Judith’s review of Edge of the Enforcer (Doms of Dark Haven #4) by Cherise Sinclair
Fleeing false murder charges, Lindsey lands in San Francisco. There she builds a satisfying life until, in the notorious Dark Haven BDSM club, she encounters deVries. Moth, meet flame.
A security specialist and occasional mercenary, deVries needs an adorable submissive like a knife to the gut. Hell, she’s not even a masochist. But here she is, all big brown eyes and sweet body and sassy mouth. Loyal. Tough-minded. Honest.
Or maybe not, considering her ID is forged. If she thinks to lie to him, she’ll learn better. He’s the Enforcer of Dark Haven—his discipline is absolute, his punishments harsh, and his heart untouched…until now.
This is the fourth book in the popular Mountain Masters and Dark Haven series by an author that has not only captivated readers with her erotic and sensual fiction that embraces the BDSM lifestyle, but one that is herself a participant in the lifestyle. Known best for her Shadowlands series, Ms Sinclair has nevertheless drawn readers into this series of stories revolving around dominants and submissives who live in the San Francisco Bay Area and surrounding environs. At Dark Haven they are able to be honest about their preferences and deepest needs without the judgmentalism of those who do not understand the lifestyle or who insist on seeing it as sinful perversion.
Our heroine is a woman who is highly educated and who had the misfortune of falling into a set of circumstances where not only has she lost the man she loved but is now being sought as the primary suspect in his murder. She knows that the police are bad cops, on the take, and who are seeking to pin his murder on her in order to save themselves. So she has been on the run, working in low paying jobs, just trying to stay alive and away from those who would take her life from her. Yet amid all the “lying” she has to do with her false ID and cover story about her past, she is totally honest about her own needs and her desire to be herself in at least one setting: her membership at Dark Haven. It is there she meets Zander deVries, a long-time participant in the lifestyle, a hardcore sadist and Dom, and a man who was carefully guarding a heart deeply wounded by the betrayal of a money-grubbing wife and a messy divorce. Lindsey wasn’t his type at all, and when he perceives that she is being less than honest about some things, he wavers back and forth in his attraction to her.
This is a novel that is full of suspense, the dark excitement of the BDSM lifestyle, the kinds of loving that is intense and often misunderstood by those whose knowledge is limited or non-existent, and the hurts that emotional betrayal alone can cause. It is about two people who really need each other but who are so fearful (for very different reasons, to be sure) that they almost lose each other. These two often clash, often misunderstand each other, often read into their actions feelings and thoughts that simply aren’t there. Zander has deep needs that Lindsey admits she can’t meet, but her jealousy gets in the way of helping her find solutions that will keep them together and satisfied with their prospects for the future. It is a novel that is not easy to read and for those who have trouble with some or all of the aspects of the BDSM lifestyle, this book is not for you. Yet as one who can’t picture herself as a participant at any point in my life, I still appreciate the dynamic between the characters, the insights that the author brings into her stories, and the hope she gives to people who have stuffed feelings and needs so deep that they don’t think there will ever be a venue for full expression of who they really are.
As always, Ms Sinclair brings considerable expertise and knowledge to the writing task itself, constructing her stories in a seamless fashion, bringing the reader along with teasers and bits and pieces of this and that without giving away the whole plot too soon. All her books have that undercurrent of suspense and mystery that makes her stories intriguing and which snare the imagination of the reader in a web of persons and plot and story. Her characters are achingly real, full of human angst and seeking that sense of wholeness we all live to find. When all is said and done, this novel is filled with all the stuff that romance fiction fans will find captivating and which will provide a truly satisfying reading experience. I have read all Ms Sinclair’s work and once again she has given her fans a story that will stand up to repeated readings.
I don’t hesitate to give this book a rating of 4.75 out of 5.
This title is available from Loose Id. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
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