Who says crime doesn't pay?

A year ago, Samantha Jellicoe robbed from the rich and gave...to herself! Now, though, she's using her larcenous skills for good as a private security consultant, trying to walk the high road for her sexy billionaire boyfriend, Richard Addison, and asking herself if there's anything more torturous than tracking down priceless artifacts (only to give them back!).

So when the Metropolitan Museum of Art asks for her help, she's only too happy to leap into the fray again: If nothing else, this adventure will help her avoid that little (not!) sparkly item Rick's been hiding in his pocket, and postpone another kind of walk down the aisle. It's only when she's targeted by a deadly adversary after the same treasure that Sam starts to think that "till death do you part" is maybe the lesser of two evils...

Suzanne Enoch is one of the few historical-turned-contemp authors whose contemps I like more than her historicals. The characters of Samantha Jellicoe and Richard Addison have intrigued me from the beginning.

Though not many people in the world have more money than Rick Addison, Sam’s bank account is nothing to laugh about. It was really the difference in their lifestyles and the instant attraction between the two that just flew off the pages. Both of them being so used to going through life alone, to see them both have to compromise for the other was (and is) engrossing.

The 3rd installment finds Sam fighting boredom as the owner and operator of Jellicoe Security. Though she’s promised Rick that she’ll stay on the straight and narrow, Sam will take her adrenaline kicks where she can get them. When the Met again contacts her to find Japanese armor that went missing 10 years before, Sam knows that this will be her last chance to make a name for herself in the art world as something other than a cat-burglar. Given a mere week to find the armor, Sam must ask Rick for his help. With his contacts in Palm Beach, Sam soon narrows her search down to three people, one man and a married couple.

Determining who actually has the armor is another story entirely and will take a few of Sam’s “special skills” to figure out. Though she doesn’t want to outright lie to Rick, she doesn’t want him to worry, either. She also admits to herself that she doesn’t want him tagging along or trying to stop her. She’s sure that he’ll do one or the other. Breaking and Entering is harder when you have a novice tagging along.

In between Sam trying to find the armor, she’s also trying to help Tom Donner’s (Rick’s lawyer) daughter, Olivia, find something that went missing out of her 5th-grade classroom. Though it’s not her usual type of job, Sam finds that she can’t turn Livia down when she’s asked to locate “Anatomy Man”. A life-sized doll, Anatomy Man has removable organs and was going to be part of a class project that Livia’s class was really looking forward to. The interaction between Tom and Sam in this book is highly amusing, especially when Sam takes Tom’s Wife, Katie, on a little afternoon B&E.

All this going on and Sam can tell that there is something on Rick’s mind. Having just past their 1 year anniversary together, Sam can’t exactly figure out why Rick is so uptight. What she doesn’t know is that every day Rick still worries that Sam could easily take off. Though he’s sure of her feelings for him, she still has her emergency backpack in the closet so she can take off at a moment’s notice. When he decides to propose to Sam, he’s both elated and terrified. All he knows is that he’ll do anything to keep Samantha in his life.

What I love about these books is that I can laugh and find humor in them, but it doesn’t detract from the intensity of the emotion between the two characters. I also love the interaction between the secondary characters. Stoney and Sam’s relationship is at once heartwarming and humorous. Stoney’s reluctance to completely end his career as a fence is in direct contrast with Sam’s persistence to stay straight. When Stoney disappears, Sam can’t help but be worried, especially when shit starts hitting the fan with her armor deal. I think one of the funniest parts of the book was when Stoney kept referring to Rick as the “English muffin”. LOL. Sam’s receptionist, Audrey, also plays a more prominent role in this book. As an escort during the season, Audrey has ins into certain houses that Sam finds very useful.

The ending to the book was perfect. I highly anticipate the next book in the Sam/Rick series. Sam’s laid-back personality is a perfect compliment to Rick’s uptight British ways. I always know that I’ll be satisfied after I read about these two characters.

4 out of 5

Samantha Jellicoe