Genres: Romantic Suspense

Casee‘s review of Black at Heart (Black CAT Series, Book 3) by Leslie Parrish.

Wyatt Blackstone has done his best to mask his romantic feelings for Lily Fletcher, the brilliant but fragile young woman whose technical skills have helped him track countless violent Internet predators. But now he must fin out if the woman he loves has become a rogue agent obsessed with cold-blooded revenge…

Lily Fletcher has had a story arc from Fade to Black. Lily firsts starts tracking “lovesprettyboys” while trying to uncover the identity of The Reaper at Satan’s Playground (Fade to Black). Lily’s nephew was kidnapped and subsequently killed by a pedophile. Shortly after that, Lily’s twin sister committed suicide. To say Lily has an aversion to pedophiles is like saying she doesn’t like the sun. When she has a chance to take down lovesprettyboys in Pitch Black, she doesn’t hesitate.

From the beginning of this series, Lily has been the sweet IT agent that is like everyone’s little sister. The computer nerd rather than the field agent. Everybody in the office loves her. Her boss, Wyatt Blackstone, finds her shyness w/ him amusing. So when Lily is shot and supposedly killed at the end of Pitch Black, it devastates the Black CAT team. Wyatt, more than anyone, blames himself for letting Lily get involved in something that was so personal to her.

When Wyatt gets a call the day of Lily’s funeral from Lily herself, he rushes to her side. He also agrees to her plea to let her stay dead. There is little he can deny Lily. Taking her to his family home in Maine to recover, Lily will do anything not to be a victim again. For nine months, Lily stays holed up in the beach house. When Wyatt comes to tell her that someone is killing people trying to frame her, she knows it’s time to come out of hiding.

Wyatt really liked the “before” Lily, but he’s fascinated by the woman she has become. He never would have thought that the woman that stuttered whenever he came into the room could look him in the eye, while arguing with him. He knows that he isn’t the type for happily ever after, but the new Lily doesn’t want happily ever after.

Amidst someone murdering pedophiles and trying to frame Lily, her nephew’s killer is set free. The prosecutor declines to re-file since the only witness (Lily) is dead.

Out of the three books, this was definitely the best. It was emotional, suspenseful, and romantic. Wyatt was an enigma from the beginning. In Black at Heart, we finally gets to see what drives him. This is a hero that has a core of honesty that he will never let get compromised. And the fact that he loves Lily is clear.

He’d been waiting too long, waiting for her, waiting for them. Not just since that July night, not just since the night he’d saved her. Not since she’d come to work with him. No, Wyatt had been waiting for Lily his entire adult life.

How can you not love Wyatt?

4.5 out of 5.

This book is available from Signet. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

Other books in the series:

Genres: Romantic Suspense

Casee‘s review of Pitch Black (Black CAT Series, Book 2) by Leslie Parrish.

Former profiler Alec Lambert would give anything to catch The Professor, a serial killer who lures his victims with Internet scams. Now working with reclusive scam expert Samantha Dalton, he finally has his chance. But as they draw ever closer to discovering The Professor’s identity and stopping his murderous rampage, they realize Sam is the psychotic killer’s new obsession—and possibly his next target…

It was only after I read Pitch Black that I learned that Leslie Parrish also writes as Leslie Kelly. If you’ve read Leslie Kelly’s books, you know that they’re often funny and fun books. Needless to say, I was somewhat surprised to learn that Leslie Kelly also wrote this dark suspense series.

Pitch Black continues the Black CAT (Cyber Action Team) series. After recovering from a shooting that got another agent killed, Alec Lambert has been sent to Wyatt Blackstone’s CAT team. The Black CAT team are essentially the bad kids that got sent to detention after school. Alec is far from pleased to be on the team, but soon learns that the new team he is a part of is a force to be reckoned with.

Alec first thinks that Blackstone brought him on because they needed a profiler on their team. That may be one of the reasons, but the other reason is that they’re tracking a serial killer known as The Professor. Alec has been after The Professor for years, but is unable to catch him. With the help of internet scam expert, Samantha Dalton, he hopes that he will finally be able to stop the killer he has been after for so long.

Sam Dalton is happy in the little cocoon that she has created for herself. She lives, eats, and breathes her computer. After her grandmother was scammed online, Sam has made it her mission in life to educate people about internet scams.

Though Alec goes to Sam for advice only, they soon figure out that Sam herself is a target of The Professor. He is enthralled with Sam and believes that she could be his perfect mate. She’s smart enough to appreciate the service he is doing the world by removing the people that are stupid enough to fall for internet scams. Obviously he doesn’t take it well when he realizes Sam and Alec are involved.

This book definitely had more of a romantic element than Fade to Black. I loved Sam. Her dry sense of humor and her ability to laugh even at herself just made her a great character.

4.25 out of 5.

This book is available from Signet. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

Other books in the series: