Dangerous Passions and Counterparts

Dangerous Passions by Kat Martin In the fall of 1808, during the Napoleon Wars, Elissa Tauber convinces her mother, the Countess von Langen, that she is the only one capable of investigating the murder of her brother. Karl had sent one last mysterious letter home before his death — he was investigating a spy known as The Falcon. Elissa wants not only to avenge her brother's death, but to save her native homeland. So she goes off to battle in the ballrooms and saloons of Austria, masquerading as a widow, and attempts to get close to the men her brother had named as possible candidates. Elissa is willing to sacrifice it all, even her virtue if necessary. She tries to concentrate on her mission, but is entirely distracted by Colonel Adrian Kingsland, a British advisor and one time uninvited guest in her bedroom. Elise fears that Adrian might be the spy, and must fight her attraction to him, while still trying to investigate him. Her attraction is her undoing, and she finds herself falling deeply in love with him. I admired her astuteness, she saw through to the real man behind a carefully applied mask, and stood up to Adrian on more than one occasion. It was Elissa's courageous act of brutal truth telling that saved their relationship, just as it seemed to be ending. At first, I was not too impressed with Colonel Adrian Kingsland — his sole purpose in life seemed to bedding women, and soldiering. He rather reminded me of some lust driven hound dog — "virile" is a mild word for this man! But as I came to know him better, to understand the forces in his bleak childhood and young adulthood that shaped him — I could forgive his randiness. And on the plus side, he was a very intelligent man — just a little confused. Adrian's self-revelation when he realized that he did indeed love Elissa Tauber.... well, those pages were some of the strongest and most eloquently written passages that I have ever read. My heart ached for him, for his despair, for his fear, and for his inability to know what to do. How grateful I was for Elissa and her own innate sense of love and deep passionate caring for Adrian. Counterparts by Gonzalo Lira Single mom and FBI agent Margaret Chisholm (a.k.a. "Dirty Harriet") teams up with CIA operative Nick Denton to investigate the terrorist bombing of a nunnery in New Hampshire.