas sets out to seduce Cassandra. Unfortunately seduction—and her body’s responses to this arrogant, powerful and sexy man—wasn’t something Cassandra could prepare for. She just hopes that his interest—and her resistance—will hold out long enough to ruin him.
He’s known as the Get-Things-Done kind of guy, one people don’t antagonize and certainly a man whose serious nature and all-consuming focus is about business. Personal relationships are really not a part of his life except for that occasional woman who piques his interest and who is willing to conform to his way of life. And he’s wealthy, the kind of wealth that is powerful and whose influence is felt all around the world. And he needs a Personal Assistant and Cassie Lee is there to fill the job. She’s free, no family obligations, and as smart as they come–plus, she is a good looker. What Dallas doesn’t know is that Cassie is there for a reason — to revenge the suicide of her father, the ruination of his company, and most of all, the useless death of her son. Dallas turns out to be far more enticing than Cassandra every expected and her attraction is an unwelcome complication in her plan. What is even more difficult is dealing with feelings that go waaaaaaaaay beyond just fun and bedroom games. It never dawns on Cassandra that she might not have the whole story, that there might be more behind her father’s suicide or that there might be some difficulties with his company that aren’t known by either family or friends.
I have read several of Ms Fraser’s books and they are all terrific and this one is no exception. It is set in the land “down under” and is written in that edgy and matter-of-fact style that characterizes all Ms Fraser’s novels. Yet there is deep emotion here that is coupled with deep and unrelenting distress–a kind of grieving that never seems to let go, especially over the fact that her father’s suicide caused the death of her son in such a way that his body was never recovered. So much pain and so much loss! It is overwhelming and the reader will encounter the same information that will call all of Cassie’s plans into question–almost at the last minute, and what she fears is too late to build any kind of future that might be filled with joy.
This story pulls at the emotions and challenges the mind with the tension built around Cassie’s hidden agenda and the conflict caused by her growing emotional involvement with Dallas. “What a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.” And honesty was the deal-breaker for Dallas. What kind of future does one look forward to when trust has been broken? These are the issues that form the core of this story and are the substance of the conflict that drives the novel. There is great strength in both Cassie and Dallas, the kind of strength that most certainly proves that ” . . . like attracts like.” However, there is always that hope, often only vaguely perceived, that there are answers that might resolve the questions in her heart, that might relieve the terrible ache in her heart that never seems to go away, or make possible some kind of hopeful future. The book is intense and its intensity begins right from the first and never gives way until the very end. Such a good, good book and one that I enjoyed immensely.
This is the first in a trilogy of novels and I am definitely looking forward to the upcoming stories of Dallas’ brothers. I think this book is a true “keeper.”
I give it a rating of 4.25 out of 5
You can read more from Judith at
Dr J’s Book Place.
This book is available from Bay Books. You can buy it here in e-format.
Like this:
Like Loading...
Leave a Reply