"A fast-paced romantic suspense"

Sarah Cutter has lived a life of silence since an explosion that took her hearing when she was five years old. Both of her parents were killed in the explosion, which was caused by one of her father's experiments. She was raised by her Godfather and learned to adapt to her new life, void of all sound. Then her hearing is restored by an experimental surgery, developed at Coastal Island Research Park (CIRP) where her father once worked. CIRP is a compound dedicated to scientific research of many kinds and she is thrilled to receive the treatment there, which gives her the opportunity to hear what she had been missing for so long.

Adam Black is a Savannah cop, tough as nails and one of the best. His parents died when he was young and he raised his younger sister, Denise, entirely on his own. Except for her, he has spent his life alone, ever since the woman he loved, a witness in one of his cases and under his protection, was killed. Adam blamed himself, swearing to never get involved with a woman again... until Sarah comes along.

The very day Sarah awakens from her surgery, sounds she hadn't heard in many years bombarded her, bringing her joy, short-lived though it is. She overhears something no one should have -- the sounds of a woman being abducted from the hospital where Sarah is recovering. No one at the compound believes her, so she takes her fantastic story to the police. No one there believes her at first either, but Adam finds himself intrigued by the attractive young woman. When he realizes Denise, who happens to work at CIRP, is missing, he begins to take her story more seriously.

In the midst of their investigation into Denise's whereabouts, they find out about suspicious deaths of other researchers at CIRP, ones who were about to have breakthroughs that would have had a huge impact on medical science. However, someone else knows what Sarah heard was real, and they will do whatever it takes to silence her - permanently. Now Adam and Sarah are racing to find Denise before it is too late for her... and Sarah. He is drawn to her through it all, even though he is terrified that history will repeat itself for him.

This story is a captivating look into the dark side of medical research, giving a "What if" feel in many ways, where research for the advantage of everyone can be capitalized on for the benefit of a few. Unfortunately, the rising body count as suspects are killed off, makes it appear that perhaps Ms. Herron did not know what to do with the characters. The false leads the killer tries to set may fool some readers, but this reviewer wasn't taken in; having had the murderer figured out, almost from the beginning, though not the motive.

Nonetheless, it was a gripping story to keep one engrossed and awaiting the next book in the series.

c. Kelley A. Hartsell, August 2002. All rights reserved.

Reviewed by Kelley Hartsell
Courtesy Love Romances
Posted September 1, 2002