Judith’s review of Dirty Little Secrets by Temple Hogan.

Billie quickly learns that being in the wrong place at the wrong time can get a girl killed, unless she has handsome Greek Detective Dare Stephanos on her side. From the moment they lay eyes on one another their libidos explode and they become lost in their mutual desire. But the bliss is short lived when trouble arrives at the doorstep with one thought in mind: to kill Billie. As they escape, Dare wonders what he is doing, until he looks at Billie and realizes he will risk anything to get her in his bed again.

Forced to run for her life, Billie is a woman used to taking care of herself and although she’s deeply attracted to Dare, she knows she has to find her own way out of the danger that surrounds her. But time and again, she finds Dare at her side, protecting her and giving her the most satisfying, mouth watering sex she’s ever had. How can a girl say no to that?

Temple Hogan is an author previously unknown to me, so I came at this novel without having read any of her other work. I also liked having just a little longer novel to dive into. I like short stories and novellas, but once in a while I just like the feeling of sinking my reading teeth into a more substantive work–sort of like the difference between eating a grilled cheese sandwich and a porterhouse steak.

Anyway, analogies aside, this novel isn’t just about sex. Now Dare and Billie “get it on” real early in the novel, almost at the front door of her office building, if the truth be known. But this is a story that is more about who they were as persons than their sexual hijinks. Each in their own way was a person who had been deeply injured by life and circumstance. Billie had been abandoned by her mother at age 7 and learned, in order to survive, that she had to make her own way in the world. Her only good luck was going to be the luck she made for herself. She lives a double life–a successful CEO of an accounting firm during the day, and a modern Robin Hood who skims money from the unscrupulous wealthy by night as a computer hacker. Darius Stephanos, on the other hand, came from an extensive and loving Greek family, on his way to achieving his personal and professional goals as a Detroit homocide detective, when a partner was caught being “naughty” and the fall-out took Dare out as well–not all the way out of the Detroit PD, but definitely on the fringes as an investigator on the bunko squad. Now a prominent figure in Detroit has been murdered along with the daughter of a U. S. Senator, and somehow Billie is involved. The bad guys are after her because they think she knows the identity of the murderer and Dare finds that the latent homocide detective in him must come out.

This is a wild and frantic ride through the Detroit underworld and the attempts by two people to simply outrun those who are seeking to kill them. It is a great action thriller that is complicated by the personal and sexual involvement of the main characters, their own past emotional and romantic histories, and their deeply felt hurts and insecurities. They both fear love and commitment, but it would seem that the fates have cast their lot together for the foreseeable future. Both these people have lots of rough edges that they seek to “rub smooth” with sexual encounters but find that somehow the connection between them runs far deeper than they want to admit. The occasional, even frequent roll in the hay just won’t ever be enough. I get the feeling that neither wants to care; that would be too dangerous to their carefully ordered emotional stability. But life is seldom cooperative in that respect, and caring does indeed upend both these people

This is a very well-written novel that held my interest from start to finish. The action starts on page one and keeps up until the final paragraphs. The author has done well in developing the story line and I was impressed with the consistency of energy throughout the book. I liked the characters–they were raw and real, flawed by life and hungry for something better. In short, they were just like all of us. I also liked the way the author used words–I had the feeling that each word was important and necessary to the story. So I recommend it as a very good read, an entertaining offering that will please the reading tastes of romance fictions fans and well as mystery/action fans. I give this novel a rating of 4 out of 5.

This book is available from Ellora’s Cave. You can buy it here in e-format.

You can read more from Judith at Dr. J’s Book Place.